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Apples
- Apples keep well for about six months at temperatures between
freezing and 45° F. A styrofoam chest or a double cardboard box in a cool mud room or
cellar can approximate root-cellar conditions. Remember to give them an occasional change
of air.
- Apple cider may be frozen after first pouring off a small amount to
allow for expansion.
Batteries, candles, film, soap, and similar items
- Store in a cool and dry place.
- Film may be refrigerated or kept in a freezer; store in the plastic
container that it comes in. Let warm to room temperature before using.
- Candles will burn longer if stored for one year before usage.
- Soap will last longer if stored for one year before usage; keep in
linen closet for fresh smell.
Beans, dry
- Store in a moisture-proof, air-tight container. Beans will stale and
toughen over time even when stored properly.
Berries
- Never rinse before storage. It washes off the thin, protective
epidermal layer.
- Store them in a cool, dry place.
- Refrigeration promotes mold as a result of condensation on their
surface.
Cake
- If you store half and apple in the container which you are storing a
cake, the cake will retain its freshness.
Cheese
- Store tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.
- Ripened cheeses (Parmesan, Cheddar, Swiss, Blue, Brie, etc.) will
keep longer than unripened varieties (Cottage, Cream, Fresh Ricotta, etc.).
- Cheese may be frozen, but some cheeses will crumble upon thawing.
- Store cottage cheese upside down in refrigerator. It slows the
effects of oxidation.
Coffee
- Store ground coffee in a tightly covered container in the
refrigerator.
- Whole coffee beans will keep for 4 to 5 weeks at room temperature, or
freeze them for up to 6 months.
- Ground coffee may be frozen for 5 to 6 weeks.
Cut flowers
- Keep them in a cool spot in water conditioned with packaged floral
preservative or a homemade treatment of 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice or
vinegar per quart of water.
- Cut flowers will last longer if their stems are cut at an angle with
a sharp blade, either underwater or seconds before being plunged into water. The water
should be warmish, never icy.
Drugs and remedies
- Drugs and remedies should be kept cool and dry.
- Warm, steamy bathrooms are the worst place to keep them.
- A cabinet in the hallway would be better.
Eggs
- All eggs must be refrigerated.
- Eggs with cracked shells should be discarded.
- Because raw eggs are sensitive to temperature variation and movement,
the egg holder on the door of your refrigerator will encourage spoilage.
- They will keep up to 5 weeks refrigerated in their original carton.
Eggs that are hard boiled and left in the shell can be stored for 8 to 10 days.
- Egg whites should be stored in a covered container, egg yolks must be
submerged in water in a covered container. Both will keep for 2 to 4 days.
- Do not freeze eggs in the shell. To freeze, they must be broken open
and placed in a freezer container to which 1/8 teaspoon salt or 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar have
been added for each 2 whole eggs or 4 egg yolks. Be sure to note both the number of eggs
and what was added.
- Thaw frozen eggs overnight in the refrigerator and use immediately.
Fish and live shellfish
- Store shellfish such as clams, mussels, and oysters in cool,
well-ventilated boxes, not in airtight plastic bags or containers.
- Store fish on ice, briefly.
Grains and flours
- Keep dry ingredients dry and cool in an airtight, moisture-tight
container.
- Prevent vermin or insects from hatching in flour (or grains) by
freezing for a few hours before storage. This kills any bug eggs in the flour.
Herbs, fresh
- Dill and parsley will keep for about 2 weeks with stems immersed in a
glass of water tented with a plastic bag.
- Most other fresh herbs (and greens) will keep for short periods
unwashed and refrigerated in tightly sealed plastic bags with just enough moisture to
prevent wilting.
- For longer storage, use moisture- and gas-permeable paper and
cellophane. Plastic cuts off oxygen to the plants and promotes spoilage.
Mushrooms
- Remove plastic wrapping and keep then in the refrigerator in a paper
bag. The bag absorbs some of the moisture and keeps the mushrooms from spoiling.
Onions and garlic
- Mature, dry-skinned bulbs like it cool and dry -- so don't store them
with apples or potatoes.
- French-braided onions and garlic are hardy and need some ventilation
as well.
Photographs
- Store them in a cool, dry spot, enclosed in acid-free paper. The acid
in regular paper, as well as heat and humidity, will eat away at your treasures.
Potatoes, beets, carrots, and other root crops
- Brush them clean of any clinging soil (but do not wash) and store in
a cool, dark place.
- Never refrigerate potatoes -- it will turn their starch into sugar.
- Put an apple in with your potatoes -- the apple gives off an ethylene
gas that will keep the potatoes from spoiling quickly.
- Clipping the tops of parsnip, carrots, beets, and turnips will keep
then fresher longer.
Pumpkins and winter squash
- Squashes don't like to be quite as cool as root crops do. If you have
a cool bedroom, stashing them under the bed works well.
- They like a temperature of about 50° to 65°F.
Spices and dried herbs
- Store in a cool, and dry place, not above the stove or right next to
the burners where heat and steam will cause then to lose flavor dramatically.
- They can be frozen to keep longer.
Sugar
- All sugar should be kept in air-tight containers.
- Granulated sugar will harden when exposed to moisture.
- Brown sugar will harden when exposed to air.
- Try storing brown sugar with a slice of bread to keep it moist.
- Brown sugar may be frozen for extended storage.
Tea
- Tea, whether as loose or in bags, should be stored in a tightly
sealed container to reduce staling and loss of flavor.
Tomatoes and other tropicals
- Store at cool room temperature out of direct sunlight.
- Never refrigerate fresh tomatoes. It ruins their flavor and texture
at once.
- Tropical fruits do not keep well in the cold.
- Store bananas, avocados, and citric fruits, as well as pineapples,
melons, eggplants, cucumbers, peppers, and beans at about 50°F if possible.
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