Emma Miller
Sometimes there are situations where food needs to be stored without a freezer or refrigerator. And with the beginning of emergency and scheduled power outages such situations are becoming more and more frequent. Now more and more often people need to know how to transport frozen food and in general how to live without a refrigerator.
In this article, you’ll learn some tried-and-true freezer tips to help you transport frozen food. You’d be surprised, but even soup can be saved from seemingly imminent “doom” without a refrigerator.
How to store food without a refrigerator
Soup and borscht. If the refrigerator is broken or simply can not work because of an unscheduled power outage, then “save” most often a lot of food. Often the first problem arises: how to store soup without a refrigerator. Soups and borscht are difficult to store without refrigeration because they spoil very quickly in the heat. First of all, such a dish should be boiled, so you “win” a little time, because it will cool for a few more hours. In addition, boiling kills dangerous bacteria that can appear in the soup. If it is cold outside, you can put the pot on the balcony or in the yard. It is preferable to put the soup on something cold – concrete floors or frozen ground. However, do not think that without a refrigerator your borscht will not spoil for days. Try to eat the dish in one or two days.
Meat- It’s also important to know how to preserve meat products without a refrigerator. If it’s freezing outside, pieces of meat can be dried, wrapped in paper and bags, and then hung outside the window. In such a natural “freezer” meat can be stored for a long time. But if there is no frost outside, you should think about salting the meat or making canned meat out of it. Put the pieces of meat into a pan with salt, or pour salt solution (about 10 tablespoons of salt per 0.5 liters of water) over them. After such storage, the meat should be rinsed and soaked in water to remove excess salt.
Fruits and vegetables. An important task that arises during a blackout is the problem of how to preserve vegetables without a refrigerator. It’s also worth taking care of fruit preservation. Potatoes, carrots, beets, and onions are better stored in a dark and cool place. Apples are great stored without a fridge and apples, they need to dry, wrap paper and put in a dry dark place. If you realize that the overripe fruit is already difficult to save, make compote or kissel, jam, or even fruit salad, which will be gladly eaten by the household.
Dairy products. If you need to store melted butter without refrigeration, then wrap it in parchment and pour cool water with salt. Then be sure to put a burden on top. The container with the butter can be covered with a plate, and a heavy object should be placed on top of it. Such a container can be stored outside or in a cool room. Milk without refrigeration can be stored in the cellar or on the balcony. If it begins to sour, you will get kefir, but stored milk can rarely turn into kefir, as preservatives are added to its composition. The cheese should be wrapped in cellophane; it can be stored in a bag for several days.
Moving without a refrigerator: how to transport products
Many people do not know how to keep cold on the road without a refrigerator, although in today’s world, there are many simple ways. First, you can put food in a bag with cooling panels. If you don’t have a portable mini-fridge, you can make one yourself. Wrap the food in insulated bags or foil. If you can prepare for the move ahead of time, freeze the food and surround it with bottles of pre-frozen water. This way, the food won’t defrost and spoil for a very long time.
What to eat without a refrigerator
Long-stored foods without a refrigerator don’t really cost a lot of money and you can easily stock up. Buy sweets, breadcrumbs, and croutons, energy bars, canned meat, fish and vegetables, condensed milk, jam, honey, nuts, fruit. The list of ready-to-eat foods without a fridge does not end here. Soups, mashed potatoes, and instant vermicelli will definitely save you from hunger.
Many people think that without light and a working refrigerator, you can eat only “dry pay”. However, this is not the case. If you do not know what to cook if there is no refrigerator, boil potatoes, open a can of canned food and you already get a full meal. You can also cook soups, but they should be cooked in small portions, so they do not go bad.
