Grex Kitchen Conference

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Grex Kitchen Item 176: A question about food spoiling. (help! my dorm room has no fridge!)
Entered by orinoco on Fri Feb 25 19:19:43 UTC 2000:

Specific question:
Vinegar will keep unrefrigerated, right?  Will soy sauce?

General question:
Are there any rules of thumb for what needs refrigerating and what doesn't?

3 responses total.

#1 of 3 by keesan on Sat Feb 26 00:18:25 2000:

Vinegar and soysauce cannot spoil, they are already 'spoiled' during the
manufacturing process, which consists of letting bacteria digest the
ingredients.  Nothing much other than these bacteria (acetic and lactic acid
bacteria) can live in the result.  The sale in soy sauce is best tolerated
by lactic acid bacteria.
        Eggs need not be refrigerated for a week or so.  Milk spoils quickly
but you can leave it for a day and then boil it for a while.  Cheese will keep
as long as you want if you don't mind scraping off the mold.  Fruit and
vegetables keep for a while (don't let the vegetables dry out but also make
sure they have some ventilation).  Cooked foods can stay for a few days if
you heat them thoroughly before eating.  Bread, cakes, noodles, etc. keep
well.  Anything with cooked eggs does not, or with dairy other than cheese.
        My dorm room in Macedonia had a window that I could hang bags of food
out of when it was colder outside than inside.  There was also a balcony. 
We had a refrigerator - 5 cubic feet for 16 people.  And three burners.
        Apples, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, don't need refrigerating.  They
keep longer nearer to freezing temperatures.  Keep onions and potatoes and
in the dark to prevent sprouting or greening.  Keep winter squash dry.
        I would not attempt to store meat raw or cooked without a refrigerator
except for hard salamis.  Cooked beans will keep if you heat them up to
boiling very day, but eat within 3-4 days or they turn sour.  You can usually
see and smell if things have spoiled.
        Things in jars and bottles tell you whether to refrigerate.  Salad
dressings tend to have sugar in them.  You can keep oil and vinegar forever.
        Foods sold frozen should not be kept at room temperature.

#2 of 3 by eprom on Thu Apr 13 16:01:57 2000:

dunno if its true..but I heard you can keep eggs at room temp for a long time
without spoiling if you coat the shell with paraffin wax or something.

#3 of 3 by keesan on Fri Apr 14 15:52:20 2000:

YOu can keep them in a cool room without the wax coating for at least a week.
Much of the world does not have refrigerators.

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