12volt or mains fridge 2017 figures

[mross]

1 minute ago, OldGoat said:

Yee-Haa - that's an American site, I thought over here 6 degrees C was the recommended - at least that's what our posh home fridge defaults to. Most (?) thermostats are towards the top of the fridge, so things at the bottom are a bit colder anyway...  

Yes, it is American.  For British germs the recommended temp is 5˚C.  I do apologise!

[dor]

1 hour ago, smileypete said:

Stuff in the 'fridge' is about 2 to 5°C, and rest of the fridge is about 12 to 15°C which should be OK enough for salads, veg, eggs, bread, maybe butter/marg too.

 

 

Just a minor point: bread keeps better at room temperature - 20 degrees is fine.  That is of course for bakery bread - just keep it sealed in the bag - not fresh baguette etc.  It's something to do with the enzymes.  Either freeze it or keep it above fridge temperature.   Eggs don't need to be refrigerated, unless you intend keeping them about a month or so past their sell-by date.

[OldGoat]

6 minutes ago, mross said:

Yes, it is American.  For British germs the recommended temp is 5˚C.  I do apologise!

Fair 'nuff; a truly British compromise (them = 4, me = 6) so settle at 5 !!

[rusty69]

3 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Fair 'nuff; a truly British compromise (them = 4, me = 6) so settle at 5 !!

Just don't put any American food in your uk fridge 

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Fair 'nuff; a truly British compromise (them = 4, me = 6) so settle at 5 !!

In catering we have to keep below 8 degrees max at all times. Between 4 and 8 is optimum. All our catering fridges have a default setting of 4 degrees and are checked minimum of twice a day and recorded. My fridge onboard even today on a hot day is at 4 degrees. Beer above that is too warm, sod the food.

[Chewbacka]

9 minutes ago, dor said:

Just a minor point: bread keeps better at room temperature - 20 degrees is fine.  That is of course for bakery bread - just keep it sealed in the bag - not fresh baguette etc.  It's something to do with the enzymes.  Either freeze it or keep it above fridge temperature.   Eggs don't need to be refrigerated, unless you intend keeping them about a month or so past their sell-by date.

Does anybody else put an old egg in a bowl of water and if one end rises up, judged it as too old???

[WotEver]

8 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

In catering we have to keep below 8 degrees max at all times. Between 4 and 8 is optimum. All our catering fridges have a default setting of 4 degrees and are checked minimum of twice a day and recorded. My fridge onboard even today on a hot day is at 4 degrees. Beer above that is too warm, sod the food.

When we first got a posh new fridge with digital temp settings I phoned a mate of mine who runs a pub for the best settings. He advised 4C for the fridge and -20C for the freezer. Seems to work well for us. 

Agreed about bread and eggs - eggs take on the smell of anything else in the fridge and the dry air makes bread go stale. 

[mrsmelly]

4 minutes ago, WotEver said:

When we first got a posh new fridge with digital temp settings I phoned a mate of mine who runs a pub for the best settings. He advised 4C for the fridge and -20C for the freezer. Seems to work well for us. 

Agreed about bread and eggs - eggs take on the smell of anything else in the fridge and the dry air makes bread go stale. 

Your mate was right. Optimum temp to keep icecream is -18 frozen food stuffs between -20 and -24 Although eggs may be kept outside the fridge the EHO always always STRONGLY advise caterers to keep them in the fridge  we had two EHO bods drop on us last week and even after several swob tests and full everything else checks we again got 5 stars, thats cos we are the biz  funnily enough I went to a chinese takeaway last month and they proudly display their 3 star rating in a frame at the entrance  as there is no legal requirement to display it why the hell would you if you got a 3? 

[smileypete]

6 minutes ago, WotEver said:

When we first got a posh new fridge with digital temp settings I phoned a mate of mine who runs a pub for the best settings. He advised 4C for the fridge and -20C for the freezer. Seems to work well for us. 

Agreed about bread and eggs - eggs take on the smell of anything else in the fridge and the dry air makes bread go stale. 

Bread staling is mainly due to the starches going hard:

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2013-08-19/what-makes-bread-go-stale-

A small amount of oil slows this down, though it's forbidden in proper french baguettes which explains why they're best fresh from the boulangerie.

As for the egg thing, never heard of that though I stick any food with strong odours in a thick poly bag or placcy box.

[Chewbacka]

2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Your mate was right. Optimum temp to keep icecream is -18 frozen food stuffs between -20 and -24 Although eggs may be kept outside the fridge the EHO always always STRONGLY advise caterers to keep them in the fridge  we had two EHO bods drop on us last week and even after several swob tests and full everything else checks we again got 5 stars, thats cos we are the biz  funnily enough I went to a chinese takeaway last month and they proudly display their 3 star rating in a frame at the entrance  as there is no legal requirement to display it why the hell would you if you got a 3? 

Probably because it is 3 more stars than the takeaway with none to display..........

[mrsmelly]

1 minute ago, Chewbacka said:

Probably because it is 3 more stars than the takeaway with none to display..........

Scarey though innitt? if we got a 3 on a rating of 0 to 5 we wouldnt display ours. If we dropped one point down to 4 I may do but I doubt it even then.

[WotEver]

14 minutes ago, smileypete said:

As for the egg thing, never heard of that...

Item #1 here:

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/never-put-eggs-in-the-fridge--a-dozen-food-myths-that-could-cost-you.html

Having said that, the NHS recommends keeping eggs in the fridge. I guess it depends how long you keep them, we never get close to the printed date ourselves. 

Edited July 4, 2017 by WotEver

[mross]

A 3 is still a pass!  The ratings go from 1 to 5 but dodgy establishments get closed down.  I'm happy to eat at a 3.

[smileypete]

1 minute ago, WotEver said:

Item #1 here:

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/never-put-eggs-in-the-fridge--a-dozen-food-myths-that-could-cost-you.html

Having said that, the NHS recommended keeping eggs in the fridge. I guess it depends how long you keep them, we never get close to the use by date ourselves. 

Interestingly, eggs still have a best before date and not a use by date.

A lot of people don't know the difference, meaning a mountain of perfectly good food gets wasted regularly.

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, smileypete said:

Interestingly, eggs still have a best before date and not a use by date.

A lot of people don't know the difference, meaning a mountain of perfectly good food gets wasted regularly.

Eggsactly

Cue egg jokes, 

[mross]

39 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

In catering we have to keep below 8 degrees max at all times

1

Can you cite any references for 8 degrees?  I'm surprised.  Which foodstuffs?  Thanks 

[WotEver]

1 minute ago, smileypete said:

Interestingly, eggs still have a best before date and not a use by date.

I always ignore either date on any produce. If my nose says it's ok and my eyes agree then it gets eaten. 

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, mross said:

Can you cite any references for 8 degrees?  I'm surprised.  Which foodstuffs?  Thanks 

How long have you got? we have huge lists of shit we have to do and we have to keep fridges below 8 degrees. Over 8 degrees bacteria multiplies expedentialy. Catering aint about just buying and selling the legislation is onerous. I have to know EVERY ingrediant of EVERY product we sell for a start and be able to tell any Joe public when they ask even down to the ingrediants of for instance a mars bar that we use in some cakes.

4 minutes ago, WotEver said:

I always ignore either date on any produce. If my nose says it's ok and my eyes agree then it gets eaten. 

I am with you on that for private use but for catering to the public there is far far more to it than that.

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

I am with you on that for private use but for catering to the public there is far far more to it than that.

Oh for sure. I wasn't suggesting that a professional should do what I do

[jddevel]

1 hour ago, dor said:

Eggs don't need to be refrigerated, unless you intend keeping them about a month or so past their sell-by date.

My mother use to refer to something-can`t remember at the moment what its called- of something that they use to keep eggs in during the war and they lasted weeks. Any one know what it was?

[WotEver]

1 minute ago, jddevel said:

My mother use to refer to something-can`t remember at the moment what its called- of something that they use to keep eggs in during the war and they lasted weeks. Any one know what it was?

The pantry?

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

Lager above 4°C is too warm, sod the food.

Corrected that for you. 

Proper beer should be served between 12 & 14°C.

[WotEver]

3 minutes ago, jddevel said:

My mother use to refer to something-can`t remember at the moment what its called- of something that they use to keep eggs in during the war and they lasted weeks. Any one know what it was?

More seriously than my last post, waterglass?

http://www.1900s.org.uk/1940s50s-preserving-eggs.htm

[jddevel]

1 minute ago, WotEver said:

More seriously than my last post, waterglass

Just spoken to my 90 year old Mum and she said it was something "glass" so you are correct. Apparently put it and the eggs in water it went like foam and preserved the eggs.

[rusty69]

11 minutes ago, jddevel said:

My mother use to refer to something-can`t remember at the moment what its called- of something that they use to keep eggs in during the war and they lasted weeks. Any one know what it was?

A hen? 

Edited July 4, 2017 by rusty69
I chickened out