Unimportant question about European refrigerators

[Word Nerd]

Not a big deal either way. I have plenty of room in my fridge for condiments but a tiny pantry. Sometimes I even put unopened salad dressing or mayo in the fridge (gasp!).

Edited November 12, 2017 by Word Nerd

[Loesje22000]

We drink tap water, tea or coffee neither of them fridged.

We have 1 l bricks, so one for milk and one for juice.

Dh has one beer can (25-33 cl) in fridge and put another one in it when he takes the fridged one.

Red wine, porto is at room temperature

 

We shop/fetch groceries twice a week just what we need the next 3-4 days.

In the past we bought once a week for 7 days, but we didn't like the vegetables at day 6 and 7

We were surprised when we learned that some Americans get their groceries once a month!

 

Only in summer the fridge get really full when we put fruit in it against fruit flies and to cool our selves down

[Bootsie]

Another thing I notice about my mom's (American) fridge:  She stores random shelf stable stuff in there, like soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, maple syrup, etc.  I guess it's just because if there's space, then why not?  All that stuff I store in the pantry.  

 

I have lived in the south where not only heat, but humidity levels, caused some things to need to be refrigerated to stay fresh where friends I have who live in other parts of the country did not refrigerate it.

 

We never stored cane syrup or Karo syrup, which was a staple in cooking.  I was surprised when a friend sent me a bottle of maple syrup from Vermont and noticed "refrigerate after opening" on it.  I asked my friend and she said definitely to refrigerate maple syrup after opening because of a particular type of mold that forms.  But, she does not refrigerate many of the items that I refrigerate.  So does maple syrup need to be refrigerated or not? 

[Deb in NZ]

Not in Europe, but the fridges here in NZ are smaller than what I see back home in the States.  Much of what is normally kept in the fridge in America (sauces, fruit, veg, eggs, etc.) are fine in the cupboard.  Jams, worchestshire sauce, soy sauce, & eggs are never kept in the fridge.  We do keep our maple syrup in the fridge as it is real VT maple syrup & growing up in VT we always kept maple syrup in the fridge after we opened the jug.  My dad keeps unopened jugs in the deep freezer.  Golden syrup & treacle are kept in the pantry.  We're just finishing up our kitchen renovation & when I moved the fridge last week I gave it a real good cleaning.  I ended up throwing away quite a few opened bottles of condiments that had been in there at least a year or two.  I only buy cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving & I had two opened jars of that.  I'm aiming to buy smaller amounts more often (as needed) from now on.  My challenge today is to go through the box of spices & seasonings before I put them away in the new pantry.  How long are spices good for after they are opened?

[Lady Marmalade]

My aunt in the Netherlands lives in a small town.  She has a split stacked fridge/freezer in the kitchen (60cm wide and 1,6m tall - about 24inch * 5foot and a bit) and a freezer of about the same size in the brick shed in the small yard.   Their garage is down the road, not connected to the house.

There is a market in the square once a week where she 'fetches' (as it translates) fruit and vegetables, cheese and sometimes meat and fish.  They live in the old town centre in a house that was built in the 1600's. One steps out of their front door and a short walk down the cobbled street gets one to the baker, butcher and fishmonger. 

 

There is also a small Albert Heijn supermarket with about 6 aisles.  If she needs anything it is a 5 min ride on her bicycle.

Once a week she goes to the Aldi which is probably 10 minutes by car for bulk items.

 

So, for her, shopping is not a hugely time-consuming chore.  She can literally start a meal, find she needs something, and quickly fetch it. 

 

There are litre sized drinks in the fridge, a type of drinking yoghurt for dessert, cut meats and cheeses for bread, pre-cut salad ingredients and some condiments, but most go in the pantry cupboard.

 

I now want to live here someday!  Sounds absolutely charming. 

[Guest]

Not in Europe, but the fridges here in NZ are smaller than what I see back home in the States. Much of what is normally kept in the fridge in America (sauces, fruit, veg, eggs, etc.) are fine in the cupboard. Jams, worchestshire sauce, soy sauce, & eggs are never kept in the fridge. We do keep our maple syrup in the fridge as it is real VT maple syrup & growing up in VT we always kept maple syrup in the fridge after we opened the jug. My dad keeps unopened jugs in the deep freezer. Golden syrup & treacle are kept in the pantry. We're just finishing up our kitchen renovation & when I moved the fridge last week I gave it a real good cleaning. I ended up throwing away quite a few opened bottles of condiments that had been in there at least a year or two. I only buy cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving & I had two opened jars of that. I'm aiming to buy smaller amounts more often (as needed) from now on. My challenge today is to go through the box of spices & seasonings before I put them away in the new pantry. How long are spices good for after they are opened?

I was just thinking about going through my spices as well, before I start baking things for the holidays. The life expectency of the spice depends on the type (and presumably varies with quality as well). I have seen six months to a year recommended for many. Certain spices are said to be more perishble than others. I read that baout Nurmeg once, but I grind my own nutmeg. However, my nutmegs themselves are now certainly a few years old, and that’s probably too long as well.

 

I’m strongly considering dumping them all and starting over, but I know that will be expensive and DH will probably have a conniption.

[TrixieB]

I have lived in the south where not only heat, but humidity levels, caused some things to need to be refrigerated to stay fresh where friends I have who live in other parts of the country did not refrigerate it.

 

We never stored cane syrup or Karo syrup, which was a staple in cooking.  I was surprised when a friend sent me a bottle of maple syrup from Vermont and noticed "refrigerate after opening" on it.  I asked my friend and she said definitely to refrigerate maple syrup after opening because of a particular type of mold that forms.  But, she does not refrigerate many of the items that I refrigerate.  So does maple syrup need to be refrigerated or not? 

 

Pure maple syrup will get moldy if it's not refrigerated.  Apparently it's possible to remove the mold, but I'm not sure how one would go about doing this.  Aunt Jemima or similar maple flavored syrups don't require refrigeration.

 

[Tanaqui]

Pure maple syrup will get moldy if it's not refrigerated.  Apparently it's possible to remove the mold, but I'm not sure how one would go about doing this.  Aunt Jemima or similar maple flavored syrups don't require refrigeration.

Decant it into a pot or saucepan. Heat it up gently. Skim off the mold. Boil a bit. Pour back into the jar.

 

But honestly, the syrup has to hang around a LONG time before it gets like this. Just eat it faster.

 

[lailasmum]

I'm in the UK and one of the few sweet products I do refrigerate is maple syrup because it moulds fast here. It's really humid where I am which probably has something to do with it. Things do go mouldy quite fast if they're going to.

[ondreeuh]

Not in Europe, but the fridges here in NZ are smaller than what I see back home in the States. Much of what is normally kept in the fridge in America (sauces, fruit, veg, eggs, etc.) are fine in the cupboard. Jams, worchestshire sauce, soy sauce, & eggs are never kept in the fridge. We do keep our maple syrup in the fridge as it is real VT maple syrup & growing up in VT we always kept maple syrup in the fridge after we opened the jug. My dad keeps unopened jugs in the deep freezer. Golden syrup & treacle are kept in the pantry. We're just finishing up our kitchen renovation & when I moved the fridge last week I gave it a real good cleaning. I ended up throwing away quite a few opened bottles of condiments that had been in there at least a year or two. I only buy cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving & I had two opened jars of that. I'm aiming to buy smaller amounts more often (as needed) from now on. My challenge today is to go through the box of spices & seasonings before I put them away in the new pantry. How long are spices good for after they are opened?

Wait, you can keep opened jam in the pantry??? Does anyone else do that? It seems like one of those things on the "definitely refrigerate" list.

[Rosie_0801]

Wait, you can keep opened jam in the pantry??? Does anyone else do that? It seems like one of those things on the "definitely refrigerate" list.

 

Sugar is a preservative and jams are usually around 50% sugar. 

[Sandwalker]

Counter eggs, though? Is Europe free of salmonella?

[Laura Corin]

Counter eggs, though? Is Europe free of salmonella?

 

European egg production is treated differently:

 

http://beta.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-heres-why-we-need-to-refrigerate-eggs-20140714-story.html

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

European egg production is treated differently:

 

http://beta.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-heres-why-we-need-to-refrigerate-eggs-20140714-story.html

 

 

Yep.  

 

Habit still has me storing eggs in the fridge, but when I buy them at the store, they're just sitting on a room-temp shelf.  

[kewb]

Decant it into a pot or saucepan. Heat it up gently. Skim off the mold. Boil a bit. Pour back into the jar.

 

But honestly, the syrup has to hang around a LONG time before it gets like this. Just eat it faster.

 

I have had my current jug of maple syrup for years. I store it in the fridge because it hangs around my house long enough. Only 2 family members like it and I only make pancakes once or twice a year. I prefer honey to maple syrup as a sugar in making sauces. I will usually sub honey for maple syrup in any recipe that calls for it. Unless I am making something vegan to serve to a vegan. I detest the taste of maple syrup.

I know I store open condiments that could be in the pantry in the fridge. It just seems wrong to me to keep them in the pantry. To highlight my irrationally, I buy the gallon size jug of Bragg's Liquid Aminos. I use that jug to refill the easier to handle size bottle. The jug is in the pantry. The smaller bottle is on the fridge.

I have weaned my family off of store bought salad dressing. The salad gets the dressing I made or skip the dressing. I do get a perverse thrill at my mother in law's distaste at my lack of salad dressing choices. She has a minimum of 3 choices on the table (which is nice but I don't want 8 choices in my fridge).

Chili paste and hot sauces (my Waterloo) are in the fridge. As are open jars of olives and pickles. I don't think we eat them fast enough because when out they get a texture I don't care for.

If my fridge was smaller I would learn to make do and would have to rearrange what little pantry space I have.

 

We just replaced our fridge and I was devastated to discover to freezer section is smaller than my old freezer. I could have done with less fridge space. I keep everything in the freezer. I find myself putting stuff in the fridge just to fill up the extra space. I believe they run more efficiently when full. My family is happy to see bottles of water in there since I never have ice unless we are having a party or my mil is coming over (and sometimes, I don't make ice for her). I can be really petty if I choose to be.

[regentrude]

Sugar is a preservative and jams are usually around 50% sugar. 

 

When I lived in Germany, we kept jam unrefrigerated and it was never a problem.

However, when I moved to my location in the US, jam would mold if stored at room temp. It really puzzled me. 

[ktgrok]

Decant it into a pot or saucepan. Heat it up gently. Skim off the mold. Boil a bit. Pour back into the jar.

 

But honestly, the syrup has to hang around a LONG time before it gets like this. Just eat it faster.

 

Yeah, I refrigerate most of the stuff y'all are talking about, but not maple syrup, because I don't like cold syrup on pancakes. I've neve had it get moldy, and I live in Florida! So if definitely isn't staying very cool.  It doesn't last that long I guess? 

Edited November 13, 2017 by ktgrok

[Laura Corin]

We sometimes get mould on jam.  We just scrape it off.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29701768

Edited November 13, 2017 by Laura Corin