How to Prepare Your Kitchen for the Most Delicious New Year

Cooking and eating at home is one of the best ways to save money and eat well , but to do it effectively, you need a clean and organized kitchen. The presence of a neat refrigerator and pantry allows you to better understand what you have, and it means that you will be able to prepare better food and spend less food and money. Here are our top tips for getting your kitchen into action for the new year.

Clean the refrigerator

First, take every last thing out of the refrigerator. Literally. Each. Lonely. Thing. Then divide everything into three piles: definitely good, doubtful, and sketchy.

You know what to do with foods that look “definitely good” and “sketchy af,” but stuff that looks “unreliable” —such like blue cheese or seasonings you’ve had, perhaps a little too long, we have rules:

• Cheese: You’ve probably heard that since “cheese is moldy milk anyway,” eating moldy cheese is okay. This is somewhat true, but it depends on the type of cheese . Soft cheeses such as cream cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese and brie with mold should be discarded immediately since mold can penetrate through dairy products . This mold can also contain harmful bacteria such as listeria, brucella, salmonella and E. coli, which can make you seriously ill. These rules also apply to any cheese that has been crushed or shredded, so throw in the fuzzy blue cheese or feta without question. However, cheddar blocks and Parma wedges are a different story altogether. Mold is more difficult to penetrate into semi-soft and hard cheeses, so you can cut off moldy pieces (Mayo Clinic recommends “at least one inch around and below the moldy spot”) and continue enjoying the cheese.
• Condiments: Ketchup may seem forever, but nothing lasts, and even condiments have an expiration date. Fortunately, these expiration dates are usually printed right on the bottle or can, but if they’re worn out (or you can’t find them), refer to this handy spice chart .
• Fruits and vegetables: different types of food remain “good” for different periods of time. If you can’t tell if an onion or carrot is good just by looking at it, you should turn to Eat By Date , a huge database that gives you the true expiration date ( printed dates are often more about quality than safety ) of pretty much anyone. food you can think of.

Since you already have an empty refrigerator, now is the time to clean it thoroughly. The video above will clearly walk you through the entire process, but it looks something like this:

1. Remove all shelves and drawers and wash them with hot soapy water (or, if you have a very smelly refrigerator, a mixture of bleach and water).
2. Take a cup of baking soda and a gallon of water, mix and use this mixture to wipe down all surfaces in the fridge and freezer.
3. If necessary – for example, you are faced with a very unpleasant situation – unplug the refrigerator and let it dry overnight, but if everything smells ok, put the food back.

You can put all the food in there again, but you might want to take this opportunity to tune your refrigerator for smoother operation. Here are some smart steps you can take:

• Find cool places and prevent food from accidentally freezing : Place glasses of water in different “zones” of the refrigerator – the top of the back, the top front, the cheese drawer, the middle of the second shelf, etc. – and place a thermometer in each of them. one. Check the temperature after 24 hours to determine the coldest regions.
• Clean the condenser coils: The coils in the back of the refrigerator can become dusty, shortening the life of the refrigerator and causing unpleasant odors. To clean them, unplug the fridge, open the panel to access the coils (by unplugging any wires you come across) and spray them with warm soapy water. (Place paper underneath to collect drips.) Wipe them with a microfiber cloth and air dry before putting everything back together.
• Place the seasonings in containers to minimize dripping : it’s too easy. Simply transfer the spices to a plastic container and when they get sticky with watery drops, put them in the dishwasher.

Now you’re ready to restock, but you don’t want to just throw everything back willy-nilly. Some items do well in certain parts of the freezer. This article covers this in detail , but there are a few general rules:

• Dairy products: Milk, cheese and yoghurt are best stored on the top shelf, where the temperature is most constant.
• Eggs: Store eggs on a shelf, not in the door, which is the warmest part of the refrigerator.
• Vegetables: If they don’t belong in a “cool dry place” – think potatoes, onions, and winter squash – vegetables should be stored in the fresh vegetable drawer, away from ethylene-producing fruits such as apples, pears, and kiwi.
• Fruits: Melons, citrus fruits, bananas and tomatoes should be kept on the counter and completely outside the refrigerator, but all other fruits can be stored in another food drawer (you know, no vegetables).

To get the most out of your grocery drawer, make sure you have the correct humidity controls. Different parts of the plant last longer in different environments, and the simple rotten, withered mantra will help you remember how to set each box. The saying speaks for itself, but basically anything that wilts, such as leafy greens, should be stored in a “high” humidity bin, and foods prone to rotting should be stored in drier conditions.

In the future, you will want to implement the system to keep everything as fresh as possible. A blackboard can help you keep an eye on perishables, but the best way to keep your refrigerator in check is to spend every night getting rid of sketchy foods and potentially unpleasant odors. This is a good time to wipe up spills and sticky spots. Finally, a bowl of activated charcoal or a cotton pad soaked in vanilla can help absorb or mask inevitable odors.

Take care of your pantry

Now that your refrigerator is in order, it’s time to put out the pantry. Once again, I suggest that you remove all things to get a clear idea of ​​what you have and the state of the pantry itself. If you store your dry goods in a closet, dust them off, wipe off any sticky dirt, and install ant and cockroach bait if necessary. Then it’s time to pay attention to food.

First, make sure that whatever you store in the pantry actually belongs to the pantry and not the refrigerator. If you’re not sure where something should live, there are a whole series of charts to help you figure out where and how long to store your most common kitchenware.

Also, make sure the pantry is a truly “cool and dry place”. The air temperature should be 70 ℉ and the humidity 60% or less. (You can buy a humidity sensor online for less than ten dollars .) If your closet or pantry is a little damp, you can throw in a few bags of silica gel (if it’s a small space) or plug in a dehumidifier (for more, a walk-in closet).

Once the environment is perfect, make it easy to access everything with a few lazy susans , group similar items together, or cascade items with the largest ones in the back so you can see everything. I also highly recommend getting your spices out of the cabinet and on the spice rack, because finding your spices makes them easier to use. If you want to create your own, try this minimalist , this door closet, or this magnetic version .

Show some love for your technique

Once you’re in control of your food storage situation, it’s time to give some attention to your favorite kitchen appliances. If you don’t do anything else, please, please sharpen your knives. In my opinion, a sharp knife is one of the most important things for a home cook. This makes cooking easier, more enjoyable and much safer. The above video can teach you how to professionally sharpen your blades with a whetstone , but there is no shame in handing them over to a professional, especially if it ensures they are sharpened accurately .

Speaking of blades, if you own a Cuisinart food processor, check your model number to make sure yours isn’t among the millions recalled for a cracked blade. If your model number starts with FP-, ends with Y, or is a DLC-6 model, you’re not sure, but contact Cuisinart if it starts with any of the following characters :

CFP-9, CFP-11, DFP-7, DFP-11, DFP-14, DLC-5, DLC-7, DLC-8, DLC-10, DLC-XP, DLC-2007, DLC-2009, DLC- 2011, DLC-2014, DLC-3011, DLC-3014, EV-7, EV-10, EV-11, EV-14, KFP-7 and MP-14.

Of course, there is more to the kitchen than knives and blades, and you need to pay attention to your work equipment that doesn’t get tons of TLC on a daily basis.

• Toaster: Turn this thing upside down over the bin and shake out the crumbs. If it’s plastic, wipe the outside well with an all-purpose cleaner, or if it’s metal, degrease it with a tablespoon of tartar and a few drops of water, or follow the store-bought route and use Bar Keepers Friend. …
• Microwave: The video above shows how to clean the microwave without using commercial cleaning products , but all you have to do is squeeze a whole lemon into a bowl, add half a glass of water, and microwave for three minutes. Keep the door closed for another five minutes to let the steam do its thing, then wipe any dirt off the walls, ceiling, and floor.
• Oven: To get rid of stubborn fat in the oven , heat the oven to 150 ℉ and then turn it off. Place a pot of boiling water on the lower rack, place a cup of ammonia in a heat-resistant dish on the upper rack, and close the door overnight. The next morning, open the door and let it air for about fifteen minutes. Mix the ammonia with a liter of water and a couple of teaspoons of dishwashing detergent and use a strong nylon cleaning sponge soaked in the ammonia mixture to wipe off the greasy dirt in the oven. ( Don’t worry about the oven’s self-cleaning function ; it does more harm than good.)
• Stove: Ammonia is also the key to clearing dirt from burners . Simply seal each burner in a plastic bag with a quarter cup of ammonia overnight, then wipe off any greasy residue.

Now that you have a clean refrigerator, an organized pantry, and such fresh and clean appliances, you are ready to cook and have your way into a glorious New Year.

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