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Food Report |
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Proper storage of food that is prepared at home or purchased for the
family
is an important part of meeting the daily diet requirements
of the family. It is necessary to decide about what to store and how to store after considering the space available and the shelf-life of the
foodstuff.
On the basis of their stability during storage, foodstuffs have been divided into
non perishable,
semi perishable and perishable foods. |
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Semi-perishable
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Non-perishable
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Storage of Life of Foods at 25oC
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Food Group |
Perishable |
Semi-perishable |
Non-perishable |
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I |
Pulses- split,
legumes- whole, nuts and oilseeds, dry salted fish and meat.
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Flours of
pulses, roasted pulses/grains, roasted nuts and oilseeds, eggs.
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Cooked
pulses and legumes,
wet ground mixes (e.g., idli mix) milk, fresh
curds, butter-milk, cheese, meat, poultry, fish.
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II |
Pickled mango, pickled lemons and other citrus fruits.
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Citrus fruits-oranges lemons, sweet limes, grape fruits.
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Amla, guava cashew
nuts, apple, pineapple, tomato.
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III |
Nil.
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Apples, apricots, pumpkin,
ash gourd roots and tubers, yams, potatoes, onions.
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Peas, beans,
carrots.
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IV |
Whole cereals and, millets, dry cereal products.
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Biscuits, cakes,
cereal flours, rice flakes, popped cereals.
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Bread,
pancake / roti, rice or other cooked cereals.
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V |
Sugar, Jaggery, hydrogenated fat,
vanaspati, oil, ghee
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Sweets
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Butter, cream
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Storage of Non-perishable Foods |
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Pulses, whole legumes, most of the whole spices, oilseeds, etc. can be cleaned to remove
stones
or any other foreign matter and washed with water to remove
dust as well as dirt that is found in grains. Then these may be dried in the sun. After drying, the foods should be allowed to
cool before
storing in containers.
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Usually dry foods are stored in tins which have tight-fitting lids. Spices
are stored in bottles and pickles in glass, earthenware or porcelain containers.
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Before storage, wash the container with hot water and any matter adhering to it should be scrubbed with a brush or coconut fiber. Next it should be allowed to dry, preferably in the sun. If any wiping is necessary, it should be done with a clean cloth.
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Using clean ladles to remove the food from the large containers helps in getting a known amount and avoids spilling.
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Storage of Semi-perishable Foods
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When cereals, pulses and legumes (including groundnuts) are subject to any processing such as grinding, roasting, baking or
frying. Their high quality storage life is reduced depending
on the storage temperature and relative humidity (presence of moisture in the air).
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The flours, rice flakes, roasted pulses etc, which have a moisture content
of less than 13 per cent are stored in the same manner as cereals and pulses described above.
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Apples, citrus, fruits, gourd and root vegetables
can be stored in a cool storeroom, cellar or basement. Suitable temperature for storage of these fruits and vegetables is around
15o C.
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Plant (vegetables) tissues change during storage. These changes include loss of water, modification of the
fibres and change in the pectin. The loss of water is reduced by storing vegetables
in an atmosphere of high relative humidity.
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Roots and tubers may be stored in a cool, ventilated place,
storage temperature being maintained between 3 and
10o C (38.50 F) to keep sprouting to a minimum.
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Vegetables need to be stored in refrigerator and before use should be washed properly.
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Milk is normally boiled as soon as it is brought to the kitchen and stored in covered containers. Boiling destroys
the organisms and also enzymes present in milk. Thus boiling helps to store milk in good condition for 12-24 hrs at room temperature.
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Fish, poultry, and meat can be kept for short periods at temperature just above freezing.
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