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We’ve talked about the importance and convenience of meal prep, now let’s talk about how we should be storing our food.
How we store our food influences the freshness of the product, how long that freshness lasts, and the actual safety of that food, therefore storing food shouldn’t be overlooked if we want our foods to taste better and last longer.
We’re going to look over the common rules of food storage, but if you’re not sure about something, please ask the support group for help.
Fridge First things first, make sure your fridge is set to the correct temperature. Your fridge should be set at 0-5ºC. Your fridge should be used for foods that need to be kept cold enough to prevent bacteria growth, this includes cooked food and foods with a use-by date.
When you’re unloading your shopping, check the storage instructions of your food. Some might say keep refrigerated, others might say refrigerate once opened, follow those rules. Keep these foods in the fridge until they’re ready to be eaten, don’t leave them out even if you’re going to be eating it in a few hours.
If you’re preparing food, again, keep it out of the fridge for as short a time as possible, only take it out when you’re ready to prepare it. If you’re meal prepping, or storing leftovers, let them cool before putting them in the fridge, this will prevent the fridge from heating up.
However, don’t leave them out for too long, food will generally be cool in 1hr. Any prepped food or leftover should be eaten within 2-3 days. To prevent contamination in your fridge, store food from low to high depending on their rawness. For example, keep uncooked meats on the lower shelf to prevent dripping onto other foods.
Freezer 90% of the Rosie recipes can be frozen. I would avoid freezing things like pasta, dairy/creamy based soups, and the obvious like salads - as they're not the best when thawed. If you're ever unsure, don't be afraid to post in the support group for help and advice.
The freezer is where you’re going to keep things you don’t intend on eating within the next couple of days. Freeze foods before their use-by dates, then take them out when you’re ready to eat them.
Freezing is the easy part, where you need to take caution is during the defrosting. Follow defrosting instructions where possible. If none are available, thaw it in the fridge or microwave so it is not kept in the open for too long. Consume the product within 2-3 days of thawing it out.
Bear in mind thawing out foods includes removing liquid from the food, therefore the texture and taste might be different from the fresh version. This doesn’t influence safety but does influence the feeling of freshness.
Cupboards Cupboards include anything that doesn’t need to be kept cool to be safe. However, you should still be careful, keep food in dark, dry places away from any products containing chemicals.
Keep food sealed and covered to maximise freshness, and prevent any unwanted foods from mixing and spilling together. If you open something kept in the cupboard, check to see if it needs to be kept in the fridge once opened.
If you're ever unsure, don't be afraid to post in the support group for help and advice.
Top tips? ❤️
Have you got any extra top tips that you like doing? Share your secrets below and let's all help each other!
Rosie ❤️
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