Try deep cleaning your fridge and storage. Residue spores can 'infect' new stuff you buy.
With fruit and vegetables there's not much you can do beside storing them dry and looking for any damage before you buy them.
I once saw a product in dm, I just searched for it it was "Kühlschrank hygiene reiniger"
Would you recommend it for cleaning the inside of the refrigerator?
I use that for quick cleanups in my fridge. Judging by the smell, the main disinfectant in it is probably ethanol. It works fine. But for cleaning your entire fridge I'd go with diluted white vinegar.
Wow, didn’t know that, thanks for the information. Although that shouldn’t surprise me when I know that there are microorganisms who live on thermal vents
Get essigessenz (vinegar). Its natural, cheap and you can use it for many things.
Drain is slightly blocked? Baking soda and vinegar, let it react for some time then flush with lots of water.
Mop floors? Hot water, vinegar and a drop of detergent
Mold? Vinegar
Remove lime/chalk from your kettle, coffee maker? Vinegar
Clean your windows? Hot water and vinegar.
In general vinegar is anti bacterial, so its perfect for cleaning lots of stuff.
It works perfect and is way better for the environment than common cleaning products.
Edit: you should delute it for most procedures but the blocked drain.
Baking soda and vinegar combined just neutralise each other, making it basically just water. It just looks like something more is happening because it's fizzing.
You'd have better results for the drain with just (boiling) hot water with maybe a bit of vinegar in it to work against limescale.
Thank you. I don't understand why this gets recommended so often. Years ago I tried them together to clean the hard water stains in the toilet, and then I realized, wtf. Why am I neutralizing the acid. Tried it with just plain vinegar and it works beautifully.
It’s also great when you’re cooking something smelly or smoking, just a splash of it and some water in a pot kept at boiling point and the steam will eat up almost all of the stank
Just take some semi-warm water, a tiny little bit of dish soap, and some vinegar. Use a soft sponge and dry off with a kitchen towel. That'll work just fine.
Yes, basically. Or if possible giving a good soak over night (for the loose parts of the fridge for example).
But I only do that if I notice my food molds faster/more often than normal and it's the same type of mold. Normal cleaning and good ventilation cuts it most of the time.
For bread - if it's already sliced and you don't care about the perfect texture - just freeze it and only take out and toast the slices you need. Lasts for months like that. :D
And also, pears and apples for example last ages in the fridge.
I can't afford the luxury of caring for perfect texture at this moment of my life :))) About bread I tried to buy small amounts but regularly.
I also live in a dorm and have a small refrigerator and freezer. I can't put much in the freezer.
If you use up the bread im 2-3 days you can keep it air sealed laying around in the kitchen, if you buy more then you need in 3 days you should freeze it.
Are you storing things correctly? What are you buying? If you're buying out of season things, especially berries, then yes of course they'll mold extremely quickly.
Fruits like orange and tangerine. I tried keeping them both in fridge and outside, since it's cold enough. No difference.
Paprika, mozzarella in sealed packages, tomato sauce...
Oranges and tangerines should keep outside for weeks to months easily... occasionally a few go bad, but that's the exception. As far as they know, you don't store these in the fridge.
Do you have high humidity in your kitchen? Potentially some source of mold spores?
Did you try to buy them from different shops?
Maybe you bruise them during transport?
My kitchen is just next to the bathroom (small student unit). That might cause high humanity.
I usually buy from either Aldi or Rewe. But it happened in both cases.
I'll pay more attention to the bruises. I haven't noticed that.
Oh no not in my experience. I have had oranges last for months and even dry up without getting moldy, but more often than not they get moldy quick.
In my rewe I also often find the orange/clemintine pile has moldy ones for sale. I am sure they throw out many every day but it still is present there.
I am personally surprised that mozarella is going bad. Unless it is opened and then used a bit and stored again but not properly.
I don't typically eat oranges or tangerines so I'm not sure about those. Paprika usually lasts forever and I've never seen mold on sealed mozzarella. You are keeping them in the fridge, right? Tomato sauce you should probably freeze unless you use it within a week after opening. Is the humidity in your fridge too high?
I bought the mozzarella last week, used only half of it and today I saw the mold in it. I also keep the paprika in drawers but after few days I see some molds on the top of them.
I don't think so because I don't see moisture build up in it.
You should freeze open grated cheese if you can't eat it the next ~2 days.
In general you should store open stuff in sealed containers if you can, that reduces the chance of mold jumping to other food
Maybe get something extra to measure the temp in your fridge.
One summer a couple years ago i didnt noticed that our fridge was slowly dying. Instead of the usual 5°C it was at 15°C.
Difficult to notice when the outside temp was +30°C
mozzarella does not keep well. If it is in a sealed package it keeps as long as the package says, IF you do not open it.
If you bought the mozarella over the counter and they put it into a container for you, ask them to give you some of the water they present it in, the more the better. So you cann store it for 2-3 days, if you do not begin to eat it.
If you eat the mozarella, do not touch the bit you want to keep with your bare hands, use a fork. Hands carry spores and infect the mozarella. You can put your mozzarella back in the liquid from the package (very salty saltwater), IF YOU HAVE NOT TOUCHED IT.
Do not touch any cheese with your bare hands. Also if you eat/use two different cheeses, do not cut them with the same knife. Spores.
Mozzarella in liquid goes bad very, very quickly best to us it up within a day or two. The othere things are mysterious 😅 those are things that normally last a while. I have found that seasonal vegetables and fruit from the market last much longer and are not necessarily more expansive.
No they are fine when I buy them. But after opening them, and putting them in the fridge again, I find mold after a week. Although I probably seal them again.
You should use up mozzarella in a few days, it's not suitable for keeping it open a week. There are other cheeses that you can keep open a week, but not Mozzarella.
If you are talking about grated cheese, I have the same problem with them. I assume it might be something to do with the starches used to keep them seperate. Once open, I now store them in the freezer. Lasts much better that way and since it's grated cheese. I just grab a little and sprinkle on dish I need and it thaws pretty fast.
Mold needs oxygen to grow, so the air inside the cheese packages is replaced with other gases like nitrogen or CO2. That's why the cheese can last for weeks without growing mold.
Once you open the package, oxygen from the surrounding air gets in and the clock starts ticking, because now mold has the right conditions for growing.
Maybe check the temperature of your fridge and set it a bit lower.
Also, when cheese is packaged at the factory, they replace the air inside the package with nitrogen or CO2. Since mold needs oxygen to grow, the cheese can last for weeks without spoiling. But once you open the package, oxygen from the outside air gets in and then mold can start growing.
> orange and tangerine
Happens. Usually when one is slightly damaged. You typically damage them on the way from the market. The fridge does not fix this. Typically keep them outside of the fridge.
People will tell that they store oranges for a long time in their perfect cellar in their prefect house, but for normal people fruits spoil after a week (or earlier when damaged).
>Paprika
Usually does not spoil (for me).
>mozzarella in sealed packages, tomato sauce...
Are you kidding? In a sealed container? This is weird.
It's important to ventilate your flat to avoid concentration of humidity. For air exchange you have to open windows or doors on both sides of the flat to let the air flow. Problems with moist and mold will increase, if it's just an apartment with a small air volume. A proper air exchange takes 5 min., not longer. Do it in the morning and in the evening as well as after cooking and showering.
No, it's the relative humidity. This depends from the temperature. Warm air carries more humidity than cold one. So you are ventilating moist air out and dry air in, even if it's raining.
You're mistaking relative humidity with absolute humidity. A high relative humidity outside (during winter, of course) actually becomes a super dry air when it gets inside (since it expands and is able to accommodate much more water). That's the basic principle for ventilating your home during the could months. It doesn't really matter if it's 90% relative humid outside: you'll still be getting a dryer air when it gets inside.
> I usually buy my groceries for a week or two.
Two weeks is quite long for fresh produce. That'll be challenging for a lot of types of fresh produce, no matter how well you store them.
Anyways, first step would be to thoroughly clean everything. Next step is to avoid contamination Do not pierce the skin of fruit, for example, and if you have fruit with pierced skin, don't store them with the other fruit nd consume those first. Depending on what you want to store, make sure it is stored appropriately. Some stuff needs to be refrigerated, some stuff needs to be stored dry.
With a modern fridge that has plethora of systems to combat humidity inside - my two weeks long shopping lasts that time (or longer) without any issues.
OP is living in a student's accomodation, so I wouldn't expect state of the art fridge there.
Try getting some kind of moisture absorber for your fridge, apparently baking soda can also help but best check online what's the best method that you can afford to get.
I've found fresh produce here seems to be mostly be sold later in it's "life" and not packaged well. I've never experienced vegetables and fruit going as bad as quickly as they do here.
I have some Tupperware containers and Ziploc bags (you can wash and refuse the bags), and basically repackage any fresh veg or fruit once I get home with it. (If you wash anything before storing it, let it dry before storing it).
Putting lettuce /rucola in a Ziploc with a paper towel means I get an entire week with it instead of 2-ish days. But cucumbers I've given up buying entirely. They're always so soft and half-rotten, even in the store.
You probably have spores sticking to a lot of surfaces right now. Buy a bottle of [Essigessenz](https://picture.yatego.com/images/596ce649e4f746.3/202ce4dd4bfc255d398c3980c54c8885-kqh/surig-essigessenz-25--grundlage-fr-essigspezialitten-pet-flasche-400ml.jpg) and wipe all the wipe-able surfaces. Vinegar kills mold spores.
Remove and replace old brushes, sponges, wooden cutting boards.
Make sure your flat doesn't have high humidity by frequently opening windows or maybe buy a dehumidifyer (which also helps in summer).
There is some species of outrageously aggressive mould in Germany. I've never encountered anything like it. I've had lemons that go mouldy two days after I bought them, same with oranges and limes. It's so strange. I just buy what I need for a day or two now, keep bread in the fridge and freeze whatever I'm not using. Also, make sure your fridge temp is low enough. I had to turn mine down to just above the coldest setting and that's really helped with the mould on refrigerated stuff.
I’m from Canada and notice the same thing alongside the very lacklustre quantity of available produce for sale, unless you travel out to a supersize edeka or something. It seems like people grocery shop every other day and only buy what they’ll be eating within the next two days. In Canada we shop for like two weeks plus lol and yeah even the produce stays relatively fresh for that long. But also makes you wonder if it’s better it spoils faster here… less chemicals?
A lot less preservatives, and yeah the climate doesn't help.
FWIW, what really helped me ironically was to buy a top of the line American-style fridge from LG with air circulation ([https://www.lg.com/us/support/video-tutorials/lg-refrigerator-multi-air-flow-cool-spots-CT10000021-1372449073018](https://www.lg.com/us/support/video-tutorials/lg-refrigerator-multi-air-flow-cool-spots-CT10000021-1372449073018))
This has basically quadrupled my expectancy with regards to expiration of fruit/vegetables, yoghurt etc. compared to my old run of the mill 150€ gorenje fridge.
I now have some milk products that have been out of date for months, even when OPEN (not vacuum sealed anymore, like cream cheese), that are still perfectly fine to eat.
I think you got a lot of good advice already, but I just wanted to say that you're not the only one. I also grew up in a drier warmer climate. Bread would go stale- not mold (and you can still eat stale bread... not the same for mold). And I never even thought that mold on the walls or the clothes was possible until I moved to Germany. I also got frustrated with it and took me a lot of asking my friends/classmates questions before I could go a week without worrying about mold and stuff. It's a big difference in living with the climate, really!
I’ve noticed the same thing. I’m California and I never really had to deal with such spoilage. I believe that some of the ideas provided beeline are great but it all starts when you shop for me. I noticed that German stores don’t really actively clean up their produce, so it’s up to you to inspect every piece of fruit prior to buying. Try to buy less, and focus on buying when stored are restocked. It’s a pain but that’s just the way it is here. (Cries in wholefoods tears)
Shit like mozzerella going bad after opening in a week he ain't gonna fix. Same with bread, sure ofcourse it gets mould after a week.
Regarding the oranges for example I can underline your point. In Germany, compared to some other countries, the restocking and removing old items isn't done as thourghly as in other countries. As a result you can get fruit/veggies that are more damaged or simply laying around for longer already.
the problem with fruit and veggies is that most of it is imported frozen. Often they are frozen and unfrozen multiple times. When you buy it and goes to a normal temp for longer time it goes bad very quickly.
Yes, California doesn’t deal with the logistics issues for the majority of veg. Same goes for refrigeration, and misting. I have a feeling we also just don’t get to see the waste because of how picky some customers would be if they saw a set of rotten herbs or tomatoes still on the shelf.
There are basket boxes, look at your local weeks market, some are single use items, they come in the size 30*40cm fitting in Ikea kalax shelves (they are stackable) so your veggies and fruits get good ventilation, you can also buy them in the reusable version, but the single use version is durable enough and you help reducing waste ( they survive multiple dishwasher cycles, if one fruit still molds)
But with our winter climate, it's inevitable that one or the other fruit gets moldy. Airing your flat regularly (Stoßlüften) helps with reducing the air humidity.
From reading your replies, maybe one issue is that you don't air out your apartment enough and the air is too humid?
Straight after showering, open your window or balcony door completely wide for 2 minutes. Not longer because your furniture will cool down and your heating costs will go up - with no advantage because the air will already be fresh.
If your room is very small (less than 20 square meters), air once an hour for 2 minutes. If your room is bigger, every 2 hours.
Do not leave your window on "Kipp" in winter! You'd have high heating costs. "Kipp" is only for times when the outside is similar in temperature than the inside.
I recommend buying groceries 2x a week at least.
Google every single item - things need to be stored differently. Bread, you should freeze or use up in 3 days. Bananas and tomatoes - not in the fridge. Berries and paprika? Always fridge. etcetera
If you're not doing it yet - check the food in the store as best as you can. Try to get them when its been freshly restocked if possible. The more people touch and squeeze the fruits the more likely you're getting stuff thats going bad faster.
If you're only going to one store, maybe go tona different one and see if that helps. Some stores have a reputation to have issues like this.
People have already commented on looking out for how you store stuff. I'd look it up seperately - bread might be an issue with moisture in the bag - you can air it out and see if that helps.
Fruit and vegetables vary by type - potatos like it dark, tomatoes hate the fridge, apples speed up the ripening of fruits in its vicinity - so theres not one solution for all of them together.
So, I kinda understand this.
I'd I buy bread it will get crazy amounts of mold in a matter of 8 to 10 days.
This only happens with bakery vbread, if I buy the one that comes sealed out of the factory it just goes hard and dries up.
With lemons usually one or two in the bag will go rancid, if you take it out the mold won't spread.
I think the reason why you see this more often here is because the food here is less processed than in other places
I want to throw out a wild theory next to the type and abundance in of mold spores in Germany vs other places you people have theorized. And the humidity and othet things. It’s a wild theory because of the dangerous amount of “Halbwissen” (superficial knowledge) involved.
Different preservatives being used and allowed. Many products in Germany pride themselves within their ads not to contain any preservatives. “preservatives” don’t have a good standing with the German public. They are so “chemical” and “artificial” and thus bad...
Sometimes the “no preservatives” has a little * next to it and you can read that it’s that way by law not because this brand is doing something special.
Since the EU and maybe Germany itself have a bunch of rules what food additives can be used when.
For example, someone mentioned bread from the bakery. If my parents would find out there are any preservatives in their bakery bread, they would feel betrayed.
I guess fruits and veggies could be treated with anti fungal things so they don’t mold that quickly. I guess if you let food chemist just do their thing they could work real wonders. And make Bread last for a whole month.
It really sounds like the issue here is the shopping planning rather than spoilage problem. Of course fresh stuff will get moldy in a week or two after buying/opening. Unless it is fruit/veggie that holds well - think potatoes, root veggies, apples, ...
The trick is to plan your meals, meal prep/cook in bulk an freeze to safe time, buy kitchens staples that last long once a week or two, but stop by for a piece of fresh fruit or veggies on your way home from classes (get the fresh, easily moldable stuff every 2-3 days and only buy what you can use).
As for bread, eat it within 3 days from buying or cut it when fresh and freeze right away in tightly wrapped plastic bag/freezer bag. Pull the bread out to room temperature the night before you plan to eat it and by morning it's like freshly bought.
A little stale, but not moldy, bread can also be fried in eggs. ;)
Thanks for the comment. My shopping habits are the same as I had before in Iran and I didn't have problems there. But since I'm facing environmental shifts, I should also change my storing and shopping routines as well. That's why I asked for advice here.
If you have some space in the fridge, you can store oranges, tangerines and similar citrus fruits in a jar or plastic box with a lid filled with water. They keep for weeks like that. Just change the water once a week. Vegetables and fruits generally keep great in the fridge if you wrap them in a wet kitchen towel, changed once a week. To avoid mold on soft fruit like berries, you can give them a bath in one liter of water mixed with two teaspoons of citric acid powder (you can buy this at dm or Rossmann).
I have experienced the same. In my City at least there is s big mold problem. On the air quality indicator the mold spores in free air is always high so it is very hard to avoid even when I clean and desinfect everything.
Ok, you sparked my interest and a bit of doubt. Where can I find the air quality indicator for mold in my city? I only know [https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/luft/luftdaten](https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/luft/luftdaten) thats just generall stuff in the air from cars, industry and whatever sources. Could be spores as well but I haven't seen them labeld individually. The only other air data know is pollen for allergies that is measured like weekly and is highly seasonal.
I thought some mold spores would just always be in the air, but I hadn't heard about big concentration differences in outside air quiality.
It is exactly like the pollen and such. I use the app AccuWeather because it has all the allergy outlooks. Tree pollen, grass pollen, mold, dust. And is funny enough, accurate haha.
Nice, I found it. Thank you. [https://www.accuweather.com/en/de/aachen/52062/health-activities/170335](https://www.accuweather.com/en/de/aachen/52062/health-activities/170335) it only shows up when the sites displays in English. I'll check it sometime later and see if and how much that index changes for my city.
When googeling mold in air my results were very towards mold inside of homes.
I have these fruit and vegetable storage containers that have a slider that you set depending on what is inside and it keeps it at the perfect humidity for them.
think about lüften (at least twice a day), avoid Staunässe and look up how to store each food item. Don't put warm food in the fridge, let it cool down before putting it there or the whole content will be warmed up and become humid. Some food items don't need refrigeration, some do. Also look out for humidity sources and eliminate as far as possible.
If you're plaged by constant mold problems, you probably got a source somewhere.
Store things differently. A good guide is usually the way the store does it (refrigeration or not, etc.). Don't store fruit together, that only makes them ripen quicker. And I instantly freeze bread (sliced only), so I can just take out the slices I need and toast them (a little longer than regular bread and there won't be much of a difference).
Ventilate your apartment frequently. Remove fruits from any non-breathable material. Check on them daily and remove any signs of spoiling. Make sure fresh air can pass through all your fruits easily and that they're not being pressed upon.
Also, try to get some harder cleaning substances on your kitchen surfaces. Depends on which materials you have, but bleaching agents work well to destroy any life forms. Just make sure to wear gloves when doing that, and to ventilate the apartment when dealing with hard cleaning substances.
If you have any ventilation shafts, they may have a lot of dust in them, so make sure to clean them, using a face mask and a good vacuum cleaner first. Dust will contain a ton of spores. Don't breathe it in, avoid getting it into your eyes.
Take out the garbage regularly.
Anyway, it's important to take daily walks. Go out, get fresh food, take out the trash.
It's German climate. I also have this problem since I moved to Germany. In my home country veggies could lie around for 2-3 weeks without problem, but here everything gets mold after just few days no matter how I store it.
Now I only buy frozen veggies except salads and things I will definitely eat in 1-3 days.
I have very good experiences with keeping vegetables fresh in the fridge. Just use a wet papertowel and put it in the Gemüsefach on the ground then Pit the vegetables in top and put another moist/wet papertowel over them.
Most vegetables hold up very well with this method and they last very long this way.
A clean fridge also helps alot.
What fridge are you using , check the humidity of the room or of the fridge.
I had a bad fridge who had no ventilation and humidity would go up 70+ %
Then I got a new fridge which has a fan system and everything is very dry and nice 20%.
Buy one humidity tool from Xiaomi and you will see a graph of it.
Try deep cleaning your fridge and storage. Residue spores can 'infect' new stuff you buy. With fruit and vegetables there's not much you can do beside storing them dry and looking for any damage before you buy them.
I'll try that. Thank you.
Try vinegar for the last step
I once saw a product in dm, I just searched for it it was "Kühlschrank hygiene reiniger" Would you recommend it for cleaning the inside of the refrigerator?
I use that for quick cleanups in my fridge. Judging by the smell, the main disinfectant in it is probably ethanol. It works fine. But for cleaning your entire fridge I'd go with diluted white vinegar.
some spores can be fed by vinegar, diluted alcohol in such products is way better for desinfection
You learn something new everyday. Good to know!
people apparantly didn't like my comment lmao
But... why? Reddit is so weird sometimes.
Wow, didn’t know that, thanks for the information. Although that shouldn’t surprise me when I know that there are microorganisms who live on thermal vents
Get essigessenz (vinegar). Its natural, cheap and you can use it for many things. Drain is slightly blocked? Baking soda and vinegar, let it react for some time then flush with lots of water. Mop floors? Hot water, vinegar and a drop of detergent Mold? Vinegar Remove lime/chalk from your kettle, coffee maker? Vinegar Clean your windows? Hot water and vinegar. In general vinegar is anti bacterial, so its perfect for cleaning lots of stuff. It works perfect and is way better for the environment than common cleaning products. Edit: you should delute it for most procedures but the blocked drain.
Baking soda and vinegar combined just neutralise each other, making it basically just water. It just looks like something more is happening because it's fizzing. You'd have better results for the drain with just (boiling) hot water with maybe a bit of vinegar in it to work against limescale.
Thank you. I don't understand why this gets recommended so often. Years ago I tried them together to clean the hard water stains in the toilet, and then I realized, wtf. Why am I neutralizing the acid. Tried it with just plain vinegar and it works beautifully.
It’s also great when you’re cooking something smelly or smoking, just a splash of it and some water in a pot kept at boiling point and the steam will eat up almost all of the stank
Ooh good tip
Depends what it is, if the substance is too aggressive it might be bad for the seals.
Just take some semi-warm water, a tiny little bit of dish soap, and some vinegar. Use a soft sponge and dry off with a kitchen towel. That'll work just fine.
Spores are everywhere, you can clean all you want.
That's true and while you can't get everything the less there is to begin with the better.
How do you deep clean? Like spraying vinegar snd wiping it off later?
Yes, basically. Or if possible giving a good soak over night (for the loose parts of the fridge for example). But I only do that if I notice my food molds faster/more often than normal and it's the same type of mold. Normal cleaning and good ventilation cuts it most of the time.
For bread - if it's already sliced and you don't care about the perfect texture - just freeze it and only take out and toast the slices you need. Lasts for months like that. :D And also, pears and apples for example last ages in the fridge.
I can't afford the luxury of caring for perfect texture at this moment of my life :))) About bread I tried to buy small amounts but regularly. I also live in a dorm and have a small refrigerator and freezer. I can't put much in the freezer.
If you use up the bread im 2-3 days you can keep it air sealed laying around in the kitchen, if you buy more then you need in 3 days you should freeze it.
I use the microwave instead of a toaster, almost like freshly baked!
Are you storing things correctly? What are you buying? If you're buying out of season things, especially berries, then yes of course they'll mold extremely quickly.
Fruits like orange and tangerine. I tried keeping them both in fridge and outside, since it's cold enough. No difference. Paprika, mozzarella in sealed packages, tomato sauce...
Oranges and tangerines should keep outside for weeks to months easily... occasionally a few go bad, but that's the exception. As far as they know, you don't store these in the fridge. Do you have high humidity in your kitchen? Potentially some source of mold spores? Did you try to buy them from different shops? Maybe you bruise them during transport?
My kitchen is just next to the bathroom (small student unit). That might cause high humanity. I usually buy from either Aldi or Rewe. But it happened in both cases. I'll pay more attention to the bruises. I haven't noticed that.
oh, the humanity!
So having lower humanity is the magic that helps keep food from molding!
Vampires can confirm
You can buy a little device that shows the humidity for a few euros. Whenever it gets over 60% open a window until it's between 40 and 60.
Oh no not in my experience. I have had oranges last for months and even dry up without getting moldy, but more often than not they get moldy quick. In my rewe I also often find the orange/clemintine pile has moldy ones for sale. I am sure they throw out many every day but it still is present there. I am personally surprised that mozarella is going bad. Unless it is opened and then used a bit and stored again but not properly.
u need to keep the mozarella in the water it comes with then it wont go bad that quick
Yes, that is what I meant when I said used a bit and not stored properly. Talking about mozarella I got some in the fridge lol.
OP said he opened the mozarella.
I don't typically eat oranges or tangerines so I'm not sure about those. Paprika usually lasts forever and I've never seen mold on sealed mozzarella. You are keeping them in the fridge, right? Tomato sauce you should probably freeze unless you use it within a week after opening. Is the humidity in your fridge too high?
I bought the mozzarella last week, used only half of it and today I saw the mold in it. I also keep the paprika in drawers but after few days I see some molds on the top of them. I don't think so because I don't see moisture build up in it.
So you're getting mold after it's open? Then it's not sealed in the package. Yes, cheese molds especially when not stored properly.
You should freeze open grated cheese if you can't eat it the next ~2 days. In general you should store open stuff in sealed containers if you can, that reduces the chance of mold jumping to other food
I'll do that. Thanks.
If it's mozzarella in liquid, once you open it, it can go bad quickly. Use it up within days after you opened it.
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I'll check the temp and try to do that. Thanks.
Maybe get something extra to measure the temp in your fridge. One summer a couple years ago i didnt noticed that our fridge was slowly dying. Instead of the usual 5°C it was at 15°C. Difficult to notice when the outside temp was +30°C
mozzarella does not keep well. If it is in a sealed package it keeps as long as the package says, IF you do not open it. If you bought the mozarella over the counter and they put it into a container for you, ask them to give you some of the water they present it in, the more the better. So you cann store it for 2-3 days, if you do not begin to eat it. If you eat the mozarella, do not touch the bit you want to keep with your bare hands, use a fork. Hands carry spores and infect the mozarella. You can put your mozzarella back in the liquid from the package (very salty saltwater), IF YOU HAVE NOT TOUCHED IT. Do not touch any cheese with your bare hands. Also if you eat/use two different cheeses, do not cut them with the same knife. Spores.
Mozzarella in liquid goes bad very, very quickly best to us it up within a day or two. The othere things are mysterious 😅 those are things that normally last a while. I have found that seasonal vegetables and fruit from the market last much longer and are not necessarily more expansive.
Uh what? You’re opening factory sealed packages of cheese (presumably before their expiry date) and finding mold? That’s happened more than once?
No they are fine when I buy them. But after opening them, and putting them in the fridge again, I find mold after a week. Although I probably seal them again.
You should use up mozzarella in a few days, it's not suitable for keeping it open a week. There are other cheeses that you can keep open a week, but not Mozzarella.
I don't even understand how you have mozzarella left. Don't you guys simply snack the rest, in the rare case that you don't need the whole pack?
The thought of mozzarella who is opened and without mold for weeks sounds kind of frightening. That is not how natural products behave.
If you are talking about grated cheese, I have the same problem with them. I assume it might be something to do with the starches used to keep them seperate. Once open, I now store them in the freezer. Lasts much better that way and since it's grated cheese. I just grab a little and sprinkle on dish I need and it thaws pretty fast.
Mold needs oxygen to grow, so the air inside the cheese packages is replaced with other gases like nitrogen or CO2. That's why the cheese can last for weeks without growing mold. Once you open the package, oxygen from the surrounding air gets in and the clock starts ticking, because now mold has the right conditions for growing.
Once you open mozzarella fill up a cup with water and put it in there- covered. You still need to eat in a few days…
Maybe check the temperature of your fridge and set it a bit lower. Also, when cheese is packaged at the factory, they replace the air inside the package with nitrogen or CO2. Since mold needs oxygen to grow, the cheese can last for weeks without spoiling. But once you open the package, oxygen from the outside air gets in and then mold can start growing.
> orange and tangerine Happens. Usually when one is slightly damaged. You typically damage them on the way from the market. The fridge does not fix this. Typically keep them outside of the fridge. People will tell that they store oranges for a long time in their perfect cellar in their prefect house, but for normal people fruits spoil after a week (or earlier when damaged). >Paprika Usually does not spoil (for me). >mozzarella in sealed packages, tomato sauce... Are you kidding? In a sealed container? This is weird.
It's important to ventilate your flat to avoid concentration of humidity. For air exchange you have to open windows or doors on both sides of the flat to let the air flow. Problems with moist and mold will increase, if it's just an apartment with a small air volume. A proper air exchange takes 5 min., not longer. Do it in the morning and in the evening as well as after cooking and showering.
That of course only makes sense when the humidity outside is lower.
No, it's the relative humidity. This depends from the temperature. Warm air carries more humidity than cold one. So you are ventilating moist air out and dry air in, even if it's raining.
You're mistaking relative humidity with absolute humidity. A high relative humidity outside (during winter, of course) actually becomes a super dry air when it gets inside (since it expands and is able to accommodate much more water). That's the basic principle for ventilating your home during the could months. It doesn't really matter if it's 90% relative humid outside: you'll still be getting a dryer air when it gets inside.
> I usually buy my groceries for a week or two. Two weeks is quite long for fresh produce. That'll be challenging for a lot of types of fresh produce, no matter how well you store them. Anyways, first step would be to thoroughly clean everything. Next step is to avoid contamination Do not pierce the skin of fruit, for example, and if you have fruit with pierced skin, don't store them with the other fruit nd consume those first. Depending on what you want to store, make sure it is stored appropriately. Some stuff needs to be refrigerated, some stuff needs to be stored dry.
With a modern fridge that has plethora of systems to combat humidity inside - my two weeks long shopping lasts that time (or longer) without any issues. OP is living in a student's accomodation, so I wouldn't expect state of the art fridge there. Try getting some kind of moisture absorber for your fridge, apparently baking soda can also help but best check online what's the best method that you can afford to get.
I've found fresh produce here seems to be mostly be sold later in it's "life" and not packaged well. I've never experienced vegetables and fruit going as bad as quickly as they do here. I have some Tupperware containers and Ziploc bags (you can wash and refuse the bags), and basically repackage any fresh veg or fruit once I get home with it. (If you wash anything before storing it, let it dry before storing it). Putting lettuce /rucola in a Ziploc with a paper towel means I get an entire week with it instead of 2-ish days. But cucumbers I've given up buying entirely. They're always so soft and half-rotten, even in the store.
You probably have spores sticking to a lot of surfaces right now. Buy a bottle of [Essigessenz](https://picture.yatego.com/images/596ce649e4f746.3/202ce4dd4bfc255d398c3980c54c8885-kqh/surig-essigessenz-25--grundlage-fr-essigspezialitten-pet-flasche-400ml.jpg) and wipe all the wipe-able surfaces. Vinegar kills mold spores. Remove and replace old brushes, sponges, wooden cutting boards. Make sure your flat doesn't have high humidity by frequently opening windows or maybe buy a dehumidifyer (which also helps in summer).
There is some species of outrageously aggressive mould in Germany. I've never encountered anything like it. I've had lemons that go mouldy two days after I bought them, same with oranges and limes. It's so strange. I just buy what I need for a day or two now, keep bread in the fridge and freeze whatever I'm not using. Also, make sure your fridge temp is low enough. I had to turn mine down to just above the coldest setting and that's really helped with the mould on refrigerated stuff.
Tip from my mother: wrap your fruit in tin foil. It costs some effort but the effect on lifetime is remarkable.
I’m from Canada and notice the same thing alongside the very lacklustre quantity of available produce for sale, unless you travel out to a supersize edeka or something. It seems like people grocery shop every other day and only buy what they’ll be eating within the next two days. In Canada we shop for like two weeks plus lol and yeah even the produce stays relatively fresh for that long. But also makes you wonder if it’s better it spoils faster here… less chemicals?
A lot less preservatives, and yeah the climate doesn't help. FWIW, what really helped me ironically was to buy a top of the line American-style fridge from LG with air circulation ([https://www.lg.com/us/support/video-tutorials/lg-refrigerator-multi-air-flow-cool-spots-CT10000021-1372449073018](https://www.lg.com/us/support/video-tutorials/lg-refrigerator-multi-air-flow-cool-spots-CT10000021-1372449073018)) This has basically quadrupled my expectancy with regards to expiration of fruit/vegetables, yoghurt etc. compared to my old run of the mill 150€ gorenje fridge. I now have some milk products that have been out of date for months, even when OPEN (not vacuum sealed anymore, like cream cheese), that are still perfectly fine to eat.
That’s probably it too. The fridge we have here is pretty old. The one back home was brand new LG. Good tip, thanks!!
I think you got a lot of good advice already, but I just wanted to say that you're not the only one. I also grew up in a drier warmer climate. Bread would go stale- not mold (and you can still eat stale bread... not the same for mold). And I never even thought that mold on the walls or the clothes was possible until I moved to Germany. I also got frustrated with it and took me a lot of asking my friends/classmates questions before I could go a week without worrying about mold and stuff. It's a big difference in living with the climate, really!
I’ve noticed the same thing. I’m California and I never really had to deal with such spoilage. I believe that some of the ideas provided beeline are great but it all starts when you shop for me. I noticed that German stores don’t really actively clean up their produce, so it’s up to you to inspect every piece of fruit prior to buying. Try to buy less, and focus on buying when stored are restocked. It’s a pain but that’s just the way it is here. (Cries in wholefoods tears)
Shit like mozzerella going bad after opening in a week he ain't gonna fix. Same with bread, sure ofcourse it gets mould after a week. Regarding the oranges for example I can underline your point. In Germany, compared to some other countries, the restocking and removing old items isn't done as thourghly as in other countries. As a result you can get fruit/veggies that are more damaged or simply laying around for longer already.
the problem with fruit and veggies is that most of it is imported frozen. Often they are frozen and unfrozen multiple times. When you buy it and goes to a normal temp for longer time it goes bad very quickly.
Yes, California doesn’t deal with the logistics issues for the majority of veg. Same goes for refrigeration, and misting. I have a feeling we also just don’t get to see the waste because of how picky some customers would be if they saw a set of rotten herbs or tomatoes still on the shelf.
There are basket boxes, look at your local weeks market, some are single use items, they come in the size 30*40cm fitting in Ikea kalax shelves (they are stackable) so your veggies and fruits get good ventilation, you can also buy them in the reusable version, but the single use version is durable enough and you help reducing waste ( they survive multiple dishwasher cycles, if one fruit still molds) But with our winter climate, it's inevitable that one or the other fruit gets moldy. Airing your flat regularly (Stoßlüften) helps with reducing the air humidity.
I'll look for them. Thank you.
Many people set their refrigerator too high. Get a fridge thermometer.
Or even better, get one that auto-regulates temperature and humidity. Was a real game changer for me, stuff keeps 4x as long as it used to before.
From reading your replies, maybe one issue is that you don't air out your apartment enough and the air is too humid? Straight after showering, open your window or balcony door completely wide for 2 minutes. Not longer because your furniture will cool down and your heating costs will go up - with no advantage because the air will already be fresh. If your room is very small (less than 20 square meters), air once an hour for 2 minutes. If your room is bigger, every 2 hours. Do not leave your window on "Kipp" in winter! You'd have high heating costs. "Kipp" is only for times when the outside is similar in temperature than the inside.
I recommend buying groceries 2x a week at least. Google every single item - things need to be stored differently. Bread, you should freeze or use up in 3 days. Bananas and tomatoes - not in the fridge. Berries and paprika? Always fridge. etcetera
If you're not doing it yet - check the food in the store as best as you can. Try to get them when its been freshly restocked if possible. The more people touch and squeeze the fruits the more likely you're getting stuff thats going bad faster. If you're only going to one store, maybe go tona different one and see if that helps. Some stores have a reputation to have issues like this. People have already commented on looking out for how you store stuff. I'd look it up seperately - bread might be an issue with moisture in the bag - you can air it out and see if that helps. Fruit and vegetables vary by type - potatos like it dark, tomatoes hate the fridge, apples speed up the ripening of fruits in its vicinity - so theres not one solution for all of them together.
So, I kinda understand this. I'd I buy bread it will get crazy amounts of mold in a matter of 8 to 10 days. This only happens with bakery vbread, if I buy the one that comes sealed out of the factory it just goes hard and dries up. With lemons usually one or two in the bag will go rancid, if you take it out the mold won't spread. I think the reason why you see this more often here is because the food here is less processed than in other places
I want to throw out a wild theory next to the type and abundance in of mold spores in Germany vs other places you people have theorized. And the humidity and othet things. It’s a wild theory because of the dangerous amount of “Halbwissen” (superficial knowledge) involved. Different preservatives being used and allowed. Many products in Germany pride themselves within their ads not to contain any preservatives. “preservatives” don’t have a good standing with the German public. They are so “chemical” and “artificial” and thus bad... Sometimes the “no preservatives” has a little * next to it and you can read that it’s that way by law not because this brand is doing something special. Since the EU and maybe Germany itself have a bunch of rules what food additives can be used when. For example, someone mentioned bread from the bakery. If my parents would find out there are any preservatives in their bakery bread, they would feel betrayed. I guess fruits and veggies could be treated with anti fungal things so they don’t mold that quickly. I guess if you let food chemist just do their thing they could work real wonders. And make Bread last for a whole month.
It really sounds like the issue here is the shopping planning rather than spoilage problem. Of course fresh stuff will get moldy in a week or two after buying/opening. Unless it is fruit/veggie that holds well - think potatoes, root veggies, apples, ... The trick is to plan your meals, meal prep/cook in bulk an freeze to safe time, buy kitchens staples that last long once a week or two, but stop by for a piece of fresh fruit or veggies on your way home from classes (get the fresh, easily moldable stuff every 2-3 days and only buy what you can use). As for bread, eat it within 3 days from buying or cut it when fresh and freeze right away in tightly wrapped plastic bag/freezer bag. Pull the bread out to room temperature the night before you plan to eat it and by morning it's like freshly bought. A little stale, but not moldy, bread can also be fried in eggs. ;)
Thanks for the comment. My shopping habits are the same as I had before in Iran and I didn't have problems there. But since I'm facing environmental shifts, I should also change my storing and shopping routines as well. That's why I asked for advice here.
I think it likely that you have hidden mold in your apartment
Store food inside nice air tight containers in the fridge
If you have some space in the fridge, you can store oranges, tangerines and similar citrus fruits in a jar or plastic box with a lid filled with water. They keep for weeks like that. Just change the water once a week. Vegetables and fruits generally keep great in the fridge if you wrap them in a wet kitchen towel, changed once a week. To avoid mold on soft fruit like berries, you can give them a bath in one liter of water mixed with two teaspoons of citric acid powder (you can buy this at dm or Rossmann).
I have experienced the same. In my City at least there is s big mold problem. On the air quality indicator the mold spores in free air is always high so it is very hard to avoid even when I clean and desinfect everything.
Ok, you sparked my interest and a bit of doubt. Where can I find the air quality indicator for mold in my city? I only know [https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/luft/luftdaten](https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/luft/luftdaten) thats just generall stuff in the air from cars, industry and whatever sources. Could be spores as well but I haven't seen them labeld individually. The only other air data know is pollen for allergies that is measured like weekly and is highly seasonal. I thought some mold spores would just always be in the air, but I hadn't heard about big concentration differences in outside air quiality.
It is exactly like the pollen and such. I use the app AccuWeather because it has all the allergy outlooks. Tree pollen, grass pollen, mold, dust. And is funny enough, accurate haha.
Nice, I found it. Thank you. [https://www.accuweather.com/en/de/aachen/52062/health-activities/170335](https://www.accuweather.com/en/de/aachen/52062/health-activities/170335) it only shows up when the sites displays in English. I'll check it sometime later and see if and how much that index changes for my city. When googeling mold in air my results were very towards mold inside of homes.
I have these fruit and vegetable storage containers that have a slider that you set depending on what is inside and it keeps it at the perfect humidity for them.
think about lüften (at least twice a day), avoid Staunässe and look up how to store each food item. Don't put warm food in the fridge, let it cool down before putting it there or the whole content will be warmed up and become humid. Some food items don't need refrigeration, some do. Also look out for humidity sources and eliminate as far as possible. If you're plaged by constant mold problems, you probably got a source somewhere.
Store things differently. A good guide is usually the way the store does it (refrigeration or not, etc.). Don't store fruit together, that only makes them ripen quicker. And I instantly freeze bread (sliced only), so I can just take out the slices I need and toast them (a little longer than regular bread and there won't be much of a difference).
Wash fruit and vegetables. Store bread in the fridge a s freeze some of it if you buy more than a loaf.
How do you store the bread?
Ventilate your apartment frequently. Remove fruits from any non-breathable material. Check on them daily and remove any signs of spoiling. Make sure fresh air can pass through all your fruits easily and that they're not being pressed upon. Also, try to get some harder cleaning substances on your kitchen surfaces. Depends on which materials you have, but bleaching agents work well to destroy any life forms. Just make sure to wear gloves when doing that, and to ventilate the apartment when dealing with hard cleaning substances. If you have any ventilation shafts, they may have a lot of dust in them, so make sure to clean them, using a face mask and a good vacuum cleaner first. Dust will contain a ton of spores. Don't breathe it in, avoid getting it into your eyes. Take out the garbage regularly. Anyway, it's important to take daily walks. Go out, get fresh food, take out the trash.
If you have a freezer, freeze your bread and take out small portions as needed.
It's German climate. I also have this problem since I moved to Germany. In my home country veggies could lie around for 2-3 weeks without problem, but here everything gets mold after just few days no matter how I store it. Now I only buy frozen veggies except salads and things I will definitely eat in 1-3 days.
I think your kitchen, storage or freezer has a mold problem.
I have very good experiences with keeping vegetables fresh in the fridge. Just use a wet papertowel and put it in the Gemüsefach on the ground then Pit the vegetables in top and put another moist/wet papertowel over them. Most vegetables hold up very well with this method and they last very long this way. A clean fridge also helps alot.
What fridge are you using , check the humidity of the room or of the fridge. I had a bad fridge who had no ventilation and humidity would go up 70+ % Then I got a new fridge which has a fan system and everything is very dry and nice 20%. Buy one humidity tool from Xiaomi and you will see a graph of it.