The Refrigerator is being used as a glorified ward robe for cooking ingredients, cooked food and vegetable,s.
As an after thought things that are meant to be kept at Frozen or low temperatures are accommodated.
In a Typical Brahmin Household, you would find in a Fridge,
Vathal Kuzhambu, prepared in BC,
Side dished prepared with Coconut emanating stale odor,
Sambhar made , of course eons ago,you would find hardly a teaspoon of it,
Boiled unused Milk,
Cut Fresh Vegetables, cut about a week ago,
Ready Mixes in the Freezer,
Cashew nuts, Pickles( in the side partition,
Broken Coconuts, Children Medicine,
Uncut vegetables in the Vegetable Tray, fresh vegetables at the top and the old at the bottom to ensure you use only the New ones and it is amtter of time before the old are consigned to garbage.
Come to think of most of the items in the Fridge are to be thrown out any way.
In the middle you would improperly curdled Milk/Curds along with Deodorizers, costing any where between Rs 30 to 150, while a small piecec of charcoal wrapped in cloth would do,
Some information as to how to keep the various items , based on temperatures in the Refrigerator.
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Basic food safety is common sense.
First, keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Foods kept between 40 degrees Fahrenheit and 140 degrees Fahrenheit provide perfect mediums for bacterial growth, so allowing food to rest at room temperature for extended periods of time can lead to dangerous dishes.
Second, avoid cross-contamination by keeping raw foods that require cooking away from ready-to-eat foods. This includes washing hands, knives, and cutting boards when switching from raw meats to fresh vegetables and the like. A good way to ensure this separation is to have a cutting board used exclusively for meat.
Third, wash your hands and ready-to-eat foods thoroughly.
Finally, use a meat thermometer to cook meats – especially ground beef – thoroughly as heat kills many pathogens and denatures some toxins. Proper cooking temperatures, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, are listed below:
Beef and Veal:
Ground products 160 F
Steaks and Roasts 145 F
Poultry: 165 F
Eggs: 160 F
Fish and Shellfish: 145 F
Lamb:
Ground 160 F
Steaks and Roasts 145 F
Pork:
Raw, uncured 160 F
Pre-cooked Ham 140 F
Leftovers: 165 F
Leftovers always present a dilemma; the question being, “how long is this good for?” Fortunately, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has a detailed chart to track your leftovers’ edibility. In general, fresh meats are safe for 1-3 days and leftovers for 3-5, but this depends greatly on the type of food. The complete list is below:
Beef, Lamb, Pork and Veal
With proper refrigeration, fresh ground, hamburger, stew meat or variety meat (tongue, liver, heart, kidney, chitterlings) will stay safe for 1-2 days; fresh chops, roasts and steaks will stay safe for 3-5 days; and fresh pre-stuffed chops will stay safe for 1 day.
Leftover beef, lamb, pork or veal, including casseroles, will stay safe for 3-4 days.
Corned beef in a pouch, with pickling juices, will stay safe for 5-7 days in the refrigerator.
Bacon will stay safe for 7 days.
Ham (Pre-Cooked)
Fully cooked slices of ham will stay safe 3-4 days, half-hams for 3-5 days, and whole hams for 7 days if refrigerated properly.
Pre-cooked ham that is labeled “keep refrigerated,” if opened, will stay safe for 3-4 days. Unopened canned pre-cooked ham will stay safe for 6-9 months.
Vacuum-sealed ham that is unopened, fully cooked and dated can be safely refrigerated through its “use-by” date. Vacuum-sealed ham that is unopened, fully cooked and undated can be safely refrigerated for 2 weeks.
Dairy
- Leave cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream, milk, and cream in the containers they came in. But after transferring milk to a pitcher or sour cream to a serving bowl, don’t return them to the original containers. Instead, tightly cover the pitcher or bowl with plastic wrap.
- Store hard cheeses in the store wrapping until you use them, then wrap them in wax paper, foil, or loose plastic.
- Plastic milk bottles make more sense than cardboard cartons, since bacteria can grow near the cardboard spout and enter a glass of milk every time you pour. Nevertheless, as long as you use the milk within its shelf life, it should be safe to drink.
http://wwwhttp://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/food/store-food-refrigerator-10000000685607/index.html.foodsafetynews.com/2010/10/preventing-foodborne-illness/#.UkjoGtKnojo