Food items, fruits or vegetables stored over a period of time tend to spoil due to the presence of micro-organisms which is present everywhere even in the air all around us.
In this article. I want to talk about refrigeration, freezing & microwaving as a means of preserving food items.
FREEZER & REFRIGERATOR.....
These are electronic appliances you need in your home, it stores food items below zero degrees or down to freezing point, always go for a known brand for efficiency and durability.
TIPS
1. Always maintain a small space between your freezer or fridge and the wall. Avoid placing it directly to the wall.
2. Don't use hot water or chemicals like acid, alkaline or kerosene etc to clean your freezer or fridge, when cleaning the door (rubber) seal of your freezer or fridge, never use detergent but only use wet cloth and dry it very well and apply powder to the surface of the (rubber )door seal, this will make your freezer or fridge door to close tightly well.
3. When the inside surface of your freezer becomes icy and too thick, is time to defrost your freezer. Defrosting is allowing your freezer to come back to normal room temperature, unplug it from the power source, open the door and when everything has melted. Clean with mild soap and water that is not hot and rinse properly.
4. If the food in your freezer defrost or melts easily when there is no power supply or your freezer can not hold up to two days with no power supply, reasons are that; the door may not be properly closed, you open and close the freezer more often, the food inside the freezer is not well arranged, you recently introduced a warm item or an item in room temperature into the freezer after others has frozen.
5. Always arrange your food items properly, put space in-between food items to allow easy circulation of cold air.
6. Never put hot food or other items immediately into the freezer, allow them to cool down, this is where fridge comes in, put them in the fridge before transferring them to the freezer or place the food container in a bowl of cold water.
7. Dont use glass to store food in the freezer, they will crack and break when frozen, use plastics or stainless containers to place your food items.
8. Store cooked food or raw mean in rubber containers that has covers or use freezer bags to store raw meat, this will prevent fast defrosting and make the items to maintain their frozen state and taste even when power goes out for long.
9. Always make sure the voltage supply is enough to carry the freezer or fridge, use a voltage regulator *STABLIZER *. Alwys make sure that they are plugged in directly into the wall outlet not into extension sockets
10. Do not store egg, water melon, cucumber, apple, orange and other similar fruits in freezer, they will become foggy. This means that they will increase in size because liquid expands when frozen and when you allow them to defrost so as to be eating, the taste and color will change, this is because of the latent heat in them, store fruits in fridges.
11. Always go for a separate fridge and a saparate freezer and not those that come together, this will minise the opening and closing time and save you some stress.
12. Always store food in segments and in small portions so you will not have to defrost the whole item but you will be collecting them one by one as the need arises.
In conclusion, store fruits and watery stuffs in fridges and cooked food or raw meat and similar stuffs in freezers
Mirowaves....
This is an appliance that uses heat or microwaves to heat up items. Always go for good brands and make sure the micro waves are not leaking as is dangerous to the body, food items prepared in the microwave are safe to eat and dont cause cancer as the waves go off with the moisture content of the food items..
TIPS...
1. Do not use plastics to place food items I the microwave, this causes cancer because plates tend to react with the food stored in them when hot.
2. Do not place items in the microwave without the microwave plate place properly at the buttom.
3. Do not use metallic or stainless containers as microwaves do not penetrate metals. They will bounce off leaving only the outer surface of the item hot while the middle will still be cold.
4. Always stop the oven before bringing out the items and always close the door properly before operating.
5. Always operate in full estimated voltage or use a stablizer and make sure the power cord of the microwave is plugged directly to the wall outlet not into extension sockets.
6. Use ceramics, or thick glass containers or plates to place items in the microwave.
7. Always refer to the user manual before operating yo optimised your experience.
By Engr. Ezenwamma Kosi #BOZINGWA
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