How to Keep Produce Fresh With No Refrigeration

By: Mark Perry

We have all found ourselves without a refrigerator at some point or another – whether it's because we've been in a power cut, because we're moving home, because we're camping or due to a technical fault. Whatever the cause though, being unable to refrigerate our food can be a serious challenge when so many of our regular food items are prone to going off and becoming mouldy if they are not attended to.

Hopefully you won't be left in this situation too often, but here we will look at some ways that you can save your produce until a fridge is available. Read on...

Create a Cool Bag

Creating a cool bag is a great way to keep your produce fresh and is essentially a miniature (temporary) fridge. Simply take your foods and place this inside an insulated bag with some frozen ice packs. The ice packs will bring down the internal temperature which won't be able to escape due to the insulation (make sure it is well sealed). Now place the cool bag in the shade.

Use the Sink or Bath

Alternatively you can create a more effective version of the same thing by filling the sink with ice and water then taking a water tight bag and placing it in the ice and water. Unfortunately either this method or the cool bag method involve having to first chill an ice pack or make some ice. If you are unable to do so then ask to borrow someone else's fridge or freezer to do this. Failing that you may need another strategy. (Just filling the sink with cold water and then adding the waterproof bag may also work to an extent.)

Put Your Items Outside

If it's cold outside and certainly at night, placing your food somewhere cold can be a great way to keep it cooled. If you're concerned about it getting stolen then keep your food behind a gate or in your back garden, or alternatively try keeping it on a window sill that is a-jar.

Wrap in Foil

Failing this the best thing you can do is to wrap your produce in foil and keep it in a cool dark place (such as a bread bin or a wine cooler with the top sealed). This will help to keep out the air and any bacteria but will be only a temporary measure.

Air Tight Tupperware

An air-tight Tupperware can also be used much like foil to seal out air and bacteria.

Source: healthguidance.org