10 Tips that can help you choose fresh food

We all want to see only fresh food in grocery stores and supermarkets, however the reality might be a little different. Expiring products can be on the shelves next to fresh ones, and sometimes it’s almost impossible to tell them apart.

We, from awesome.clubwe decided to help you avoid food poisoning and other problems associated with eating expired products.

Truly fresh fish does not usually have a strong smell, just a mild and characteristic aroma. A freshly caught fish is also distinguished by its gills, which should be red or pink.

Frozen fish should smell the same as fresh. However, while the second should be consumed within two days, the first can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.

Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to tell if the meat is fresh or not. When buying it, you should pay attention to several factors at once: the color, the smell and even the touch🇧🇷 Fresh meat (beef, pork and poultry) is always firm and, when pressed, quickly returns to its original shape. If this does not happen, it means that it is close to expiration date.

The main criteria for milk freshness are smell, taste and color. Although the first two factors can only be verified after purchasing the product, its color can be seen if the packaging is transparent. Truly fresh milk is white with a yellowish tinge.

The least perishable of all food products, cereals, also have a shelf life. Products made from corn, wheat, rice and oats can keep their freshness for up to five months, but only if kept in the refrigerator. If stored at room temperature, the shelf life of cereals is reduced to just one month.

While it is usually possible to determine the freshness of vegetables and fruits by how wilted they are, or by the soft parts, in eggplant it can also be judged by the stem. If it darkens and changes color from green to reddish, it’s time to discard the vegetable.

Although unopened butter can keep in the freezer for up to nine months, it is advisable to cut a piece and observe the color before consuming it. If its interior has the same color as the exterior, it is considered fresh and safe for consumption. If the interior is lighter than the exterior, it means that it has oxidized and has lost its freshness.

Choose orange or reddish persimmons. The presence of dark spots on the bark does not mean that it is rotten, as long as there are no dents and cracks, signs of decomposition. Also, persimmons with small dark spots are often the tastiest and sweetest.

To avoid astringency in persimmons, make sure they are ripe before eating them. A very ripe persimmon is so soft that its pulp practically breaks through the skin. Buy them ripe, just when you plan to eat them that day. Green persimmons, on the other hand, should be left at room temperature until fully ripe.

It is possible to determine the freshness of oysters by color and smell: they are usually brown, shiny and smell of the sea. When they are no longer fresh, they appear dry and sticky, with a strong fishy smell.

Shrimp spoil very quickly, and as soon as they begin to lose their freshness, black spots appear on the body of these crustaceans. The browning process is called melanosis. Also, old shrimp can smell like ammonia: a strong odor is a sure sign that it is uneatable for consumption.

The best way to test caviar is to smell it. While the fresh product has practically no aroma, the expired product has an intense smell of fish. If after checking it, you still have doubts about its freshness, put it in water: fresh caviar should sink, since the one that passed the expiry date, floats.

What methods for determining the freshness of food do you know? Share with us in the comments!