Even the refrigerator deserves a major cleaning from time to time.
From the smell of the food, you can tell if it is still edible or not. Adobe Stock
Few things get better by sitting in the fridge. Although many food ingredients last a surprisingly long time, half-empty jars and vague leftovers easily fill the shelf space.
A new year may also mean new contents in the fridge. Even the most obscure food scraps can still be used in the kitchen.
1. Christmas junk food
If the food has been in your fridge since Christmas, it is most likely not edible anymore. Just to be sure, you should sniff the food scraps, but if it doesn’t look edible anymore, it might be time to say goodbye to it.
If you have stored food left over from Christmas in the freezer, you can slowly start planning for its further use.
2. Almost empty sauce and preserves jars
Even the refrigerator deserves an occasional deep cleaning. Are you organized, or are there three half-empty ketchup bottles in the back row? Or a row of sauce and preserve jars that you’ve been saving because you can’t figure out what to do with them?
Did you buy a bottle of sauce for one particular recipe, and after cooking, the rest has been sitting in the fridge forever. Adobe Stock
Start by checking the condition of the fuzzy leftovers: are they even edible anymore? Make an inventory of the treasures in the fridge and look for recipes online for which you could use the ingredients. Write the ideas on a piece of paper and attach the piece to the refrigerator door. You will gradually get rid of the jam and you might even find a new favorite recipe.
For example, vinaigrette can be made from Christmas mustard residue. Add a little lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to the jar and shake the jar really well. Use as a salad dressing.
3. Pickled herbs and salads
Yes, it still works! Does it really work? Cracked salad or herbs do not bring the desired freshness and greenness to the food, but may make the whole dish look and taste even more disgusting.
If the herb or salad no longer perks up despite your efforts, you should give it up already.
Here you will find tricks for more rational storage of herbs, so that they are not wasted.
4. Treasures of the freezer
While you’re cleaning the fridge, check the freezer as well, because food won’t last forever there either.
For example, an opened bag of frozen French fries may expose the French fries to “frostbite”, i.e. flakes or even structural changes accumulate on their surface. The French may also start to taste like a “freezer”.
Do you really know what’s in your freezer? Adobe Stock
Here you can check the shelf life of different meats and fish in the freezer.
It is also easier to defrost the freezer during freezing winters, when you can temporarily put the food in cold bags, for example, on the balcony.
4. Ice cubes
When cleaning the freezer, you should check the ice level at the same time. If you have a stack of half-empty plastic ice cube trays lying on the freezer shelves, and you don’t remember when you last used them, you should thaw them, wash them and refill them.
If the ice cube mold looks like this, its contents should already be updated. Adobe Stock
By the way, it is more convenient to use ice cubes if you put them in freezer bags after they have frozen and close the bag properly.
5. Wine dregs
Did you have the bottoms of a bottle of wine left in the fridge from Christmas or New Year, but the wine doesn’t taste like it anymore? A large tonka takes up a lot of space in the fridge, which is why you should use the remaining wines in cooking.
White wine is perfect for, for example, risotto, and red wine can be used to season, for example, pasta sauce.
You can also make sangria from the remaining wine or mix it with the rest of the mulled wine concentrate and drink the last mug of warming mulled wine.
Source: The KitchnIL archive