Tricks by which we can keep food fresh without a refrigerator. Solutions to heatwave power outages

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When food costs make up half of family budgets, throwing away food can cost us even more.

When there are frequent power outages, especially during the heat wave, there are ways to preserve food even without a refrigerator

For example, hard cheese will keep well in a paper or linen towel soaked in salt water. The cheese should be wrapped in such a towel and placed in a bag or container.

Butter can be stored in a glass jar and a saline solution is poured over it. This way it will stay fresh for at least a week.

Eggs keep perfectly at room temperature. If they are not washed, they can “survive” even in the unplugged refrigerator for up to four weeks.

As for sausages, ham, home-made sausages and drumsticks cannot be stored at room temperature. Smoked sausages in a dry, dark and ventilated room can last up to 4 days. Raw smoked sausages are stored for the longest time without a refrigerator, in a dry, ventilated room at a temperature of up to plus 15 degrees.

Lettuce, dill, parsley and other greens can simply be put in water, like a bouquet of flowers. And you can use another method: wash the greens, shake off the water and put them in a glass jar with a screw-on lid. Thus, the greens will last at least a week even in the unplugged refrigerator.

Meat and fish can be wrapped in a cloth soaked in vinegar, put in a pot with a lid and put in a dark place. Before cooking, the meat should be washed well with water.

Fresh meat can be kept for several days if it is smeared with mustard or well sprinkled with salt and pepper. In fact, this is how the meat is marinated, after which it can be cooked in the oven.

Another popular preservation method is to wrap a piece of meat on all sides with fresh nettle leaves, horseradish, garlic or onion.

If there is a suspicion that a product or another has spoiled, it must be thrown away immediately.

Unplugged refrigerators are able to maintain the temperature for a while. You just need to follow simple rules: open the refrigerator door as little as possible, put food in the freezer if possible and pre-freeze water in bottles, which will serve as your “accumulators” after the power goes out.