Hii, how is staying at home?
Due to the pandemic outbreak, we are staying at home to control the spread. Food is definitely an essential, now and always. 😋.
Many families have stocked up on food stuff which is excellent, but there is an underlying problem of storing for freshness and the shelf life of some food stuff due to the erratic power supply.
I’d be dropping a few tips to ensure that we enjoy, safe and satisfying meals, now and
always, xx.
Blended tomatoes, ata rodo (scotch bonnets) tatase (bell pepper) and bawa (cayenne
pepper).
After blending, the next step is boiling to remove every trace of water, due to the fact that it won’t be used up immediately.
There are two ways of storing pepper;
The first is pouring a large quantity of vegetable oil over it when it is at room temperature, if you add the oil while it is hot, you are continuing the cooking process because the heat from the pepper would cook it to an extent and it will definitely stop when the pepper is at room temperature thereby fast tracking the
spoilage.
The second method is pouring the pepper into clean and sterilized jars e.g: storage jar (your mayonnaise container is a good option), while it is very very hot, then cover immediately, set a big pot to fire, put a carton in it, then drop the jars on the carton and cover the pot, when you begin to hear clicks from the pot, the jars are
sealing. After about 20 minutes bring down the pot and keep the jars in a cool, dry place.
Please remember to use a kitchen towel, so you wouldn’t burn your fingers.
Vegetables
Don’t buy already refrigerated vegetables or vegetables already soaked in water if you intend to store them over a period time. Once something have been refrigerated or soaked in water, it needs to stay refrigerated or soaked, or it will quickly go bad.
My experience is that produce
that’s been refrigerated has less than half the life outside the refrigerator of something that has never been refrigerated. Below, when I talk of how long something will last, I’m talking about items that have never seen the inside of a refrigerator or been soaked in water.
1. Be very picky: Pick over individual items and don’t accept any that are bruised, rotten, overripe, have insect holes or look “old.” Only the freshest, most perfect veggies will do.
2. Don’t buy too much: If you buy more than can comfortably fit in your storage areas, your vegetables will get bruised as put try to fit the extras in. Be realistic about how much room you
have.
3. Transport the veggies gently: If you’re carrying them in a backpack, bring along some towels to pad the veggies and don’t cram them in. If you’re going by cab, make sure nothing will fall on them and they won’t roll around. You don’t want to bruise them before you get to store them. For carrots, wrap in aluminum foil, but don’t totally seal the packet, leave little openings at the end for moisture to escape (otherwise, they’ll just rot). They may dry out some, so rejuvenate in
water.
They’ll easily last one week, often 2 weeks or more.
For fresh garlic; Do NOT put in plastic, just out in a cool, dry place.
For onions; Store in a dark, dry area to keep them from sprouting. Do not store onions and potatoes together as the potatoes will sprout.
For pumpkin leaves (ugu), amaranth (soko) and the likes, cut off the root or tie the root in nylon and cover the leaves with paper and try to use ASAP.
Rice, beans and every kind of flour should be kept in air tight containers and cool, dry places.
For yam tuber, they are to be stored in a dry, cool and well ventilated area, away from moisture, and used within 3 weeks. Check occasionally to make sure they do not start spoiling or rotting.
I hope the aforementioned tips were helpful?😊
You can leave your comments and please contact me on Whatsapp; 09065122503 for further questions. I’m confident that this too shall pass, pray and follow precautions.
❤×💡×💓
Yours in the kitchen,
IyanuOluwa Komolafe
Bosslady Cookist.
My Cookery Zone 