Fresh dates
Storing fresh dates is as comfortable as possible in a cold place. They cannot be kept warm for a long time. And even more so - under the influence of sunlight, where they deteriorate in just a few hours.
You can store fresh dates in the refrigerator (at a temperature of + 5 ° C) within 2 weeks. But if the temperature is lower (+ 1 ° С), and the air humidity is 50%, the shelf life of fresh dates can be increased.
- The fruits are carefully examined in order to notice in time those of them that have begun to rot. One such date can destroy all stocks.
- Fresh dates should not be washed before storing them. Destruction of the protective film of the fetus leads to its rapid destruction.
- To store fresh dates as efficiently as possible, they are kept in a tightly closed food container.
- Dates that are in a sealed glass container or paper bag also retain their original quality for a long time.
- The optimum storage temperature for dates is 0 - +2 ° С. Therefore, they “feel” well in the freshness zone of the refrigerator, located not far from the freezer.
- A high-quality fresh fruit can retain its properties for up to 2 months. And a longer saving of dates is contraindicated: they will begin to rot.
You can also store dates in a processed form. They make good jam, jam, marinades. And it is not necessary to keep them in a cold place. Even in warmth, they will last for a long time.
Product benefits
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Popularity around the world has appeared due to the presence in the fruits of a huge amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Due to the calorie content of the product, it can become an alternative to the main lunch dish. There are many old legends that dates saved more than one life during the sieges of Muslim cities, when there was no food at all. It's good that this plant is picky, so it grew almost everywhere. People consumed dates and water for a very long time, thus saving themselves from hunger. In addition to them, there are scientific facts that prove the benefits of the fetus. Therefore, before you study the storage conditions for dates, you need to find out about their benefits in order to understand whether you really need to consume this product.
They are able to influence the work of the heart. This is especially noticeable with long-term, but normal consumption. The heartbeat returns to normal, and the blood pressure becomes optimal.
The amount of fructose in the product is abundant, so it has a primary effect on the brain. Good for memory, improves performance.
They are often used by the people as a means to boost the immune system.
Also, due to the sweetness, dates make people move more, smile, work and create.
It is impossible not to say about the positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract. A number of studies confirm that the fruit can be used as a medicine for various stomach problems.
What happens to cereals over time
Regardless of the variety, rice contains starch. During long-term storage, the grains are saturated with moisture, which leads to spoilage of the product. The high moisture content creates favorable conditions for the formation of mold fungi, after which it is strictly forbidden to eat such a product even after heat treatment.
How to tell if rice is good for eating
When buying cereals in a store, choose goods in transparent packaging - this way you can visually assess the quality and appearance of the grain, the presence of impurities. Rice of the highest grade of domestic suppliers or a foreign product from trusted and well-known manufacturers is preferable.
Pay attention to its appearance and smell before using rice grits for cooking. A good quality product has no foreign odor, the grains are intact, without black blotches and foreign impurities, insects
The musty smell, the presence of a large number of yellow grains in the cereal, the formation of lumps indicates that the rice is of poor quality, expired, so it cannot be eaten.
There are other ways to determine the quality of rice cereals at home:
- Pour 1 tbsp into a container with cold water. l. dry rice, mix. The grains should settle to the bottom. If they surfaced, this suggests that rice contains substances harmful to the human body, it is better to refuse it.
- If you set fire to plastic rice, it will immediately catch fire and smell like burnt plastic. Real high-quality groats are difficult to ignite.
- Grind several grains of rice in a mortar: white powder - a sign of high quality, yellow - indicates fake rice from China.
- If you put an airtight container with cereals in a warm place, mold should appear in the rice after a few days. If this does not happen, you have a low-quality product.
Can I use expired food
According to the established sanitary and epidemiological requirements, it is not recommended to use expired products, including rice. However, as practice shows, it is allowed to use cereals after the regulated expiration date, if the grains have retained their proper appearance, do not have any foreign smell, mold, or insects. But you can use such rice if the shelf life has expired recently. When several years have passed from the final date of use, cereals cannot be consumed.
Home storage methods
There are a variety of ways to preserve dates.
Fridge
One of the most suitable places for storing a product is the refrigerator. The fruits should be placed in glass jars. It is also acceptable to use plastic containers. The prepared product should be placed in the refrigerator. In such conditions, fruits can lie for several months. At the same time, their taste and benefits will be preserved. The temperature regime should be 0 ... + 5 degrees.
Freezing
Freezing is allowed fresh and dried fruits. To do this, it is recommended to place them in a plastic container or pack them in bags. At the same time, you should not wash the dates. In this form, fruits can lie for 5 years and retain the main amount of nutrients.
Fresh
When buying fruits in a cardboard box, it is permissible to put them in the refrigerator in it. If the fruits were purchased in a different container, they can be transferred to a paper bag. The best option for storing dates is a shelf under the freezer. The temperature regime in this compartment should be 0 degrees.
Fresh fruit should be washed before eating. This is due to the fact that today fruits are often treated with harmful chemicals to increase shelf life. If there is a white coating on the surface of the fruit or they exude an unpleasant odor, the product will have to be thrown away.
Pressed
It is permissible to keep pressed dates in room conditions, since they have been subjected to a special treatment - pasteurization. To avoid drying out the products, they are wrapped in paper. You can also use a plastic bag. It is undesirable to keep dates in the light. It is recommended to put them in a dark and cool place. The shelf life of the product can be seen on the packaging. It retains its freshness for a long time. However, experts advise eating such dates within 1 year.
Dried
To preserve dried fruits, you should follow these steps:
- Place dried fruits in a glass jar or plastic container with a tight lid.Thanks to this, they will not be weathered, absorb foreign odors or be attacked by insects.
- Place the container in the refrigerator. It is worth choosing a compartment with a temperature of 0 degrees.
- It is not recommended to mix dates with other fruits. Each variety has its own moisture parameters. Such a neighborhood will lead to damage to the fruit.
- Do not wash dried fruits before storing them. This will cause the protective oily layer to be removed. Such fruits will quickly deteriorate.
- Rinse dates in hot water before consuming them. This will help remove pathogens from their surface.
Rule # 7. Use salt
How to store dried fruits in a kitchen cabinet? Many housewives prefer to keep supplies always at hand, rather than taking them out of the attic or pantry every time. It should be remembered that storing fruits and berries in a room with high humidity is not the best option. Steam from saucepans and splashing water from the sink can damage dried food. This can be avoided by using the usual table salt. Just put the salt shaker in the closet next to the jars and bags of your supplies - and you can be sure nothing will happen to them.
Remember that dried fruits, like any food, have their own expiration date. Store raisins, dried apricots, dates and dried berries for no more than one year. Do not make large stocks, otherwise after twelve months you will have to get rid of numerous jars and bags. Purchase fruits and berries as needed, process on time and use for their intended purpose.
Knowing how to properly store dried fruits at home, you can always make useful supplies for yourself and your loved ones. Let your favorite dishes delight with all shades of tastes!
Recipes
There are many effective recipes based on maklura, each of which has certain characteristics.
Tincture for alcohol
Fruit tinctures are very popular, which combine high performance and ease of use. You can buy the tincture ready-made or do it yourself. To obtain a remedy, it is recommended to follow these steps:
- Wash the fruit under running water. Then it is recommended to cut them into cubes or chop them with a medium grater.
- Take a medium-sized container and fill it up to the middle with chopped fruits.
- Add the same volume of ethyl alcohol to the dish.
- Cover the container with a lid.
- Place the dishes in a cool and dark place for 2-6 months.
The finished tincture should be used for rubbing. It is actively used for arthritis, radiculitis, rheumatism. For internal use, it is worth following a certain scheme.
In this case, it is recommended to follow the following rules:
- Start the course of therapy with 2 drops. They should be used 3 times a day.
- It is not worth taking the composition in its pure form. Even a few drops must be mixed with the same volume of water.
- After starting to use the substance, it is worth monitoring your condition. In the absence of side effects, the amount of tincture is increased by 2 drops every 2 days. The maximum volume is 30 drops.
- After that, it is necessary, with an interval of 2 days, to reduce the volume of the substance by 2 drops and return to the original dosage.
- Then take a break for 1 week and repeat the course of therapy again.
Fat-alcohol mixture
Alcohol has a disinfectant effect, but it can burn the skin. Therefore, for compresses and rubbing, it is worth using a more delicate composition. To do this, it is recommended to mix olive oil in equal parts with the tincture and beat slightly so that the substance does not delaminate. Instead of olive oil, you can use corn or sunflower oil.
It should be borne in mind that the oil-alcohol composition has a too liquid consistency. A thicker mixture is made with the addition of pork fat. It absorbs well into the skin.To prepare a healing composition, the inner pork fat should be cut into small cubes and heated in a steam bath in 2-3 doses.
It is important that the composition melts, but does not boil. The lard must be drained, cooled to room temperature and mixed in equal proportions with maclura tincture
The resulting composition must be whipped.
Ointment
This composition has a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect. To prepare it, it is recommended to follow these steps:
Melt fresh bacon and place in sterile glass jars
It is important that the thickness of this layer is 1 centimeter.
Put the same layer of crushed Adam's apple on top.
Pour a centimeter layer of melted lard and put the maklura again. Thus, it is recommended to fill the entire jar in stages.
Cover the container with a lid and place in the oven at the lowest temperature.
It is recommended to ensure that the lard does not boil, but is kept in a liquid state.
The container with the substance should stand in the oven for a day.
Then the composition is recommended to be carefully filtered and poured into a clean bowl. Store the ointment in the freezer.
When preparing the oil, it is worth adding other ingredients to it that improve the properties. For this, chamomile extract, palm oil, glycerin are suitable. Eucalyptus oil or alanine is also used. The composition can be used for sinusitis, gout, osteochondrosis. Also, the indications include inflammatory lesions of the lymph nodes, radiculitis, eczema, dermatological pathologies. The ointment is applied 2 times a day. The course of therapy lasts 1 month, then it is worth interrupting for the same period.
Compresses
To make a compress, it is enough to moisten gauze in tincture, squeeze slightly and apply to the affected joint. Then it should be wrapped in a scarf and kept for 30 minutes.
Trituration
This procedure is performed for arthritis. To do this, the tincture is actively rubbed into the joint, after which a warming bandage is applied.
Fresh fruits
Many housewives do not know where to store dates. Fresh fruits can be stored in the refrigerator at 0 ° C, after folding them in a paper bag. The ideal place for fruit in the refrigerator is the shelf closest to the freezer compartment.
Over time, the fruit begins to deteriorate. One rotten fruit can spoil the rest. To prevent this from happening, regularly check the fruit, remove the rotten ones. If you managed to purchase a product of excellent quality, it can safely spend two months or more in the refrigerator without losing its beneficial properties.
Fresh dates can rot over time
What can be done if the fruit starts to deteriorate
If the apricots put in storage have the first signs of spoilage, then you should immediately sort out the entire crop. In no case should fruits that have defects be stored along with good ones.
Spoiled fruits can be frozen or processed into delicious treats:
- jam;
- jam;
- paste.
If the hostess does not have time for preparations at all, then you can pick up an original recipe from the "Five Minute" series. Overripe apricots are even better for jam. The basic rule for cooking is that sugar is exactly the same by weight as fruit. Sorted and washed fruits are covered with the required amount of granulated sugar and left for several hours to extract juice. After that, they are sent to the stove, brought to a boil and kept for 5 minutes. The resulting mass is cooled and the procedure is repeated, and then sent to jars and canned.
How to prepare for storage
If any dried fruits have traces of the presence of pests, wormholes or rotten areas, such dried fruits are thrown away without regret, as they will cause the destruction of all other fruits.
- Storage of dried fruits is possible only when they are completely dried. Residual moisture will lead to mold and decay of dried fruit.But you can't dry them out either - then they will have a bitter taste.
- According to all the rules, dried fruits and berries lose 75% - 85% moisture.
- If the dried fruits have a higher percentage of moisture than necessary, they are dried first on the street (1 day), and then in the oven at + 60 ° С - + 75 ° С for at least 1 hour.
Where to buy dates
I share my personal experience. Through trial and error, I realized that quality, fresh and really healthy dates can be found in three places:
- In Islamic halal shops. Muslims are scrupulous about the quality of the products they sell, they do not have untested goods. Even if there is something wrong with the dates, the seller will go to a meeting, change the product or return the money.
- In eco-products stores. They specialize in organic, natural products. Therefore, the likelihood of getting low-quality expired dates drops to zero.
- Wholesale street markets. There are separate tents with various dried fruits that you can touch, taste and only then buy. But you yourself need to understand well and be able to choose dates. Because market traders often embellish, lie about their products.
I have never been able to buy soft, fresh, tasty dates in chain stores such as Magnet, Lenta, Pyaterochka or Monetka. Perhaps you will be lucky. But I will not risk any more.
The richness and sweetness of dates depends on the variety. My favorite is "Caspian" or "Caspiran" from Iran. Fleshy, softest, juicy dates, arranged in neat rows in a cardboard box. The bone is easily separated from them, and the most delicate texture melts in the mouth. Ideal for making natural sweets, smoothies, fruit pastes. And the most delicious combination is dates + milk.
The most delicious variety is "Caspian" or "Kaspiran", sometimes they simply write "Paradise dates"
How not to be mistaken with a choice
The time during which a healthy delicacy does not deteriorate largely depends on its initial state. How to choose the right exotic product?
- Assess the condition and color of the skin. It should be moderately wrinkled and even in color. Dark spots, cracks and whitish deposits are indicators of spoiled goods.
- Touch the skin with your fingers. If it is smooth and matte, the product is of high quality. If it is shiny and sticky, it was boiled in sugar syrup, and there is no need to count on the goodies for a long shelf life.
- Bring the fruit to your nose. Do you smell fermented jam? The dates were poorly dried, and they, lying in the warehouse, managed to turn sour.
Before you taste the date, wash it with warm water and break it in two. Inside the fruit, sometimes worms or moves made by them come across. Unpleasant "surprises" are especially common in pitted dried fruits.
Rule # 1. Temperature regime
Store raisins, dates and dried apricots at home at a temperature no higher than 15 ° C and a humidity of no more than 70%. Periodic temperature rise up to 20 ° C is allowed. Dried fruits do not like moisture and heat, so they should be kept in a dry and cool enough room. A pantry or attic is best suited for storing fruits and berries. Only under such conditions will dried foods retain all their beneficial properties for a long time.
If you decide to leave stocks of fruits and berries in the kitchen, hide them away in the closet. Make sure that there are no household appliances that emit heat (refrigerator or microwave) near dried food. Do not store dates and raisins next to the kettle and stove. Vapors from cooking food can penetrate the containers with dried fruits and cause them to spoil prematurely. Use the farthest corners of the kitchen set for storing supplies.
How to store dates at home?
The most common fruits are in the form of dried fruits.These types are actually much easier to store than fresh produce. If a person buys dates in a special package in a store, he can simply leave them in it. It is only necessary to place the container in the refrigerator. If they are sold in a package, then before placing it in the refrigerator, it is necessary to make small holes so that the fruits "breathe" and do not chew.
Typical packaging for bulk purchases is a plastic bag. How to store dates at home if they are bought in this form? It is enough to transfer them into a special container or jar, but at the same time sometimes open the container in order to ventilate the dried fruits.
Do not leave the container open, especially in the refrigerator, as dates will quickly absorb all the odors surrounding them.
What is the correct way to store dried dates if you have bought a lot of them? The rest can be put in the freezer. If necessary, you can take out the fruits and leave them in the refrigerator for defrosting, and then consume them.
If the product is left at room temperature for a long period of time, they will become unusable in a few days. Of course, in the case when a person buys compressed dates, he can leave them at normal temperature. This type of product will have nothing from long storage.
How to store fresh ginger
Optimal storage methods:
- In fridge.
- In the freezer.
- In vacuum containers and bags.
- In the soil.
In fridge
When in the refrigerator, ginger will be fresh for a long time and will not lose its taste. Before removing the fresh rhizome in the refrigerator, it must be washed and dried well.
To maintain optimal humidity, it is better to wrap it in plastic wrap or put it in a bag, as when storing bananas. In this case, it is advisable to put a paper towel in the bag to absorb excess moisture.
The optimal shelf life is up to one month.
Which ginger do you like more?
Fresh pickled
In the freezer
It is recommended to store ginger in the freezer for up to three months. It is undesirable to freeze it without packaging, as it actively absorbs other people's smells and no less actively shares its own. Therefore, before freezing, the root is usually placed in a container or bag, which makes it possible to store champignons or other mushrooms nearby.
You can freeze the whole fruit, or chopped or grated.
If you plan to store it in the freezer, be sure to wash and dry it before laying it. It is better to put chopped or grated ginger in a thin layer on a plate, and after freezing, fold it into a container or bag and put it back in the freezer. This will keep it stored longer and make it easier to separate the portions you need.
Thawed ginger begins to lose its pungency after a few days. Therefore, it is not recommended to take it out of the freezer in large portions.
In vacuum containers or bags
Benefits of keeping in a vacuum:
- Almost complete absence of air when laying.
- Lack of air exchange during storage.
With this method, the root can be stored for up to 2-3 months in the refrigerator and more than one year in the freezer.
In the soil
This method is suitable if there is no way to put fresh tuber in the refrigerator or freeze it. To do this, it is placed in a suitable container and covered with dry earth. The root prepared in this way can be kept for 2-3 months in a dry, dark and cool place.
This article lists the most popular storage methods for ginger. If you follow the above recommendations, you can enjoy its taste for a long time, benefitting from the use of this product.
If it is not possible to maintain the optimal conditions for keeping the fresh root, then it can be easily processed and thereby increase the shelf life. At the same time, the beneficial properties of this plant will be preserved.
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How and how much to store rice at home
After opening the original packaging, the cereals for further storage must be poured into dry sealed glass, plastic or ceramic dishes with a tight-fitting lid.
Do not allow moisture to penetrate inside, as high humidity reduces the shelf life of rice, creates favorable conditions for the growth and reproduction of pests, and the formation of mold.
The optimum storage temperature for rice is 5-15 ° C, the humidity level is no more than 65-70%
It is important to avoid direct sunlight
Where and how to store dry rice
It is not recommended to store rice in its original packaging, especially after opening. For long-term storage of cereals, glass, ceramic or plastic containers with a sealed lid are used. As an alternative, grains are stored in textile bags, but they are significantly inferior to sealed containers.
The jar with cereals should be in a dark, dry and cool place. A pantry or kitchen cabinet is ideal. Sudden changes in storage conditions adversely affect the taste and healthiness of the product. It is advisable to put rice groats next to other cereals and avoid proximity to spices and foods with a pronounced odor.
Experienced housewives say that it is ideal to use a refrigerator to store dry rice at home:
- at low temperatures, the likelihood of the formation of insect pests is reduced;
- the shelf life is increased by several months;
- if insects are bred in the croup, they will simply freeze and will not be able to reproduce further.
Dry rice can be stored in the freezer for 6 to 8 months. Groats are pre-packed in plastic bags or plastic containers with a lid or stored in their original packaging.
On a note
The shelf life of dates directly depends on the quality of the purchased product
That is why it is important to pay attention to the aspects presented below when buying.
- Fruits for storage are preferable of approximately the same size; their skin should not be cracked or dents. If there are any, this means that they were dried in special chambers with violations of the temperature regime. Dates that are naturally dehydrated are much healthier and tastier.
- The high quality of dried fruits is evidenced by their dryness. Before buying, try squeezing a few fruits in your hand. If they stick together, it means there is too much water, sugar or fat in them, and this negatively affects the taste and nutritional value.
- Even the slight smell of rot should alert you. The subtle aroma of a spoiled product suggests that eating such fruits is dangerous to health.
Dates are rightfully considered one of the most favorite snacks for adherents of a healthy lifestyle. They prevent many diseases and do not harm the figure. But remember that dates will be most beneficial only if you know how and where to keep them correctly.