Things we refrigerate

[snowangel]

i, and everyone i know, refrigerate ketchup.  the entire restaurant industry, however, does not. 

I never refridgerate ketchup. Who wants a cold condiment on a hot food item (as in burgers?). However, I will admit to tossing ketchup in the trash; it takes us months to go through a bottle.

[Miss J]

I always refrigerate marmalade.

My boyfriend never refrigerates marmalade.

Depending on who used it last, one of us is always running around yelling, "So where have you put the damn marmalade this time?"

Ah, love.

[Adam Balic]

I'm always surprised to see what various cultures and individuals do and don't refrigerate. Where do you all stand on common kitchen staples like olive oil? What about eggs and butter?

Eggs - no. Only people that don't like eggs refridgerate them.

Butter - no in UK, Yes in Australia.

Olive oil - no. Palate not good enough to detect oxidation.

Milk- yes, as it sours if you don't

Sauces - no, except Hoisin (no reason, go figure)

Bread - no

Cheese - Soft cheese yes, if ripe, no if un-ripe. Hard cheese yes (no larder).

Jam/marmalade etc - random.

Mayonaise - yes.

[oraklet]

trillium,

"When I was in Sweden and Denmark I was surprised to see that eggs weren't refrigerated..."

sweden, no, cause they are free from salmonella. denmark yes. salmonella all over the place.

[tommy]

Tommy, several key crops -- most importantly potatoes and onions -- are cured post-harvest in order to increase their shelf lives.

but only to certain onions from what nick says? i know for a fact that yellow onions last, oh, about 2 years in the closet. vidalias, however, they go quick.

[spqr]

yup i keep a par sheet and req from the frige when i need it...j/k!

Would someone translate this chefspeak for those of us who don't speak it? Thanks.

[ngatti]

yup i keep a par sheet and req from the frige when i need it...j/k!

Would someone translate this chefspeak for those of us who don't speak it? Thanks.

I believe the reference is to keeping a par-stock of items (butter) outside of the refrigerator and then requisitioning items from the refrigerator to keep the par stocks filled.

Nick

[C Squared]

When I was in the Navy and lived on a submarine, we kept cases and cases of eggs under the missle tubes (no refridgeration) they lasted 30 days or so until the first rotten one hit the griddle. Stange, no one ordered eggs after that for the rest of the patrol. I do believe they were dipped in mineral oil as a preservative though.

[Wilfrid]

Interesting. I have to refrigerate butter, in the summer anyway, because I don't plan on eating half a pound per week. Certainly I try to leave it out for some time before eating it.

Ketchup. My Beloved insists on refrigerating it. I never have. Is that a British thing, leaving ketchup and brown sauce at the back of a cupboard for (literally in the case of brown sauce) years?

Most important thing throughout this summer has been keeping big, thick beer mugs in the freezer. Only way to get a cold one to stay cold while you drink it. Life saver.

[Stone]

Most important thing throughout this summer has been keeping big, thick beer mugs in the freezer.  Only way to get a cold one to stay cold while you drink it.  Life saver.

Actually, I've often read that you shouldn't freeze your mugs. When you take them out, water vapor in the air condenses on the glass almost immediately, watering down the beer. Remember, Bud tastes great straight out of the bottle.

[scamhi]

refrig yes:

vinegars, butter, eggs, jams, coffee, soy and other condiments.

freezer:

nuts, flour, vodka

in the cabinets:

olive oils, peanut butter, dried pastas, chocolate

[spqr]

Remember, Bud tastes great straight out of the bottle.

In which alternate reality?

[Wilfrid]

Actually, I've often read that you shouldn't freeze your mugs.  When you take them out, water vapor in the air condenses on the glass almost immediately, watering down the beer.  Remember, Bud tastes great straight out of the bottle.

I don't buy it. At that temperature and with my thirst, the beer isn't getting carefully savored anyway. And, hey, I think there's water in the beer already!

[researchgal]

So, now that I'm NOT going to keep "storage" onions in the fridge, where is the best place to keep them? Do they need to be in a closet? What's the ideal storage environment for them, and, for that matter, potatoes too?

[Miss J]

My mum keeps hers in a dark cupboard next to the flour, as the onions seem to do a good job of keeping weevils out. She usually keeps her potatoes in the same place - once you've found one dark, cool, dry cupboard, you might as well fill it up.

Whether this is the smug scientific bastard choice of onion/potato storage, I've no idea.

[Adam Balic]

Smug Scientific Bastards keep their roots, tubers and rhizomes in the root-cellar or failing that a cool dark cupboard. Along with the eggs.

[Wilfrid]

In my home, these all make excellent toys for baby, getting booted around the floor. Actually, eggs are least suitable for this purpose.

[Miss J]

I love the sound eggs make when you drop them. Sort of a compact "splut."

Okay, so that has nothing to do with anything.

[Fat Guy]

Tommy, several key crops -- most importantly potatoes and onions -- are cured post-harvest in order to increase their shelf lives.

but only to certain onions from what nick says? i know for a fact that yellow onions last, oh, about 2 years in the closet. vidalias, however, they go quick.

As I understand it, it's not a question of the variety. In other words, I think any onion can be fresh or cured. The fresh ones are sold in season and when the season for that variety ends you start seeing the cured version in stores. I'd have to ask the produce manager at a big supermarket how this stuff gets decided, though.

[Gavin Jones]

hotpants.

[trillium]

trillium-

What is pomarola?

Fresh tomato sauce for pasta. Everybody has a slightly different way to do it, since I always buy vine ripened paste tomatoes at the height of the season, I never saute any of the ingredients. I think it blunts the tomato taste. I also fall into the camp that seasons it with the holy trinity of Italian cooking: onions, celery and carrots. Here's our rough recipe, we did a batch last weekend and will do another this week:

15 lb romas or other paste tomatoes

2 large stalks of celery including the leaves (this is the farm grown kind that has a very strong taste, if you can't get it you could substitute Chinese celery which has more flavor)

1 or 2 large carrots (depends on the tart to sweet ratio you like)

1/2 of a large white or yellow onion

4 -5 cloves garlic

1/2 of a large bunch of parsley

1 or 2 dried cayanne peppers

Cut every thing up into pieces except the peppers and parsley. The smaller you cut them now, the easier it is to put them throught the food mill. Simmer in a large pot until everything is very soft (the carrots should smush against the side of the pot very easily). Fish out the parsley and pepper and discard. Put everything else through food mill and return to the fire. Simmer at a very low heat until the volume reduces by 50 - 75% (depending on how watery the tomatoes were). It's hard to be patient but if you turn up the fire it will burn. Our giagantic le creuset pot makes things much easier (and is great for applesauce too). Once it's reached a consistancy you like you can can it, a pint is usually good for a lb of pasta. If you eat it fresh, stir in some torn basil leaves, a little evo oil and/or butter and toss with cooked pasta and a little pasta cooking water. Top with parmigiano.

regards,

trillium

[Peter B Wolf]

Clue on Eggs, yes refrigerate, but never in those stupid 'door-indentations'. Did anyone ever count the times a refrigerator door gets opened in 24 hours? Well, that's how many times your eggs in that door experience a temperature change from about 40F to 'don't know what your kitchen temp is' !! It's enough to collect condensation from humidity, which in turn does effect the egg inside the shell as it is porous. Can, will and must someone please mention this to appliance makers?? Even the "EGGBOARD" recommends storing in their original carton!

[The Artful Dodger]

Kinda connected, re. longevity of vegetables........

My inlaws are farmers over in Lincolnshire, UK and insist that many vegetables, in particular carrots, stay fresh much, much longer unwashed, and I do mean unwashed; fresh out of the ground with plenty of soil attached.

I happen to think they are right.

Anybody else heard this?

[swissmiss]

On the question of refrigeration, can anyone tell me how long I can keep an open container of tahini paste in the fridge? I have had one in there for quite a while and am a bit afraid to open it to make hummus.

[Suzanne F]

Just open it and smell and/or take a teeny tiny taste. If it's gone rancid, you'll know. But mine has kept for an awfully long time, in the coldest part of the fridge. It's a pain to stir back together, though.