For a very special occasion or anniversary, we will definitely get a cake. This is the main symbol of any event, uplifting and tuning in a festive mood. Today, manufacturers offer us them in a variety of interpretations - with chocolate, nuts, fruits, cottage cheese, all the variations can not be counted. It is these ingredients that are responsible for the shelf life of the cake and require compliance with a number of conditions.
Features of choice
The first thing we pay attention to when buying a cake or a cake is its taste. The confectionery should attract us and make us want to eat it soon. But there are moments indicating the expiration date of the cake, which many do not notice.
- The first is the place where confectionery is stored. They must be located in specially designed display cases.
- All equipment should be clean, neatly decorated, with a wide viewing angle. Well, if the glass case is glazed on all sides, then you can see in detail the acquired confectionery.
- An important aspect here is the expiration date, which each manufacturer indicates on a box with a cake.
- Unnaturally bright colors of cream and jewelry indicate a large number of artificial dyes and other harmful additives.
- It is best to ask to hold the box in your hands and read the composition. In a quality confectionery product that will benefit health, only natural products are used - cottage cheese, sour cream, cream, eggs.
Home cake
Confectionery from the store is easier to determine, but homemade baking requires utmost care. To prepare such a cake, every housewife tries to choose only the highest quality and natural products, which are usually stored very briefly. The most delicious ingredient here is cream, which is also the most dangerous because it most often consists of raw proteins or cream. The shelf life of a homemade cake depends on it. Experienced confectioners recommend:
- Store this product exclusively in the refrigerator;
- cook immediately before use;
- use only fresh, quality products;
- after the manufacture and impregnation, the shelf life of the cake in the refrigerator can reach eighteen hours, it all depends solely on the ingredients used in it.
On an industrial scale, this question does not arise, and some products are stored for up to a month or longer due to the preservatives that are part of them, etc. It is not recommended to use such cakes, and even more so, to give them to children. But there are exceptions to this list.
The longest shelf life
Depending on which components were used, the shelf life of the cake can vary significantly.
- Natural home-made confectionery products with cream of fresh proteins or sour cream are least stored, such a product should be consumed as soon as possible, in order to avoid the development of harmful bacteria in it.
- Cakes with candied fruit, yogurt or sweet cream cheese can be kept in the refrigerator at a temperature of +3 to +6 degrees for thirty-six hours.
- Confectionery products from berries, fruits, with the addition of jelly and juice calmly lie for up to three days, of course, provided that they do not include cream. Even in small quantities, it significantly reduces the shelf life of the cake.
- There are other types of creams - oil creams, more often they are prepared on a plant basis (from high-fat margarine), which does not deteriorate for a long time. Such a cake does not change its properties for five days. But significantly loses to the natural quality of the ingredients used in it and their usefulness.
- Wafer cake with nuts or another layer, including preservatives, occupies a leading position here; its shelf life is the longest and can vary from two weeks to a month.
Given these points, you can tentatively calculate the expiration dates of cakes, pastries and other confectionery.
How to store
After buying a cake or making it yourself, it is important to provide it with the most optimal conditions for better preservation.
- Products based on cream and fruits should immediately be sent to the shelf in the refrigerator.
- Keep in mind that any cake absorbs odors very well, especially meat and sausages. In store options, special packaging is provided that protects the product well from external influences. Homemade cake should be packed in a cardboard box or placed in a special dish with a tight-fitting lid.
- The cake is a three-dimensional product and there is not always a place for it in the refrigerator, so many people place it on the balcony in the cold season. Keep in mind that there is no constant temperature, and its differences and high humidity can significantly reduce the shelf life of cakes with cream.
Cold storage
Any food product feels much better in the refrigerator, but there are also confectionery products that are perfectly preserved without it. As a rule, in the store they also simply lie on display cases, and their label indicates a shelf life of up to thirty days at a temperature of +18 degrees and relative humidity up to 75%. These are dry waffle cakes and pastries decorated with pralines.
Confectionery based on biscuit and chocolate is also well stored at room temperature, but the fat content of the glaze must be taken into account. In the heat, it can leak and the cake will lose its aesthetically attractive original appearance.
A new way of storage - freezing
Experienced housewives know that the shelf life of a curd cake or a product with protein cream can be significantly increased if the product is frozen. This method has been used for a long time, mainly in cafes and restaurants, they use quick freezing, which cannot be performed at home. But if the holiday has passed, and part of the cake has remained, this method will help to keep it fresh until the next home tea party.
- Even if shapeless pieces of cake are available, they can be frozen and later prepared on the basis of a new dessert.
- If there are a lot of products, it is better to separate them portionwise and put them in separate packages, it will be more convenient to use them later.
- You can separately save biscuit or other cakes, and later collect them into a cake.
- Products with fondant and jelly should not be frozen, they will lose their shape and simply melt.
Useful tips when choosing a cake
When choosing a cake in the store, pay close attention to the labels on which the release date is indicated. Often in supermarkets, such a label is replaced with a new one.
Bypass the already chopped and re-packed confectionery, so the manufacturer most often hides their expired shelf life.
Do not buy such a product on the street with your hands, they are positioned as homemade, but the shelf life of custard cakes is small (maximum 18 hours), and under open sunlight it is reduced several times.