Now that everyone is stocking their fridges to endure quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, people are looking for ways to preserve their foods for as long as possible. That’s why one mom’s advice has gained traction online as more people look for ways to make food last for as long as possible in the fridge. The mother behind the Facebook page The Prepped Mama revealed that she ALWAYS stores her jars upside down in the fridge because it does one important thing – it stops the food contained inside from rotting and growing moldy.
The mom wrote, “A great tip to stop food in jars from going moldy once you open them is to store them upside down in the fridge. It seals them and stops them from going bad, which saves you time and money.”
She added that she “tips up all my jars” because “it’s such a great way to prevent waste.”
Some moms showered praise on the housewife because she was able to make her jarred items last a lot longer than other mothers. However, some moms, other ones who also have a lot of experience around the house, suggested that this woman’s advice might not be as good as it seems because it can lead to jars breaking from the added pressure.
“I did this with my last jar of tomato paste and got through a whole jar before it went moldy,” one person said.
Another person wrote, “I used to do that until I had a jar of tomato paste leak everywhere.”
Cathy Moir has built a career around food and making life easier for people. She serves as the Senior Food Microbiology Consultant with CSIRO Agriculture and Food. She said, “storing jars upside down won’t necessarily keep your food fresher; all it will do is slow down the growth of those microorganisms.”
Moir added, “By turning the jar upside down, that surface where mold may have landed when you opened the jar is now squashed against the lid without much air, and it will find it more difficult to grow.”
Although this trick would certainly work well for thick products “like tomato paste, pasta sauce, and salsa” but might not work the way people think it would for products that contain more liquid.
Moir suggested that the trick might also “stop the molds from visibly spoiling your tomato paste, but it won’t stop things like yeasts and some bacteria from growing.”
The reason for that is simple. “Yeasts can grow with or without air, and many produce carbon dioxide – that’s what makes bubbles in beer and sparkling wines.”
Moir concluded: “Commercially processed (usually cooked) foods in jars or cans are stable at room temperature until opening because they are sealed so microorganisms can’t get in. When we open them, we are exposing the contents to the environment and all of the microbes that are on or around us.”
If you are careful not to leave jars open for long, air cannot get int to spoil them. Also, use clean spoons when removing food from these jars. It all works to extend the life of what is in there.
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