Monsoon may be a welcome guest in our lives, but moisture, humidity, and foodborne illnesses are the unwanted companions it brings along. Companions that invade your kitchen, leading to food turning not-so-savory, salt clumping, and snacks, and spices, getting soggy, moldy, or insect-infected. To keep these at bay, here’s a guide that will help you get the best out of food through the rainy season.
In regions with high humidity:-
- Opt for yogurt and fruits with cooling properties to regulate body temperature.
- Consider well-ventilated kitchen cabinets to reduce moisture buildup.
- Line shelves or containers with paper towels or a clean cloth to absorb excess moisture.
- Store cooked food in covered containers to prevent exposure to humidity, contaminants.
- Consume fruits and veggies immediately after cutting.
How to store:-
- Store dry foods like grains, pulses, flour, and light snacks in airtight containers.
- Keep food away from areas prone to high humidity, like windows and sinks.
- Ensure your fridge is set to the correct temperature.
- Clean your fridge frequently to prevent mould, mildew buildup.
- Refrigerate cooked food immediately once it cools.
- Refrigerate cooked food in upper and uncooked food food in lower shelves.
- Consume leftovers within a day or two.
- Natural desiccants like dried neem leaves, uncooked rice can be placed in small pouches in containers with pulses, salt, sugar, to extend shelf life.
- Store dry fruits in zip-locked packets in the freezer.
- Use the first in, first out (FIFO) method and use older items before the new ones.
Maintain a balanced diet:-
- Consume freshly cooked food
- Avoid foods rich in saturated fats
- Hydrate well
- Consume a diet rich in fiber and add fermented food like curd, kefir, and barley to fight pathogens harboring in the gut.
- Include whole grain, pulses, legumes, ginger, garlic, pepper, and turmeric.
- Incorporate oranges, amla, guava, papaya, lemons, bell peppers, cabbage, tomatoes for a dose of vitamin C and get your protein intake from beans, sprouts, peas, eggs, mushrooms, nuts.
High risk of food and water contamination leads to gastrointestinal infections. The digestive tract gets sluggish, leading to bloating, acidity, indigestion, nausea, stomach aches, and a constant feeling of fullness. Follow strict hygiene measures to avoid this. Eat fermented foods as they are rich in probiotics that restore the balance of gut flora.
When dining out, try to avoid chaat juices, cold sandwiches, salads, raita, dosa, half-cooked meat and ice-creams as these are easily suspectible to spoilage if proper food safety standards are not practiced. Keep a check on your vitamin D levels.
Across the Indian coastal belt, there’s a long-standing tradition of fermenting food. This, sun-drying, and pickling are some of the earliest forms of food storage.
Foodborne illness at a glance:-
- 10 crore Indians affected annually due to foodborne illnesses.
- 66% foodborne illnesses caused due to bacteria.
