Your method definitely works with jams and preserves, though!
Depends what it is. That method will work for some stuff but (from my own experience) if you stick something hot in a container, put the lid on and put it straight in the fridge, the condensation that forms on the inside of the lid then drips down on the food inside making it soggy (or diluted).
True, true. I guess it is OK for sauces (e.g. curries, caseroles etc.), although the liquid came from the original food item, so once reheated should be ok. No?
"-some lentils that were opened since few weeks - and even stored inside a glass sealed container - developed in early autumn some black very small insects! my mam she said no to worry, it is because they are organic so they don't last "so" long but I always bought organic lentil in England too..
-I have started the second morning of the new year enthusiastically making myself a fresh squeezed orange juice - it tasted off, I had to spit it away. In effect the oranges were slightly softy but not close to be mouldy.. they were bought only two days before!
-my minestrone soup made yesterday evening with fresh - and just bought - veggies, stored in the fridge straight after it cooled down, today at lunch tastes funny..
What do I do wrong? "
Another thing you have to remember is how much food is imported here to Switzerland. And, how it normally makes one stop, atleast in an european country, is inspected and such, before it gets here. I haven't seen any orange trees growing here so far...
I have found in a bag of oranges, every time, that there is no gaurantee if you eat one, that they all are going to taste the same. Remember fruits and vegetables that are shipped from places like Chile and South Africa are normally picked green. And because of their exposure to the sun, they keep "warming", and that's why your fruit or veggies look the color they are supposed to when they get to you. But the process of breaking down begins after it is picked. So while it changes the right color, it's structure is diminishing. So if it is good at the store, eat it ASAP.
Another thing is they are still living. Like a bottle of wine. Do not store frehs veg and fruits where they can't breathe. Airy containers in the fridge. Or if you have a dark cellar, or a closet with the least light as possible. In France they age apples and potatoes all winter long. The potatoes get better, and the apples more rich, but they are still a bit crunchy. The potatoes are in the dark, cool, airy place. The apples are on elevated wood planks with space in between each other, also in dark, cool, airy places.
With cooked foods, never put them still hot directly into the fridge. They warm/bring down the temperature of the fridge, and affect the preservation of all else in the fridge. Also, NEVER plastic wrap, foil wrap, seal in a tupperware container anything that is still hot or steaming that is going to be stored. Transport ok; storage no. What it does is continues to heat, and can cause your food to spoil very quickly, even with in a day in some cases. If you must put it into the fridge, plastic wrap it, and cut several little holes with a sharp knife, poke it, to let the steam breathe out and allow it too cool down more rapidly. In restaurants there are all sorts of devices, like frozen plastic rods, to rapidly cool down soups, sauces and the like. Because if it sits in a certain temperature zone for too long, bacteria can form, and then cause spoilage, or worse-salmonilla.
When you open cans, make sure the product doesn't rest inside the can, even covered in the fridge. The sides where the product has touched it, above the main product below will rapidly mold. Take it out of it's original container and transfer to a plastic or glass covered one. Air tight is better. But it shouldn't be kept for more then 4 days. Your fridge is probably opened and closed alot. The heat getting in and out will affect anything that has been opened, or anything really at all.
Another thing is the air here. For people baking in the states, there are directions for those baking in high altitudes and those on sea level. I don't know how this affects food storage, but I gaurantee the amount of oxygen in the air does, humidity, flying microscopic cow feces(really-I read a report on it), there happens to be alot of that concentrated between the mountains here.
You will notice that the food grown here, stores here better.
Yep, I reckon. Would be crap for pies, though...
Plenty of very useful advices! thanks
Did I forget to thank anyone?
Confloozed, I already try to buy only local veggies and fruits, and now I will do even more, but as you say, there are not oranges -and many other "essential" fruits and veggies - growing here, so i'll pick the ones from italy or spain.. but thanks a lot for all the very useful info and advices!
I think too that the air makes a difference.. that is a very good point. That's why I've asked here, because I know there are plenty of websites informing you how to properly store food, but I needed a "local" view..