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How many salad dressings are enough?
Not to pick on my mom or my mother-in-law, but they both have an odd habit of collecting salad dressing in their refrigerators. The salad dressings may start out neatly lined up on the refrigerator’s door, but they somehow end up in the back of the main shelves never to see the light of day before they become expired. With a quick inventory of my refrigerator, I count two dressings. That is reasonable. If you’d like the choice of six to ten dressings, go to a restaurant. Stocking your fridge full of dressing is overkill.
It doesn’t take a lot of time to take inventory of your food supply. You may be a bit embarrassed when you find out how much you actually have in you fridge, but there is an easy way to curb your inventory. Stop buying more dressing. (Heck, make your own.) Before you head to the grocery store take stock of what you need and make a list. If you have more than one dressing per household occupant, then you most likely don’t need any more. So when you head out to buy groceries skip the salad dressing aisle unless you need more Ranch, of course.
I guess taking aim at salad dressings isn’t fair. I’m sure there are any number of groceries that can be over purchased in this country in over abundance. The main thing to take from this post is to make a shopping list when heading to the grocery store. Making a list and sticking to it will help curb your appetite for more food.
Popularity: 14% [?]
An unconventional way to keep your refrigerator uncluttered
While I was doing research for Uncluttering your refrigerator’s crisper, I found a number of useful (and impractical) devices to help with maintaining order in the kitchen. One of them made me laugh aloud, and I thought you might enjoy it, too. (via Gizmodo)
Knowing that all of my house guests could see inside my refrigerator would certainly pressure me into keeping it in uncluttered state. Yikes!!
Popularity: 10% [?]
Uncluttering your refrigerator’s crisper
We joke in our home that the refrigerator’s crisper drawer should really be called the molding drawer. It seems to be the place where fruits and vegetables go to rot. We put things in, forget about them, and then find them weeks later covered in a green goo. Also, when you put fruits and vegetables in the drawer, all of the healthiest items in the refrigerator are instantly out of sight. Only the pizza leftovers and soda pop are right at eye-level.
A number of months ago, I started to wonder about my refrigerator and if the crisper drawer should even be used at all. I then went on a quest to learn about the fruits and vegetables in my refrigerator and the best ways to store them. The information I found was enlightening:
Apples: According to the Purdue Horticulture Dept., apples are best stored in plastic bags with air holes in a 30-32˚F refrigerator. They recommend putting them on shelves instead of the crisper drawer to permit proper circulation and humidity. Do not freeze.
Bananas: From Chiquita Banana, “To slow the ripening process once bananas reach your preferred ripeness, put them in the refrigerator. Even though our original jingle warned consumers not to refrigerate bananas, it’s really OK. The skin may turn dark, but the fruit will be just right for several days.” (It doesn’t say anything about them having to be stored in the crisper drawer.)
Corn: Being from a family of corn growers, I know this one without having to reference anything. In husk, use it the day you buy it. If you’re not going to use it that same day, remove the husk, vacuum seal it, and store it in the freezer.
Bell peppers: According to the Texas Produce Association, bell peppers can handle short-term storage for seven days or less at 45-50 degrees with 85-95 percent humidity. If you store a pepper below 42 degrees it will suffer from chill injury. (Which means that I need to use peppers the day I buy them. My refrigerator sits below 42 degrees.) Additionally, don’t store next to apples because of a chemical reaction.
Tomatoes: According to the Penn State Agriculture Dept., tomatoes should be stored in an aerated basket on your counter, out of direct sunlight. Putting them in the refrigerator will cause them to lose their aroma and flavor.
Potatoes: According to the Delicious Organic website, “Because their starch turns to sugar in the refrigerator, they should be kept in a dark, dry, cool area like a cellar or a brown bag. However, out of sight, out of mind, and our south Florida temperatures cause them to sprout too quickly and we don’t have cellars so what to do? Store them in the refrigerator but let them come to room temperature for a day (take them out in the morning) so that their sugar can return to starch.”
Herbs and lettuce: According to the Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension, “Lettuce should be rinsed under cold running water, drained, packaged in plastic bags, and refrigerated.” The refrigerator should be at least 40˚F or lower, and you should eat the greens within a week. Do not freeze.
Onions: According to the Foodservice Guide, “Store your onions in a cool, dry ventilated place–not in the refrigerator. Lack of air movement reduces storage life. Chopped or sliced onions can be stored in a sealed container in your refrigerator for up to 7 days.” Do not freeze.
After looking at all of the research, I couldn’t find a single reason to keep my crisper. So, my refrigerator is now crisper-drawer free. I’ve pulled out the drawers and have deep shelves where they used to be. Rotten food is the epitome of clutter, so hopefully I’m starting out the year on the right foot with my refrigerator’s organization.
Additionally, if you want to read more about uncluttering your refrigerator, check out Serious Eats’ post on How to unclutter your winter fridge.
Popularity: 45% [?]
Last night I played freezer Tetris
After narrowly escaping a smashed toe by a falling item from my freezer, I decided to stack the items in our freezer a bit more compactly. Day in and day out the items in one’s freezer become rearranged by family members and they tend to take on a different shape. This leads items to being stacked on uneven surfaces and the slick frozen surfaces also tend to make them more likely to slide out and crush your toes.
In a what turned out to be less than two minutes, I rearranged my freezer’s contents into an amazingly tight and compact block. I envisioned the items as Tetris blocks and made them fit accordingly.
So, rather than slamming the freezer door shut just before that microwave meal slides out onto the floor, take the two minutes to rearrange your frozen foods. Why leave a booby trap set for the next person opening your freezer door? That next person could be you again.
FYI - Tetris also helped Homer pack his car.
Popularity: 5% [?]
