Some foods lose half their nutritional value after just a day or two. And under the fluorescent lights of a supermarket refrigerator, milk's "best before" period is only 4 hours. Green vegetables and fruits stored together will spoil quickly... once these foods are stored in the wrong place, their nutrients will quickly "evaporate."
1. Milk: Store away from light
Light not only sterilizes, it also "kills" the nutrients in milk. Studies have found that milk exposed directly to sunlight for 4 minutes will sour and spoil; under the lights of a supermarket refrigerator, its "best before" period is only about 4 hours.
Vitamin B2 in milk is very sensitive to light and degrades rapidly under it. Light also causes the lipids in milk to oxidize, leading to the gradual damage of other nutrients such as vitamins A, D, B6, and B12. Milk in glass or plastic containers is most susceptible to this.
Expert advice: When buying milk at the supermarket, it's best to pick one from the back of the shelf. After pouring milk into a glass, it's best to drink it within 4 minutes. When buying milk, choose the paper carton packaging and put it in the refrigerator at 2°C—6°C as soon as you get home.
2. Tea: Green tea in the fridge, black tea at room temperature
Green tea offers many health benefits and has been confirmed to help prevent heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, etc., mainly due to the catechins it contains. However, studies have found that after 6 months at room temperature, the catechin content in green tea is reduced by 32%.
Expert advice: Green tea that is consumed regularly can be stored in the refrigerator at around 5°C. For unopened tea leaves that you want to save for more than a year, they should be placed in the freezer. To prevent the tea from becoming the "deodorizer" for the refrigerator, it is best to seal it in a tin can before putting it in the fridge. Oolong tea, black tea, and jasmine tea do not need to be stored in the refrigerator; they can be stored for a long time in a dry, sealed, light-proof, and odor-proof container.
3. Fruits and Vegetables: When stored together, spoilage can be "contagious"
Just like humans, spoilage between fruits and vegetables can be "contagious." A study from Pennsylvania State University warns that apples, almonds, red bell peppers, peaches, cantaloupes, tomatoes, etc., release ethylene gas when stored with other produce, causing the latter to ripen and spoil quickly.
In addition, storing the above fruits and vegetables with cruciferous vegetables and green leafy vegetables will also cause the leaves of the latter to turn yellow and rot quickly. Expert advice: "Delicate" green leafy vegetables should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten as soon as possible. Radishes, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, apples, pears, etc., are all durable storage foods and are suitable for placing on a balcony. Aimei.com reminds that for root vegetables like potatoes, the smaller the size, the higher the vitamin C content. They can be stored in paper bags to prevent excessive light and oxygen from damaging the vitamin C.
4. Cooking Oil: Add a vitamin E capsule to the bottle
For convenience, many housewives often store cooking oil near the stove. Unbeknownst to them, the high temperature there accelerates the oxidation of the oil, making it more likely to become rancid.
The vitamins A, D, and E in the oil will also be oxidized to varying degrees, reducing their nutritional value and even producing harmful aldehydes and ketones to the human body.
Even when not stored in a hot place, studies have found that the antioxidants in bottled olive oil decrease by 40% after 6 months, while common soybean oil, peanut oil, and sunflower oil contain more unsaturated fatty acids and are therefore less stable, with their nutrients being easily damaged during storage.
Expert advice: The best storage temperature for cooking oil is 10°C—25°C. It should be stored away from heat sources such as gas stoves, rice cookers, and microwaves. After buying oil in a large container, you can divide it into smaller bottles to avoid repeated opening of the cap, which causes the oil to oxidize and become rancid due to contact with air; it is best to use dark, not transparent, glass bottles to store oil; you can add hot salt to the cooking oil in a 40:1 ratio, which can absorb moisture and keep the oil clear and fragrant; you can also add 1-2 vitamin E capsules to the cooking oil to enhance its antioxidant capacity.
5. Seasonings: It's best to wrap green onions, ginger, and garlic in tin foil
Many studies have confirmed that spices like chili, fennel, and cinnamon have anti-cancer and cold-fighting effects. But these health benefits don't last forever; for example, the active period of capsaicin in chili powder is only about 9 months.
Expert advice: Garlic becoming hollow, green onions drying out, and ginger growing green mold have always been problems in the kitchen. The best solution is to cut the tin foil into a suitable size before storing, and tightly wrap the unwashed green onions, ginger, and garlic. This can extend their shelf life to at least a month. Green onions can be cut into sections or chopped, then placed directly in the freezer in a fresh-keeping box. Garlic contains allicin, which has antibacterial properties and is not easy to spoil, so it is recommended to store the whole head.