by Sarah Michelson

Created on: March 08, 2009

Food storage is an important thing. After all, no one wants bugs in their cereal, spoiled milk, or moldy bread. However, it is fairly easy to store things properly.

For dry goods, like cereal, flour, and sugar, you ought to use a fairly airtight container. This prevents bugs and other nasty things from getting into your food. For example, many people use airtight canisters for things like sugar and flour, and while if you are only buying a small amount of cereal, or you will consume it quickly, its fine to leave it in the box, if it will take more than a week to consume, I suggest you find some sort of alternate storage. Tupperware containers work well for this purpose, as they are airtight, stackable, and come in various sizes. They also work for the aforementioned dry ingredients.

For spices, there are several ways to deal with them. If they come in jars, the best bet is to leave them in jars, but make sure to put the lid on the entire way. If they come in bags, you can keep them in canisters, which should probably be airtight. The designs of these canisters can vary, but you should pick based on size and use. For example, if you only need to store a small amount of a spice that you don't use on a regular basis, then you should probably pick a smaller container. If you have a plethora of spices like this, you may want to try a container with room for multiple spices, especially if these are spices you will use in the same recipes.

For milk, eggs, and other dairy products, these need to be refrigerated. Its okay to leave them out for a short period of time, but be sure to put them back in your refrigerator when you are done using them. For anything that you refrigerate, be sure to check the expiration dates. Most things are good for a few days after the expiration date, but if you find a jar of dressing that expired last June, and its May, you should throw it out and try to clean out your refrigerator more often.

If you are storing leftovers, you need to prevent too much air from getting in, and usually they will need to be refrigerated. Generally, you ought to either put the leftovers in some sort of small, airtight container, or put seran wrap over the bowl or plate they are on. If you don't have plastic wrap, aluminum foil works, but not quite as well.

Bread can generally be stored out in the open, because its merely a matter of eating it before it gets moldy. However, if you keep in in a fairly airtight condition, like a breadbox, in its bag, or in your refrigerator, it won't get stale as quickly.

Proper food storage is not only important for avoiding food poisoning, it also saves you money. If you store things properly, you wont have to keep replacing moldy bread, spoiled milk, or other food disasters.

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