Charles Quinn wrote:
> Abe > wrote in news:f12p12p3prga7utheql63e7blov78gedgf@
> 4ax.com:
>
>>Does storing plastic containers with sour cream or cottage cheese
>>upside down in the fridge really make it last longer?
>
> From http://ww3.komotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1454284
> How to make just about everything in the refrigerator stay fresh longer.
> After it is opened just store it upside down. I have tested this with
> Milk, Sour Cream, Dip, Applesauce, Jelly, Jam, Pickles, Peppers and more.
> If you can't store it upside down “milk for instance” store it on it’s
> side just make sure that the liquid covers the cap. When storing anything
> upside down try to make sure that the contents sink to the “Top” to
> create a “seal”. The reason this works is bacteria needs to “land” on
> food and needs air to grow. This method stops both.

Forgive me, but I think that's a silly rationale. A closed container
already has a "seal." The closure.

Once the container is open, bacteria have already gotten in. Before it's
open, unless it's been deliberately processed to kill bacteria
(pasteurized) it already has them in it. Milk will spoil without ever
being opened.

In every opened container, there's already air in it. In many
still-closed containers, there's already air in it - that milk above
isn't filled to the very top.

I can't see any bacteriological reason to do this. I can't see any "air"
reason to do this. If the container is closed tightly enough to not
leak, getting contents to rest against the inside of that doesn't give a
*more closed* closure.

I'd need a lot better information that that quotation above to begin to
credit it with any rationality. That web site has a lot of downright
wrong information.

"Bread: Put your bread in the fridge and it will keep fresh well past
the date." It actually gets stale faster than if stored at room temp.
The only reason to refrigerate bread is to postpone molding.

"To keep champagne bubbly after opening and serving the first glass,
place a spoon handle, or a fork handle, whichever fits into neck of
bottle and your champagne will remain bubbly even until the next morning
to serve at breakfast." Pure nonsense. The laws of physics don't change
because there's a spoon nearby.

"Lettuce: To keep a head of lettuce fresh, completely wrap it in a paper
towel and put it in a zip lock bag. I have had lettuce last over a
month!" And in a deliberate experiment I did with several heads of
romaine lettuce, they all lasted several weeks except the one I left
completely uncovered. The carefully wrapped ones lasted nearly as long
as the ones I left in the Costco plastic bag I bought them in.

"Potato Chips: If you have a bunch of potato chip bags open simply roll
them up and throw them in the freezer. This will keep them fresh a lot
longer." Somebody do that and tell me that they're "fresh."

That site is twaddle of many a purest ray serene.

Pastorio