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Apples
- Apples keep well for about six month at temperatures between freezing and 45° F. A styrofoam chest or a double cardboard box in a cool mudroom or cellar can approximate root-cellar conditions. Remember to give
them an occasional change of air.
- Apple cider may be frozen after first pouring off a small amount to allow for expansion.
Batteries, candles, film, soap, and similar items
- Store in a cool and dry place.
- Film may be refrigerated, bur only when it's tightly sealed in a moisture-proof wrap.
- Candles will burn longer if stored for one year before usage.
- Soap will last longer if stored for one year before usage, keep in linen closet for fresh smell.
Beans, dry
- Store in a moisture-proof, air-tight container. Beans will stale and toughen over time even when stored properly.
Berries
- Never rinse before storage. It washes off the thin, protective epidermal layer.
- Store them in a cool, dry place.
- Refrigeration promotes mold as a result of condensation on their surface.
Cheese
- Store tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.
- Ripened cheeses (Parmesan, Cheddar, Swiss, Blue, Brie, etc.) will keep longer than unripened varieties (Cottage, Cream, Fresh Ricotta, etc.).
- Cheese may be frozen, but some cheeses will crumble upon thawing.
Coffee
- Store ground coffee in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.
- Whole coffee beans will keep for 4 to 5 weeks at room temperature, or freeze them for up to 6 months.
- Ground coffee may be frozen for 5 to 6 weeks.
Cut flowers
- Keep them in a cool spot in water conditioned with packaged floral preservative or a homemade treatment of 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar per quart of water.
- Cut flowers will last longer if their stems are cut with a sharp blade, either underwater or seconds before being plunged into water. The water should be warmish, never icy.
Drugs and remedies
- Drugs and remedies should be kept cool and dry.
- Warm, steamy bathrooms are the worst place to keep them.
- A cabinet in the hallway would be better.
Eggs
- All eggs must be refrigerated.
- Eggs with cracked shells should be discarded.
- Because raw eggs are sensitive to temperature variation and movement, the egg holder on the door of your refrigerator will encourage spoilage.
- They will keep up to 5 weeks refrigerated in their original carton. Eggs that are hard boiled and left in the shell can be stored for 8 to 10 days.
- Egg whites should be stored in a covered container, egg yolks must be submerged in water in a covered container. Both will keep for 2 to 4 days.
- Do not freeze eggs in the shell. To freeze, they must be broken open and placed in a freezer container to which 1/8 teaspoon salt or 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar have been added for each 2 whole eggs or 4 egg yolks. Be
sure to note both the number of eggs and what was added.
- Thaw frozen eggs overnight in the refrigerator and use immediately.
Fish and live shellfish
- Store shellfish such as clams, mussels, and oysters in a cool, well-ventilated boxes, not in airtight plastic bags or containers.
- Store fish on ice, briefly.
Grains and flours
- Keep dry ingredients dry and cool in an airtight, moisture-tight container.
- Prevent and vermin or insects form hatching in flour (or grains) by freezing for a few hours before storage.
Herb's, fresh
- Dill and parsley will keep for about 2 weeks with stems immersed in a glass of water tented with a plastic bag.
- Most other fresh herbs (and greens) will keep for short periods unwashed and refrigerated in tightly sealed plastic bags with just enough moisture to prevent wilting.
- For longer storage, use moisture- and gas-permeable paper and cellophane. Plastic cuts off oxygen to the plants and promotes spoilage.
Mushrooms
- Remove plastic wrapping and keep then in the refrigerator in a paper bag. The bag absorbs some of the moisture and keeps the mushrooms from spoiling.
Onions and garlic
- Mature, dry-skinned bulbs like it cool and dry -- so don't store them with apples or potatoes.
- French-braided onions and garlic are handy and free to get some ventilation as well.
Photographs
- Store them in a cool, dry spot, enclosed in acid-free paper. The acid in regular paper, as well as heat and humidity, will eat away at your treasures.
Potatoes, beets, carrots, and other root crops
- Brush them clean of any clinging soil and store in a cool, dark place.
- Never refrigerate potatoes -- it will turn their starch into sugar.
- Don't store potatoes and apples together -- the apples give off an ethylene gas that will spoil the potatoes.
- Clipping the tops of parsnip, carrots, beets, and turnips will keep then fresher longer.
Pumpkins and winter squash
- Squashes don't like to be quite as cool as root crops do. If you have a cool bedroom, stashing them under the bed works well.
- They like a temperature of about 50° to 65°F.
Spices and dried Herb's
- Store in a cool, and dry place, not above the stove or right next to the burners where heat and steam will cause then to lose flavor dramatically.
Sugar
- All sugar should be kept in air-tight containers.
- Granulated sugar will harden when exposed to moisture.
- Brown sugar will harden when exposed to air.
- Try storing brown sugar with a slice of apple or citrus rind to keep it moist.
- Brown sugar may be frozen for extended storage.
Tea
- Tea, whether as loose of in bags, should be stored in a tightly sealed container to reduce staling and loss of flavor.
Tomatoes and other tropicals
- Store at cool room temperature out of direct sunlight.
- Never refrigerate fresh tomatoes. It ruins their flavor and texture at once.
- Tropical fruits do not keep well in the cold.
- Store bananas, avocados, and citric fruits, as well as pineapples, melons, eggplants, cucumbers, peppers, and beans at about 50°F if possible.
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