Posted by Larry Hoover on April 2, 2005, at 9:22:10
In reply to Re: Is it safe to leave food in the cans they came in? » Larry Hoover, posted by KaraS on April 2, 2005, at 2:12:21
> > > Gee, I wonder if it is safe to leave coffee in the tins it comes in. I think I'll empty the coffee into tupperware type containers from now on.
> >
> > Sorry if I was unclear.....moisture is a critical factor. Dry products like ground coffee do not interact like I was describing. I keep my coffee in the can it came in, without any concern at all.
> >
> > Lar
>
>
>
> But there's moisture in the air and esp. in the refrigerator, isn't there?
>
> kModern self-defrosting refrigerators are dessicating pumps, moving moisture out of stored items.
The coldest part of the fridge is where the moisture in the air collects. It's a one way street (pretty much). So, the cold coil is the moisture collector for the fridge as a whole.
Air that has dropped its moisture load at the cold coil has regained the capacity to carry moisture again. Even at the cold ambient temperature of the fridge space, this air is drier than all the rest. So, as it migrates around in there, it pulls moisture from the only moist surfaces, food. Food dries, cold coil collects frost.
Now, it's true that putting a container in the fridge that has some sort of seal on it creates a little microclimate, and there can be coondensation inside the seal (if the air trapped there had a high moisture charge), but I doubt that would become a factor with a coffee tin.
The first time you open it, there is little space for air at all, and the coffee itself was surely packed dry. If you put that nearly full tin in the fridge, the contents become chilled. The next time you take coffee out, there is little space for air to enter the tin, and everything in there is cold already. And so on. I doubt you could ever really get a charge of moist warm air in the tin, unless you leave it to warm to room temp every time you open it.
That's my view, anyway.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:476519
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20050306/msgs/478845.html