Important Taboos for Freezing Food in the Refrigerator
With the Spring Festival approaching, people are busy buying food, and the refrigerator seems to become a "warehouse" where everything is stored. Although almost every household has a refrigerator and knows how to use it, not everyone is aware of certain precautions.
There are some taboos for storing and freezing food:
1. Hot food should never be placed in a running refrigerator.
2. Do not pack food too tightly or fill the refrigerator too full. Leave some space for cold air to circulate, which reduces the load on the unit, extends its service life, and saves electricity.
3. Raw and cooked food should not be stored together to maintain hygiene. Make rational use of the space inside the refrigerator based on the storage time and temperature requirements for different foods.
4. Do not place food directly on the surface of the evaporator. Put it in a container to prevent it from freezing onto the evaporator, which would make it difficult to remove.
5. Fresh fish, meat, and other foods should not be put into the refrigerator without proper treatment. Fresh fish and meat should be sealed in plastic bags and stored in the freezer. Vegetables and fruits should have their surface moisture wiped dry and be stored on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, preferably at a temperature above freezing.
6. Do not put bottled liquid beverages in the freezer, as the expanding liquid may crack the bottle. They should be stored in the fresh food compartment or on the door shelf, ideally at a temperature of around 4°C.
7. A refrigerator used for storing food should not also be used to store chemicals.
8. Sealed, vacuum-packed Chinese herbal decoctions are best stored in the refrigerator's fresh food compartment at a temperature of 0°C-5°C. The storage time should be 7-14 days, and it is best not to exceed 7 days.
9. Special attention should be paid when storing the following foods:
Bananas: Storing bananas at a temperature below 12°C will cause them to turn black and spoil.
Fresh lychees: If fresh lychees are left in a 0°C environment for one day, their skin will turn black and the flesh will lose its flavor.
Tomatoes: After being frozen at low temperatures, tomatoes will have a watery, mushy texture, may crack, develop black spots, fail to cook properly, lose their fresh flavor, and in severe cases, become sour and rotten.
Ham: If ham is stored in the refrigerator at low temperatures, its moisture will freeze, fat will be rendered, the meat will become clumpy or loose, the flavor will change, and it will spoil very easily.
Chocolate: After being chilled in the refrigerator, chocolate will develop a white film on its surface when brought to room temperature, making it prone to mold, spoilage, and loss of original flavor.
10. A list of how long different foods can be stored in the refrigerator
11. Leftovers taken from the refrigerator must be reheated thoroughly at high temperatures before being eaten.
12. Foods that have passed their refrigerator storage date should be consumed with caution.