The other day I learned this term known in the food
technology world as the "chilling injury." To me, this
term means too cold of whether causes physical damage, as
is evidenced by my frostbitten toes from a cold winter's
night last year. But that is another story. This type of
"chilling injury" is actually a type of food damage caused
when food is incorrectly stored in the fridge at a
temperature that decreases the nutrient value, appearance,
or quality of the food. Surprisingly, there are many foods
that actually store better outside of the refrigerator.
There are also foods that should be stored in cool
environments but need to be tightly covered. Then there
are the foods that should be frozen and then allowed to
properly thaw in the fridge.
Have you ever cooked or eaten a potato that has been stored
in the refrigerator? If you have, you may have noticed a
sweeter taste to it. Potatoes are meant to be stored at a
temperature of 42°F and the typical fridge is set at
about 40°F. By storing potatoes in your fridge, you
are actually causing the starches to break down into
sweeter sugar molecules. This means that if you cut a
refrigerated potato into slices and try to make fries, the
sugar will cause your fries to turn black. Other foods
that are better when not refrigerated include bananas,
tomatoes that are not ripe, cucumbers, melons and oranges.
Too cold of temperatures can actually speed the decay
process for cucumbers and fresh green beans and cause brown
pits in the cucumbers, melons and oranges. Other symptoms
of chilling injury include surface and internal
discoloration, uneven ripening or failure to ripen, and
surface mold and decay.
As everyone knows, leftover cooked meals should also go
into the refrigerator. But make sure to tightly cover
them. Some foods, such as onions, fish and Chinese food
have a known tendency for flavoring all the nearby foods.
Transferring of strong odors is a big concern for many.
Dairy is known for its ability to absorb the scents from
its environment. So unless you want your milk to taste
like orange chicken or sautéed onion, make sure to
tightly cover that Chinese food. Or if you don't want your
cheese to take on a salmon tint, be sure to wrap up that
filet. There are also some foods that should not be stored
near each other. On many fridges, there are drawers
labeled "produce." All of your produce should not be
placed in this drawer. It is generally a bad idea to place
citrus fruits and other fruits in the same drawer as well.
If you store your apples and lemons in the same drawer, do
not be surprised when bite into your apple and taste a
little bit of a sour sensation.
In addition to not storing foods susceptible to the
chilling injury in the fridge and tightly wrapping foods
that have a high tendency for flavor transference, food
should also be thawed correctly in the fridge.
Thanksgiving is not very far away and it is important to
remember that thawing the turkey the best way, in the
refrigerator, is the surest way to promote a high quality,
safe turkey, even though it takes the longest time out of
all the thawing methods. Remember not to thaw your
Thanksgiving turkey on the counter. According to Nutrition
Food Science Professor Karin Allen, at Utah State
University, "Room temperature thawing is a pretty slow
method for thawing, so you may think it preserves the
food's quality, but room temperature is the exact
environment bacteria need to settle and reproduce. And this
thawing method is absolutely unacceptable."
The refrigerator is a wonderful asset in today's society,
if you ask me. We can keep the majority of our foods fresh
by storing them in the fridge. It is a convenient method
of storage and one of the safest for the majority of foods.
And remember, nobody would like to sustain a "chilling
injury," so get those potatoes out of your fridge today and
do not make them endure another cold minute—I know I
certainly would not want to!
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Courtney Lewis is the proud manager of Sweetly You. Send a
customized bath and body gift to a friend today at
http://www.sweetlyyou.com/giftsets.php
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