Surely you have repeatedly been amazed at the everyday wisdom and skill of your mothers and grandmothers about everything that is within the kitchen. After all, they told us that a raw egg can be distinguished from a boiled one by simply twisting them on the table, or that coffee from a Turk will not run away if you put it in a ladle of water.

All of these tricky food and drink habits come with experience, and today we want to give you some theory that you should definitely try out in practice. How to keep bubbles in champagne and prevent cheese from drying out? How to make yesterday's cupcake crumbly again and prevent the bananas from darkening? These and other subtleties of food storage and preparation that will save you time and money are in our selection of 20 kitchen tricks.

Find out the freshness of the eggs

If you are not sure if the eggs in your refrigerator are fresh, simply put them in a glass of water. A fresh egg sinks, an old one floats.

Prolong the Freshness of Vegetables

Place paper towels at the bottom of the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator. They absorb excess moisture and thus prevent rapid decay of vegetables.

Save the bubbles in the champagne

Do not pour out sparkling wine that has run out. Just throw a raisin or two into it - natural sugar can work wonders.

Don't translate lemons

If you only need a few drops of lemon juice, don't cut the lemon in half - this will dry out quickly. Instead, pierce the fruit with a metal skewer and you get the right liquid in the right volume.

Keep herbs fresh

To keep the herbs fresh for up to a month, wrap the bundles in plastic bags and place them in the freezer. They are easy to reach when you need them and will defrost within a minute of contact with a hot frying pan.

Eliminate insects

A bay leaf placed in a container of flour, pasta or rice is a guarantee that insects will not appear there.

Get rid of mucus from mushrooms

Mushrooms can be easily rid of mucus by wrapping them in paper towels before placing them in the refrigerator.

Avoid stale muffins

To refresh yesterday's muffins, sprinkle on them with water, put in a paper bag and place in the oven for 10 seconds. The steam generated by the water will quickly restore their softness.

Prevent cheese from drying out

You can prevent the cheese from drying out by spreading butter or margarine on the trimmed surface to keep the moisture inside. This method is most effective in the case of hard cheeses with a waxy crust.

Keep vegetables crispy

When radishes, celery or carrots stop crunching, dip them in a container of ice water along with a piece of raw potatoes and watch the vegetables freshen right in front of your eyes.

Don't let your liver harden

Place the crunchy cookies and the chewy ones in separate containers, because otherwise the moisture in the second will make the first less crunchy.

Don't let bananas darken

Don't take bananas off the bunch until you've decided to eat them - individually, they spoil much faster.

Keep the salt crumbly

A little rice in your salt shaker will keep the salt from hardening. Rice collects condensation, which causes lumps to form.

Maintain the aroma of the oil

Feel free to stock up on butter when it's on sale, as you can store it in the refrigerator for up to six months. Just put the oil in an airtight container and it won't absorb the smell of anything in your refrigerator.

Protect dairy products from bacteria

To keep cottage cheese or sour cream longer, place the containers or jars in which they are stored upside down in the refrigerator. This will create a vacuum that will prevent bacteria from forming moldy foods.

Purify the honey

In fact, honey is the only product that does not spoil at all, so you should not allow it to become sugared or cloudy. Preheat it in the microwave on medium power for 30 seconds and it will be clean again.

Retain moisture in pasta

To prevent the cooked pasta from turning into one continuous lump, put it in an airtight bag and put it in the refrigerator. When you are about to reheat them, simply place them in boiling water for a few seconds.

Save your cheese

The cheese can be frozen. After eating, put the leftover cheese back into the packaging, close well and place in the freezer. The day before you decide to eat it again, transfer the cheese to the refrigerator. This trick works best with soft, high-fat cheeses.

Use yogurt instead of cream

If absolutely necessary, cream can be substituted for yoghurt in dishes that do not require cooking, because yoghurt can solidify during cooking. So it is better in this case to use whole milk or at least mix yogurt with it 50-50.

Fix over-salted soup

There is nothing more offensive than oversalted soup that took hours to cook. Try adding raw potato or apple slices to absorb excess salt, simmer for 10 minutes, then remove. If the soup is still too salty, add a spoonful of sugar in it. If sugar doesn't work, you can splash in some apple cider vinegar. The last thing to try, if all else fails, is to dilute the salted soup with water or broth.

Sometimes they say: "there is not even bread", implying that this product should always be in every home. And preferably fresh. How to store bread correctly so that it does not stale, mold and retain its taste?

Method number 1 for storing bread

In the old days, it was customary to wrap bread in a linen or canvas towel, preferably a plain one, and on especially solemn occasions with a little embroidery. Our ancestors also found that if bread is wrapped in clean white paper or cloth, then drying slows down and the loaf retains its properties for up to 7 days.

Method number 2 for storing bread

It turns out that bread hardens the fastest at a temperature of + 2 ° C - that is, as much on the top shelf of the refrigerator. The fact is that fresh bread has a certain moisture content (on average about 50%), and as a result of storage, moisture evaporates from it and the bread becomes stale. Moreover, the process of evaporation of moisture from bread is most intensive at a temperature of 0-2 ° C. Therefore, it is better to store bread at room temperature or in the freezer, but not in the refrigerator.

Method number 3 for storing bread

Today many people store bread in plastic bags. But experts notice that it is undesirable to reuse them! Bread is even better stored in plastic bags with holes. This keeps it from getting stale and prevents the appearance of mold within 4-5 days. The holes can be made with a hole punch.

Method number 4 for storing bread

Another modern option is special bags, which are sold in supermarkets and utility departments of stores. They consist of three layers: top and liner made of cotton fabric, and between them - a layer of perforated polyethylene. Such bags allow you to preserve the nutrients of the bread and its freshness for a very long time.

Method number 5 for storing bread

In order to keep bread fresh for a long time, there is such an old way: you need to cut a whole loaf or a loaf of bread not from the edge, but from the middle. After dividing the loaf in half, cut off the required number of slices from the middle, and fold the remaining parts tightly with the slices to each other and store that way. Thus, the bread remains as if protected from both sides and does not stale longer.

Method number 6 for storing bread

In the freezer. Georgy Dubtsov, Doctor of Science, Professor, Head. Department of Public Catering Technology of the Moscow State University of Food Production: According to modern baking technologies, bakeries all over the world produce under-baked products: in this form, they can be stored in the refrigerator for quite a long time. And we have many chain stores and eateries bake bread, deliberately not baking it a little. It is stored as a semi-finished product and then finally baked just before being sold. This principle can be used at home as well. In a freezer at a temperature of -18 ° C, bread can be stored for up to six months. Moreover, you can freeze any type of bread: black, white, and grain. Before using it, it must be warmed up at a low temperature in the oven. However, keep in mind that after defrosting, the bread becomes stale very quickly, so it must be reheated immediately before use.

Method number 7 for storing bread

But baked goods will retain their freshness for 2-3 days if you put a raw apple with it in a saucepan.

Method number 8 for storing bread

Bread does not stale so quickly if you put a lump of sugar, a small peeled potato or a slice of apple in the bread basket - this will remove excess moisture and maintain the moisture level at the same level.

Method number 9 for storing bread

If you have baked the bread yourself, be sure to cool it completely for three hours before storing it. Chilled bread is better cut and does not crumple under the knife.

Cool the bread on a wire rack by removing it from the mold and hiding it from drafts.

Method number 10 for storing bread

It is impossible to store black and white bread together, since mixing bread yeast leads to its spoilage: the bread begins to mold. In addition, in this case, white bread acquires a specific smell of black. Therefore, place different types of bread in paper or plastic bags.

Method number 11 for storing bread

A handful of salt placed in a tightly closed bread bin will protect the bread from mold.

Method number 12 for storing bread

It is best to keep the bread in a sealed container. You can choose special bread bins for storage - for example, metal, plastic, wooden. Such containers should be sufficiently tight and have a minimum area of ​​ventilation openings, and they should also be located in a dry, bright place so that there is no mold that quickly forms in the shade.

Method number 13 for storing bread

Bread is well kept wrapped in a linen napkin in wooden bread bins. The best of them are from juniper and birch bark. But finding a juniper bread bin is not easy, and it is not cheap, although simpler options are possible using different types of wood, including in combination with juniper. Mold and fungus do not appear in birch bark bins, since birch bark is an excellent antiseptic.

Method number 14 for storing bread

To prevent the product from spoiling directly in the bread bin, you need to periodically wash and wipe it with vinegar solution and dry it well. Remove crumbs at least once a week.

Method number 15 for storing bread

Don't buy extra bread.

How to refresh stale bread. Freshness recipes

If the bread is still stale, in no case throw it away! There are ways to make it not only healthy, but also delicious.

Cut into thin slices, dry and serve as croutons. Store them in clean linen bags. Croutons can also be used for breading, making jelly, casseroles, kvass, or eaten with broth.

If a loaf or a loaf of stale bread is sprinkled with water and placed in the oven for 3-5 minutes at a temperature of 150-160 ° C, then the bread again acquires the properties of fresh.

Another way to refresh stale bread is to place a smaller pot on a stand in a large pot of water. Put bread in it, cover with a lid and keep on low heat until the smell of fresh bread appears.

If a whole loaf has become stale, you need to cut it into pieces no more than one centimeter thick. The chopped pieces must be put in a colander or sieve, they can be tied in a gauze bag, and arranged over boiling water at a height of 2-3 cm.

Hot bread does not lose its freshness for a long time if it is placed in a thermos with a wide neck. Likewise, you can "revive" stale cookies, buns and any dough products.

In addition, you can make bread - cheese - egg casserole from stale bread. It is made according to the following recipe: cut the bread into small cubes. Combine butter, eggs, salt and pepper. Beat the resulting mixture with a mixer or by hand. Lubricate the mold with oil. Put the croutons, cover with the resulting egg mixture and wait 20 minutes until soaked. Sprinkle with any grated cheese on top and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Bon Appetit!

When purchasing products with stock, we naturally strive to preserve them for as long as possible. At the same time, some can lie perfectly for several days, or even more, waiting in the wings, without losing freshness. Other products, not being provided with special conditions for safety, deteriorate rapidly. Often we do not handle products quite properly, which we do not attach importance to. The bottom line is disappointing: some of the products are no longer edible. the site will share some tricks that allow you to keep food fresh longer than hostesses usually get it.

How to keep food fresh: the best ways

Any housewife knows that in many ways, whether a dish turns out to be perfect depends on the quality and freshness of the food. Buying them right before cooking does not always work out.

Fortunately, many methods have been invented to keep food fresh for as long as possible.

It is not difficult to extend the life of a salad if it is wrapped in paper or even in ordinary newspaper: by absorbing moisture, they will protect the leaves from the spread of bacteria.

This fruit is advised to be eaten when ripe. However, there is an easy way to save the cut avocado (if part of it is eaten). Take a container, preferably a glass one, put a half or a quarter of an onion there (the vegetable must be cut) and next to it - an avocado. Close the container hermetically - the safety of the product is ensured.

These fruits, in principle, by themselves do not deteriorate for a long time and do not change their taste, aroma, and texture. However, a refrigerator will help extend this time frame to several months. To do this, you need to place the apples so that they do not come into contact with each other (you can transfer the fruits with paper). Otherwise, one fruit that starts to spoil can "infect" the rest.

To increase the safety of this product, you will need an absolutely dry glass jar (because in the presence of moisture, your efforts will lead nowhere). The greens must be cut and placed inside the jar. The texture and aroma of the product thus remain unchanged for longer.

Alternatively, a bunch of greenery can be placed like a flower bouquet in a jar of water. And if you change the water every day, the greens will be perfectly preserved for several days.

They are also classified as perishable foods. And even if you have acquired completely green fruits, they will ripen very quickly, while changing the texture. The usual cling film will help to preserve the exotic delicacy longer: you just need to wrap it around the "tails" of bananas.

For the safety of this product, you will also need a glass container. In general, honey, if it is natural, can be stored for years without losing its beneficial properties. It's all about the components of this product, which by themselves ensure its freshness, preventing the "attacks" of various microorganisms. Problems with the safety of the product can appear only if this is done fundamentally wrong. In particular, you should not put honey in the refrigerator, because under such conditions the useful sweetness crystallizes, after which it is not easy to get it out of the same jar. We also do not recommend placing honey in containers made of metal or aluminum: most likely, the taste of the product will be distorted due to oxidative processes.

Not all housewives, it turns out, make grocery purchases every day, so it is very useful to learn a little longer, to keep the freshness of the products already purchased.

Taking note of the above tricks for extending the shelf life of food products, over time you can be convinced of their effectiveness.

Modern refrigerators have truly impressive storage capabilities, but only a few of their owners are aware of this and use useful functions in everyday life. Today we will fix this annoying mistake by telling you about the capabilities of refrigerators. XXI century.

Fresh zone - food stays longer

What is the main purpose of a refrigerator? Of course food storage! And I must admit, he copes with this task perfectly. However, as in any field, refrigeration technology has its own stars, which break the records of their fellows and allow you to keep food fresh up to 10 times longer! Indeed, an amazing result. Let's figure out what kind of athletes they are and what is the secret of their success.

The main feature of such refrigerators is the presence of a freshness zone. It is a separate climatic section in which the optimum humidity level and temperature are maintained at 0 ° C. You can immediately notice that these factors are the key differences from a conventional refrigeration chamber, in which there is no possibility of regulating the humidity level, and the maintained temperature is much higher.

This technology first appeared in Liebherr refrigerators in 1996 and provided significant advantages for long-term storage of perishable food. The climatic section was named BioFresh.

Just imagine, some types of cheese placed in this compartment can stay fresh up to 10 times longer than in a conventional refrigerator. Great news for brie and parmesan lovers! 🙂

BioFresh maintains optimal conditions for long-term storage of fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and dairy products.

Tip: The freshness zone is often called zero chamber or other names in English with the word Fresh. But not all that glitters is gold. Study carefully what the manufacturer offers. In addition to the set temperature of about 0 ° C, it must be possible to maintain a certain level of humidity.

Fresh zone with a choice of temperature

In some premium refrigerators, the classic freshness zone has undergone one small but very significant change, allowing you to set a certain temperature in a given climate section. What is it for? It would seem that at zero and a certain level of humidity, many products retain their useful properties much longer than in a conventional refrigerator, and this is quite enough. In fact, this option has a significant advantage in the case of long-term storage of fresh fish and other seafood, as well as meat and tropical fruits.

For example, low humidity and a temperature of about -2 ° C are optimal for storing fish. Do you feel the difference? You get even more options for creating the most optimal storage conditions. As a result, products remain fresh for much longer, preserving their original taste, aroma and useful properties.

Super freeze and super cool

Many refrigerators have superpowers. You may have noticed the Super prefix keys on the control panel more than once, but still haven't found time to figure out their true purpose. The main task of "supercooling" and "superfreezing" is to quickly cool food.

There are several advantages at once. Firstly, the high cooling rate allows you to preserve the useful properties of the products. Secondly, you can prepare the required amount of salads and snacks in advance: they will retain their taste and cool to the required temperature before serving. Thirdly, the “super freeze” function helps to quickly cool frozen food after going to the store. In addition, food that has already been poured in receive an additional "cold reserve", so that they stay chilled longer when defrosting or cleaning the device.

It is best to use Super Chill and Super Freeze to quickly chill large quantities of food.

Dynamic cooling - PowerCooling

The freshness of food depends not only on the storage conditions in the refrigerator, but also on how quickly they were chilled after purchase. For this purpose, many devices have a built-in fan in the refrigerating chamber.

For example, some Liebherr refrigerators have a PowerCooling system, which not only allows you to quickly chill food, but also maintains an even temperature in the refrigerator compartment.

In addition, in the new generation models, an easily replaceable activated carbon filter is integrated into the fan design to ensure optimum air quality.

NoFrost

NoFrost is rightfully one of the most famous technologies in household refrigeration equipment, because it was its appearance that made it possible to forever forget about manual defrosting of the freezer. However, this is not the only advantage. Freezers with the NoFrost system have a higher freezing capacity, which allows you to cool a much larger amount of fresh food per day to negative temperatures.

As you can see, there are many ways to keep food fresh for longer. Thanks to them, you can use the full potential of the refrigerator.

If you have questions or comments, please write to us. Use the comment form below or join the community discussion

The "zone of freshness" - what is it and why is it needed

The fact that food products are better preserved at low temperatures, mankind found out long ago. This was already known to our primitive ancestors. Subsequently, artificial glaciers were invented - cellars dug in the ground, the walls of which were laid out with ice. The ice did not melt due to the fact that such a cellar was reliably protected from the sun and provided a low temperature.

When the household refrigerator was invented at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was a real revolution in food storage. Not every person (especially when it comes to a city dweller) had the opportunity to dig a cellar and fill it with ice, but putting a special device in an apartment is already quite realistic. Of course, refrigerators were constantly being improved: the design changed, they became less noisy and more economical.

Finally, the developers have come to grips with the issue of optimal temperature conditions for different product groups. The fact is that in a traditional refrigerator there are at most two climatic zones - a refrigerator and a freezer. The temperature is lower in the freezer, this compartment is intended for products with a long shelf life. Accordingly, the refrigerator compartment contains products that can be consumed literally immediately after they are taken out and placed on the table. The problem is that different food groups react differently to the same temperature. In addition, it has long been established that it is best to store them in a temperature range of about -1 to +3 ° C. This is due to the fact that at a lower temperature, the water contained in the food crystallizes and the cellular structure of meat, fish, cheese or fruit begins to break down. This leads to a deterioration in their taste, when defrosting, the food becomes more watery. Another advantage of near-freezing temperatures is that microorganisms, which have a harmful effect on food, multiply much more slowly.

Who invented the "freshness zone"

In 1996, the company's specialists proposed a new technical solution - a separate Biofresh zone. In the freezer compartment of a classic refrigerator, the temperature is maintained at a level noticeably below zero, which makes it possible to store food for a long time, but it negatively affects their taste and usefulness for the body, moreover, frozen meat or fish require long defrosting.

In the "freshness zone" products retain their taste, beneficial properties and attractive appearance better.

In the refrigerator compartment, the temperature is set at 4-8 ° C, so it is advisable to consume the products here rather quickly. In the Biofresh zone, the temperature was kept within the above-mentioned range from -1 to +3 ° C, which made it possible to increase the shelf life of products, at the same time refusing to freeze (and, as a result, from defrosting), and also made it possible to preserve their freshness.

What can be called the "zone of freshness"

In refrigerators from different manufacturers, the "freshness zone" can have completely different names. In particular, this is due to the fact that different technologies can be used to create it. As already mentioned, in Liebherr refrigerators this zone is called Biofresh. Brands call it Fresh Zone, which translates exactly as “freshness zone”. Hotpoint-Ariston uses the name Fresh Box, while the name Natura Fresh can be seen in the description of household appliances. The developers of refrigerators use the term Flex Cool, the models call this zone Vita Fresh, and the owners of household appliances know this zone as Zero'N'Fresh, which hints at zero temperature (zero in English means “zero”) and reminds us of something else The Russian-language name for this department is "zero zone".

It should be borne in mind that not all manufacturers equip their refrigerators with a "freshness zone". On the domestic market, it is equipped with about 20-25% of household appliances intended for storing food. For example, it is almost impossible to find a Russian or Belarusian refrigerator with a "zero zone". It is also absent in many economy class models.

Where is the "freshness zone"

The real "freshness zone" is a compartment with an independent cooling system. In a number of economy class refrigerators, this name refers to a separate box located in the coldest place - closer to the freezer or evaporator, but this is, rather, not a "zero zone", but simply the coldest compartment. The temperature in it does not always correspond to the range from -1 to +3 ° C.

Refrigerators Siemens, Electrolux and with a "freshness zone" located between the refrigerator and freezer compartments

In a number of models, the "freshness zone" is completely independent of the refrigerator and freezer compartments, it is usually located between them and has its own door. In two-compartment refrigerators, it is located in the refrigerator compartment and borders the freezer. Manufacturers such as Liebherr or, have released several models that provide the ability to switch the entire refrigerator compartment to "zero zone" mode.

How does the "freshness zone" work?

In inexpensive models, in which the "zero zone" is simply a storage box located near the freezer or evaporator, cooling occurs due to the proximity to the low temperature zone. No special devices for temperature control are provided here, and in reality the thermometer readings may not correspond to the necessary ones, showing us fluctuations from -3 to +4 ° C. We can find such a budget "freshness zone", for example, in the models of the Indesit company.

In Siemens refrigerators, you can find a "zero zone", which is cooled by the flow of cold air from the freezer. For this, a special channel is provided through which air enters the "zero zone" from the freezer.

Manufacturers such as AEG, Gaggenau, Siemens, Liebherr offer customers refrigerators with a more sophisticated and well-thought-out design of the "freshness zone". Usually it is equipped with an independent evaporator, which is not connected in any way with the cooling systems in other compartments. A fan can be installed in the "zero zone" to ensure an even distribution of cold air. A special temperature sensor sensitively monitors the temperature and regulates the operating mode of the evaporator so that the temperature does not go beyond the required range. In some models (for example, in LG refrigerators equipped with Miracle Zone technology), it is possible to adjust the temperature in the "freshness zone" from the control panel.

Wet and dry "freshness zones": what is the difference

Different groups of products during storage require not only different temperature conditions, they also want different moisture indicators. Thus, products of plant origin (fruits, vegetables, herbs) are better stored at high humidity, while meat or fish, on the contrary, require lower humidity.

If there is only one "zero zone" in a modern refrigerator, then by default it is the "dry freshness zone". This means that it maintains a temperature slightly below zero, and the humidity is set at 50-55%. In such a microclimate, packaged meat and fish can be stored for up to a week, ham - for at least two weeks, and cheese is able to retain its freshness and excellent taste even longer.

Now in many refrigerators there are two zones: the "dry freshness zone" and the "wet freshness zone". In the zone designated for plant products, the temperature is kept slightly above zero, and the humidity can reach 90-95%. Under these conditions, fruits, berries, fresh herbs do not wither and do not dry for a very long time, even when it comes to such capricious products as, for example, raspberries.

In a modern refrigerator, the "freshness zone" can be divided into several compartments

In the "zone of wet freshness" apples and pears do not lose their taste or attractive appearance for two to three months, tomatoes remain beautiful and juicy for up to ten days, berries are stored quietly for at least a week. Fresh greens do not turn yellow, do not dry, retain their taste and useful properties for two weeks, or even more.

Usually in a refrigerator with two "freshness zones" a compartment with its own door is provided for them, independent of the freezing and refrigerating chambers, but inside it is divided into two boxes - for "dry freshness" and for "wet freshness", respectively. Some manufacturers have gone further and increased the number of boxes to three: a "dry freshness zone" for meat, fish and cheese, a "wet freshness" zone for plant products that are planned to be eaten in the near future, and an additional "wet zero zone" for fruits. vegetables and herbs that will be stored for some time.

Are there any disadvantages to the "zone of freshness"

The "freshness zone" has no obvious drawbacks, but its presence naturally affects the entire refrigerator as a whole. It should be borne in mind that a person who prefers to eat semi-finished products, the "zero zone" is not particularly important, so when choosing a refrigerator, you can ignore its absence.

Natura Fresh zone in the Electrolux refrigerator

The "freshness zone" usually makes the refrigerator a little more expensive. First of all, this concerns expensive models and equipment of the middle price category, in which this zone is a separate chamber that needs an independent cooling system. How much the cost increases, it is impossible to say unequivocally, it depends on the specific model of the refrigerator, but in some cases the price increase can reach 20-25%. In inexpensive refrigerators, the presence of a "zero zone" may not have such a significant effect on the cost, but it was already mentioned above that this zone is not quite real, but only close in its performance to the real Fresh Zone or Vita Fresh of eminent manufacturers.

An important feature of refrigerators with a "freshness zone" is that, due to the design features, there are usually no shelves and cells in the door opposite such a zone.

In the "zone of dry freshness" such an effect as freezing of a thin crust of ice on the surface of the product can be observed. In fact, this is not scary, since freezing inside does not occur and the quality of meat, poultry or fish does not deteriorate in any way. It is advisable to pack food tightly so that an ice crust forms only on the package, because when it melts, the surface of the product may suffer from excess moisture.