Let's face it, gift-giving can be a chore.  Even now, when online buying lets you avoid store lines, it's often difficult to decide what to give.  It's not always easy to think of items that the folks on your gift list will want and/or need.  And, admit it, you also want your gifts to show what a clever and imaginative gift-giver you are.  Shelf Life Advice is here to help. 

Since everyone eats, let's think food and cooking utensils--items that help a chef handle foods more safely, easily, or successfully.  Here are our 2013 gift suggestions, gleaned from our Advisory Board scientists, various publications, online sites, and our own huge collection of gadgets. In this list, you may find appropriate gifts for winter holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, house-warming, even grab bags. 

Here's good news for the nervous first-time Thanksgiving dinner chef:  your meal is just bound to make your guests happy, according to AARP magazine's October/November issue.  Here's why: "Tryptophan--an amino acid found in turkey--is a natural serotonin booster and has been found to reduce anxiety, improve mood, even relieve depression."

Nevertheless,  those responsible for preparing this particular holiday meal--at which traditional food cooked well has become the main point--want to be extra sure everything goes smoothly.  Shelf Life Advice is stuffed with tips on how to serve a meal that's safe, pleasingly warm, and properly cooked.  For oodles of tips, check out the articles and Q/As listed below, some of which are posted on the home page this month.  Note: Much of this information is useful for other dinner parties as well.

• When refrigerating pre-packaged raw meat, poultry, or fish, don’t remove it from its original packing.  Food scientist Susan Brewer, Ph.D., explains why:  “In the U.S., most meat in the retail case is packaged in ‘modified atmosphere packaging,’ which is high in carbon dioxide.  The purpose of the CO2 is to suppress microbial growth.  If you unwrap the meat, you lose this protection.  In addition, every time you handle the meat, it becomes contaminated by the air, hand, and contact surfaces. Leave it in its original packaging (unless you are breaking it down to freeze it, in which case, microorganisms won’t grow).“

• Fruit should be ripe before being placed in the refrigerator because cooler temperatures slow down ripening.  Allow fruit to ripen at room temperature before refrigerating. 
• Once it’s ripe, in general, fruit should be refrigerated to extend its shelf life.