Today’s episode is a beginner’s class on food storage. These days you grab what you can during grocery excursions, and maybe you pick up a little extra (without hoarding, right?) for the freezer or pantry. So we decided to educate ourselves (and our listeners) with tips and tricks for storing food so those Little Debbies can be safely relocated to ones stomach when the time comes. First lesson: never be so panicked about the lack of canned goods at your grocery store that you fail to recognize dust atop the cans of kidney beans you delightedly purchased at the convenience/liquor mart up the street. You live and learn. Never use (or buy) food in a can that has rust, bulges, or dust bunnies, KRIS.
Other than THAT Captain Obvious moment there are a lot of other things we learned, things that anyone who isn’t a foodie, chef, baker or cook (soooo, us) might be surprised to hear. Such as you can freeze potato chips.
At this time, we’d just like to make an official statement: if you have the need to freeze potato chips you’re not snacking right.
And did you know there are best practices when it comes to freezing things? If you just throw packages in the freezer willy-nilly, you might discover your chicken breasts are not so ah – perky? – when you cook them. Or that your bananas are just a big, frozen brick. So lessons 2 and 3 are: write the month and year the food will expire on the container, and some food needs to be prepared before freezing. Did you know flash freezing bits of food (like sliced potatoes, bananas or bell peppers) on a cookie sheet and then transferring them all into a single container keeps them from freezing in one big clump? We know. It sounds like a lot of work. Sometimes it is. But prepping your food properly before storing in your cupboard or freezer will save your tastebuds and tummy in the future.
And best of all, technology comes in hot with a really amazing app called FoodKeeper. The original USDA guidelines were published as a brochure back in 1994. The online version was updated in partnership with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Food Marketing Institute, and Cornell University. The online database can be found here. The free app can be downloaded for iOS and Android devices.
Here are the links we discussed in the episode:
- To make your own TikTok Dalgona Coffee, check out this recipe.
- the-sun.com has a ton of articles about food tips. And celebrities. And probably celebrities sharing their food tips. Hooray!
- Here is the article from komonews.com, UW: Best Foods to Stock Up For an Extended Home Stay From Coronavirus
- For the most comprehensive list of everything you need to know about food safety visit the USDA’s portal Shelf-Stable Food Safety. Also, read their blog article Before You Toss Food, Wait. Check It Out!
- For the realsimple.com article, go to How Long You Can Store (Almost) Anything in the Fridge and Freezer. Also give their other article a look: The Ultimate Food Storage Guide.
- And finally, for the simplemost.com article, go here: 10 Foods You Didn’t Know You Could Freeze.
Check out The Mugly Truth Podcast’s episode “Food Smarts” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
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Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox” by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
Featured photo of Eggs by Modernista Magazine on Pexels.com
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