Technique
Reading freshness without guesswork
Dates on packaging describe a supply chain, not your refrigerator. Here is how to judge the five categories that spoil fastest.
Printed dates are conservative by design. They protect the seller, and they train us to throw away food that is perfectly good — or to trust food that has been badly stored. Your senses are better instruments, if you know what to check.
Leafy greens
Limpness is water loss, not spoilage. A cold-water soak for ten minutes restores most of it. Sliminess and a sour smell are different: that is bacterial, and no rinse will fix it.
Poultry and fish
Tackiness on the surface of chicken means the protein has begun to break down. Fish should smell of the sea and nothing else — ammonia is the end of the conversation.
- Store greens dry, in a lidded container with a paper towel.
- Keep proteins on the lowest shelf, at the back, in a shallow tray.
- Refrigerate herbs like flowers: stems in water, loose cover.
- Freeze in portions you would actually cook, not in bulk slabs.
From KAI
KAI is the Kitchen Operating System — local-first, private by default, and free for home cooks at launch.