Kitchen & Food Safety Watch

dragg SG

NEWS!!!

there is a sudden increase in the sales of wooden chopping boards. police does not suspect foul play!!!

Mr. Green

ronnie_2600 SG

Sorry to sound like a wet blanket, but i like to point out several things.

1) The most u have to watch out for is cross-contamination.

2) because you cook most of the meats, you don't really have to worry about bacteria..etc. because it's going to be boiled or deep fried/fried anyway.
(and it made much less sense because in the past, people don't comprehend sashimi. and by right, you cut sashimi with a totally seperate cutting board.)

3) with plastic, you can wash with soap, but with wooden, the soap may leave residues in the grains... thats food for thought.

as for smells with your wooden block, you can try sunning the block for a couple of hours for a few days, it's free. and it will get rid of those 'mould' spots.

Also the type of knife selected to cut meat is important. use the correct knife for the job, and make sure it is sharpened sufficiently. So you will minimize over exerting force and muck up the board too early, too much. Mr. Green

Oh, btw, when it came to cutting meats (or whole chickens), I've not come to the situation where my knife had to 'chop' all the way till it hits the board.

That being said, dicing meat on a wooden board somehow tastes better. lol. maybe got extra ingredients.. Laughing

kops21 SG

chopping board Confused ...becareful it drops and hurt ur toe.... Wink

SydneyLibrarian SG

Laughing That sounds like something Confucious would say!
hehehe!

ShrodingersCat SG

hey! I'm a good girl!

I use a wooden chopping board for raw food/meats and
plastic for cooked or no need to prepare foods.

Re. the electric water boiler thingy...
The instructions on mine when it first came was to boil water and then throw away the first boiled water. So maybe that's what happens to the first boiled water?

Can we talk about Thermo Pots?! I LOVE THERMO POTS!!!

Rhonda SG

Have you ever wondered how long you can keep foodstuff in the fridge/freezer for?

Well, here's a list that you might find helpful! Wink Please note that the period you can keep the following food refers to the number of days AFTER you've opened the package the food came in. Needless to say, if the Expiry Date is already up and you still haven't opened the package, discard it! Razz

Before proceeding though, be sure that you get a thermometer and ensure that your fridge temperature is about 1 to 4 deg C, and the freezer temperature -15 to -17 deg C. Using the numeric gauge in your fridge, ie. the turn-button with markings from 1-5 or more, is not accurate!

DAIRY PRODUCTS & EGGS
Fresh Milk - 5-7 days
Butter / Margarine - 2 weeks
Cheese Spreads - 3-4 weeks
Eggs - 3 weeks
Hard Boiled Eggs - 1 week
Ice Cream - 2 months in freezer

POULTRY AND MEAT
Chicken or turkey, pieces - 1-2 days in fridge, 9-12 months in freezer
Chicken or turkey, whole - 1-2 days in fridge, 1 year in freezer
Ground meat or stew - 1-2 days in fridge, 3-4 months in freezer
Lamb, roasts or chops - 3-5 days in fridge, 6-9 months in freezer
Pork, roasts or chops - 3-5 days in fridge, 4-6 months in freezer
Pre-stuffed pork and lamb chops or chicken breasts - 1 day in fridge
Sausage - 1-2 days in fridge, 1-2 months in freezer
Ham slices - 3-4 days in fridge, 1-2 months in freezer
Hotdogs, luncheon meats (unopened) - 2 weeks in fridge, 1-2 months in freezer
Hotdogs, luncheon meats (opened) - 3-7 days in fridge, 1-2 months in freezer
Cooked, leftover meat - 3-4 days in fridge, 2-3 months in freezer
Leftover gravy and meat broth - 1-2 days in fridge, 2-3 months in freezer
Cooked, leftover poultry - 3-4 days in fridge, 4-6 months in freezer
Cooked, leftover chicken nuggets or patties - 1-2 days in fridge, 1-3 months in freezer

SEAFOOD

Fresh lean fish: cod, flounder, trout, haddock, halibut, pollack, perch - 1-2 days in fridge, 4-6 months in freezer

Fresh fatty fish: mullet, smelt, salmon,mackerel, bluefish, tuna and swordfish - 1-2 days in fridge, 2-3 months in freezer

Shrimp, crabmeat - 2-3 days in fridge, 4 months in freezer

FRUITS
Here's the list for fruits. Basically, the faster you consume your fruits, the better! Wink And gee, I didn't know that there are folks who'd freeze their fruits! Surprised
Apples - 1 month in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer
Apricots, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums - 3-5 days in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer
Berries, cherries - 2-3 days in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer
Grapefruit, lemons, limes, oranges - 2 weeks in fridge, 4-6 months in freezer
Guavas, papayas - 1-2 days in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer
Kiwis - 3-5 days in fridge, 4-6 months in freezer
Mangoes - 8-12 months in freezer
Melons - 1 week in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer
Pineapple - 2-3 days in fridge, 4-6 months in freezer

To be continued...

Rhonda SG

...Continuation

FRESH VEGETABLES

Carrots - 2 weeks in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer
Beans, broccoli, peas - 3-5 days in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer
Cauliflower - 1 week in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer
Cilantro, parsley - 2-3 days in fridge
Corn - use immediately for best flavor, 8-12 months in freezer
Green onions - 3-5 days in fridge
Celery, cabbage, chilies, green beans, peppers, tomatoes - 1 week in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer
Greens: kale, mustard, spinach, chai seem, kai lan - 3-5 days in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer
Lettuce and salad greens - 1 week in fridge
Mushrooms, okra - 1-2 days in fridge, 8-12 months in freezer

BAKED PRODUCTS
Bread, yeast - 6-12 months in freezer
Muffins, rolls, quick breads - 2-4 months in freezer
Pancakes and waffles - 1-2 months in freezer
Cookies - 4-6 months in freezer
Unbaked dough - 2-3 days in fridge, 6 months in freezer
Angel and sponge cakes - 4-6 months in freezer
Cheesecake - 3-7 days in fridge, 4-6 months in freezer
Fruitcake (NOT the fresh fruits with cream sort! Razz ) - 1 year in freezer
Layer cake (butter cream icing or plain) - 6 months in freezer

For PASTRIES: Store at room temperature. Best used within 1 to 3 days
Danish Pastries - 3 months in freezer
Doughnuts - 3 months in freezer
Fruit pie - 1-2 days in fridge, 1 year in freezer

If you find that any of the foodstuff listed above does not have recommended storage dates for BOTH fridge and freezer, then it means that the one that's left out is NOT the recommended option either due to food safety, or quality issues.

Remember, this list only applies IF your fridge temperature is in compliance to the recommended one. I'd recommend you get an alcohol thermometer instead of a mercury thermometer, for use in the fridge and freezer. Wink

These are just guidelines and if you do not follow proper storage practices, these storage times do not apply! Razz

Rhonda SG

Proper Food Storage Methods... coming up!! Wink

RaTtY81 SG

wow can store cheese up to 4 weeks Razz

k4korny SG

How about human flesh? Twisted Evil
just kidding... please dun reply!! or i'll have nightmares tonight.

how about bread in fridge?
(cos i always can't finish the loaf of bread b4 expiry and will put into the fridge. I'll only throw it away when mushrooms become visible on the surface.)

And rice?

Rhonda SG

Yeah... PROVIDED that your fridge is set at the recommended fridge temperature, AND your cheese has not reached expiry date already! Laughing

Rhonda SG

I guess you can keep bread in the fridge until its expiry date.

Before your eyes can see the mould on the bread, it might already be present and in the growing stage. By the time you actually see the mould, you've really kept it for far too long liao! Laughing

Make sure when you reach into the pack to take your bread slices, your hand has been washed and is DRY because if your hand is moist, the moisture trapped in the pack will definitely accelerate the formation of mould on your bread and then, you get a mould farm for use in all sorts of weird experiments!! Twisted Evil

bismarck SG

think my parents dont bother.

just chop chop and cook...we still alive.

Rhonda SG

You guys probably finish the food too fast for it to turn bad mah! Right? Laughing Twisted Evil

bismarck SG

either that or my mum has a GI tract that tolerate all kinds of crap Laughing

she digs out ancient food to eat from the fridge tht we all run away from. Confused

SydneyLibrarian SG

Interesting!

I find that over in Sydney, our food tends to keep for longer than when we were in Singapore - probably due to the low levels of humidity here.

Bread - if we freeze it, we can usually keep it waaayyy past the expiry date (we don't often do that cos #1: lack of space, and #2, the bread tends not to taste as nice as freshly baked bread does!)

Ham - we keep it in a tupperware; it can usually last slightly longer than the 4-5 days mentioned.

Rhonda SG

The dates given are just a guide. Still have to exercise good ol' common sense before putting stuff into the mouth! Laughing

Fatum SG

since i only go grocery shopping around once a month … i seperate my meats into meal sized portions and keep them in zip lock baggies …. before that i’ll defrost a whole block of chicken, or beef, pluck or slice off a few pieces and dump the rest back into the freezer …... seems that doing this encourages freezer burns …. meat gets all shrivelled up …......

foxwalk SG

When I recently got a chopping board from Ikea, it did mention briefly to use oil to clean it. Smile

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