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Cooking advice

General

Never allow perishable products (meat, fish, etc.) to heat up. It must always be either cold (slows down bacterial activity) or hot (kills bacteria). The temperature transition in between (from 5°C to approx. 85°C) must be kept as short as possible both during heating and cooling.

Shopping

Take along a list of tolerable food products when you go for shopping as long as you do not know everything by heart. Either as a hard copy or as an electronic Histamine-App (application for smartphones and tablet pc, e.g. iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android).

At the supermarket shelf always check the expiry date. Always choose the freshest fresh products whose storage life should still be as long as possible. Normally you will find the freshest products in the back part of the shelf whereas the older ones are placed in the front. Ask the shop assistants on which days of the week they normally receive new deliveries. If you want to purchase a certain product but there are only a few left with a best-before date coming soon, it could be better to postpone your shopping until the next fresh delivery arrives.

Don't choose products from the chiller cabinet which lie directly under the warm fluorescent tube.

Preferably choose meat that is vacuum-sealed instead of being packaged in a protective atmosphere or sold in bulk. The package protects the meat against contamination by germs and the vacuum reduces the growth of many types of bacteria. The protective atmosphere is an oxygen atmosphere which only protects the red colour of the meat in order to make it look fresher to the consumer than it actually is. The oxygen even accelerates deterioration and rancidification of the meat.

First buy everything else and then put the perishable chilled and frozen products in the shopping basket. Then immediately go to the checkout.

Immediately transport perishable fresh products home in a cool bag, cool box or wrapped in a blanket or sweater. If the transport takes longer, take a frozen cooling element out of the freezer and place it on top.

Once at home, the first thing to do is to put the refrigerated products in the fridge.

Storage of foodstuff

In most of the refrigerators the coldest place is at the back and at the bottom (but above the vegetable cooler). Put the most perishable products there, the less sensitive ones can be stored in the warmer areas. Check the temperature in the fridge with a thermometer. It might be good to adjust a slightly lower temperature than usual (3º–5º C).
[Disadvantage: The lower the temperature the higher the energy consumption! Refrigerators belong to the biggest electricity guzzlers in the household. Replacing the old fridge by a new one of the highest energy efficiency grade quickly pays off financially, even if only adjusting the usual temperatures. Defrost regularly according to the manufacturer's instructions. The air circulation on the back of the fridge should not be obstructed by dust, cobwebs or objects.]

Most refrigerator freezer compartments are not suitable for long-term storage of frozen food. Only if it is marked with three or more stars (-18°C) may food be stored in it for longer than 1-2 weeks. See also Wikipedia: Star rating for freezer compartments.

Microorganisms (bacteria, yeast) are basically present everywhere, on surfaces and in the air. The more germs are present on a food, the faster the histamine formation will take place. Especially in the case of protein-rich and perishable foods, the freshness and an uninterrupted cold chain must be strictly adhered to. Good cooling at 0º to 5º C slows down the growth of microorganisms. Freezing at –18º C slows down these processes even more strongly but still cannot stop them entirely. Therefore even frozen food should not be stored longer than necessary.

Preparation and cooking of food

Meat and fish should not be left outside the fridge before landing in the pan. Under no circumstances should perishables become warm, not even for a few minutes, because then the bacteria present everywhere begin to form histamines immediately.

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Leftovers

Cook only small portions in order to avoid leftovers. Allow any leftovers to cool quickly and freeze or store in the refrigerator for a maximum of 12 to 24 hours. In multi-person households, food leftovers that have been stored for a longer period of time can be left with people who are not affected by histamine sensitivity.

In the cold season, let the food cool off on the balcony, covered, and only then put it in the refrigerator. This is faster at low outside temperatures and saves energy. If it is too warm outdoors, hot food can first be allowed to cool down briefly in the kitchen at room temperature and only later placed in the refrigerator. Shortly after cooking, well-done food contains only very few active germs if it is handled under hygienical conditions.

Good hygiene should keep the number of germs on food low. Cover or wrap in cling film / plastic wrap to prevent germs from entering the food from the air. In addition, many germs do not thrive in the absence of air. (However, there are also anaerobic germs for which oxygen deficiency does not matter.)

Large quantities cool down faster if they are divided into small, flat portions. In particular, the highly perishable components of a meal (pieces of fish or meat) should not be mixed in a large bowl with other still warm food leftovers such as rice, potatoes, pasta or vegetables in the refrigerator, but placed separately in a smaller container to cool, because otherwise they can remain lukewarm for hours.

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