This week quick tips!

Happy November 15th!  This week I thought I would give you all some tips on foods that you use everyday and store in your food storage. 

 How to Store Brown Sugar 

Matteo Pescarin
Even if brown sugar turns hard, there are easy ways to soften it up.
Q. How can I keep my brown sugar from hardening after the bag or box is opened?

A. To avoid dried-out and hardened brown sugar, store it in a cool area in a covered and airtight container once the box or bag has been opened.
One way to soften hard sugar is to place a fresh apple slice, the peel of half a lemon, or a slice of bread in the sugar overnight. The sugar will absorb the moisture from the apple, lemon, or bread and rehydrate, making it soft again.

For an even quicker fix, remove the hardened brown sugar from the package and place it on a baking pan. Place it in a 225°F oven until soft, about 10 minutes. (Use caution, because the sugar will become very hot.)

How to Store Berries

Q. I love to buy fresh berries in the summer. How can I make them last?
A. Berries are more perishable than many other kinds of fruit, so take extra care when handling them. Choose berries that are plump and richly colored (they won't ripen further after they've been picked); avoid packages with crushed or moldy berries


Store berries uncovered in the refrigerator, and don't rinse them until just before you're ready to use them -- they spoil quickly when damp.

To enjoy the flavors of summer all year long, freeze fresh berries immediately after purchasing. Wash and dry the berries, then arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet (if using strawberries, hull them first). Freeze the berries until frozen solid and transfer them to plastic freezer bags for storage.

Food Storage and Expiration Dates

Q. How can I be sure that I'm using fresh ingredients? How long will meat, milk, and cheese last?
A. Fresh ingredients and how long they last depend on the type of food you're dealing with.

• Fruit and Vegetables: To ensure that your ingredients are fresh, it's a good idea when possible to buy fruits and vegetables when they're in season. They will have the best flavor that way. Fruits like apricots, peaches, plums, pears, and cantaloupes will ripen as they sit, but be sure to buy grapes, berries, cherries, and watermelons at their peak as they won't ripen no matter how long they sit on your kitchen table.

Photodisc Store eggs inside the refrigerator, and use them within three weeks of purchasing.

• Chicken: Check chicken to see that the skin does not have an "off" color and is not slimy or oily. These are characteristics that indicate the chicken is past its prime.
  
• Beef and Lamb: When buying beef and lamb, check to see that the beef has a bright cherry red color and the lamb is slightly paler. A brownish color is a good indication that the meat may have been around longer than it should. Use or freeze ground beef within a day of purchase; whole muscle meats like chicken, steak and chops can keep in the refrigerator about 3 days.

• Milk: Be sure to buy milk with a sell by date at least four days away. Once you get the milk home, it should last up to a week in the refrigerator.

• Eggs: Keep eggs longer by storing them in their carton in the refrigerator and not in the door. For the freshest eggs, use them within 3 weeks of purchase.

• Cheese: Hard cheeses like Cheddar and Swiss can keep up to two months in the refrigerator; soft cheeses like Brie and Muenster should be used within five to seven days of purchase.

Don't let the date on the package be your only guide. If something doesn't look fresh or smells sour, trust your instincts and don't use it.

How to Store Vinegar

Q. Does vinegar go bad? If so, how can you tell? Isn't vinegar just wine that's gone bad?

A. Vinegar is indeed a product of wine that has gone bad. In fact the word "vinegar" is from the French words vin aigre which translates to "sour wine."
Just as yeast consuming the sugars in grape juice creates alcohol as a by-product, bacteria known as "acetobacteria" consume the alcohol in wine and create acid. This acetic acid is what gives vinegar its characteristic sharp, bright flavors.

Abigael Tay Vinegar should be stored in a cool, dark place.

Since the acetobacteria live off the alcohol they consume, any number of different alcoholic products can be turned into vinegar. And the type of alcoholic liquid used as the initial ingredient of an alcohol has a pronounced effect on the flavor of the vinegar. That's why red wine vinegar tastes different from champagne vinegar.
Vinegars are often further flavored with additional ingredients such as herbs, or -- like balsamic vinegar -- through aging in wooden barrels.

When purchasing vinegar, keep in mind that you often get what you pay for. Some "cider flavored" vinegars are really just cheap distilled white vinegar to which coloring and additional flavors have been added.
Much of what is sold as balsamic vinegar here is simply red wine vinegar with caramel or caramel coloring added to make it syrupy and sweet like true balsamic.

The surprising news is that vinegar does indeed go bad. Since it is created from alcohol, many of the essential elements that give vinegar its flavor are prone to evaporation.
A significant amount of these components typically are gone by about six months after a bottle of vinegar is opened, and most vinegars are tasteless after a year of sitting opened. Vinegar's flavor can be preserved if it is stored in a cool dark place or in a refrigerator.

Some vinegars, if stored improperly or too long, will develop a cloudy look. This cloudy substance (called "mother of vinegar" since it can be used to make more vinegar) can be filtered out with a paper coffee filter in order to salvage the vinegar. However, if either the mother or the vinegar smells bad or rotten, discard both immediately