What would we do in the UAE without our fridges? Even during the cooler months the temperature is high enough to spoil food quickly, and now that the weather is heating up, the fridge is even more a vital part of living here.
When buying, don't stint: a cheap fridge is a false economy, as I learnt to my cost when the bottom-range fridge we had bought broke down twice, resulting in hundreds of dirhams worth of food having to be thrown away. Buy the best you can afford and the biggest you have room for.
Many items of food that you would not think of refrigerating in cooler climes must be refrigerated here - most fruit and vegetables, jams and chocolate, to name a few.
Try not to overcrowd the fridge, or the air that cools it will not be able to circulate. The ideal temperature is 1 to 3C, certainly no more than 4C. It's a good idea to buy a fridge thermometer (from Spinneys or Lulu).
Stock the fridge in an orderly fashion. Meat, fish and poultry should go in the coldest area (either the meat compartment or at the bottom of the fridge above the salad drawers). Don't leave meat in its plastic wrapping because it cannot breathe and goes slimy. Remove it and wrap in greaseproof paper, then put on a plate to prevent drips. Ensure that raw and cooked meat are kept apart, because raw food can contaminate cooked food and cause food poisoning.
Fruit and vegetables belong in salad drawers. Store in plastic bags until needed and don't wash anything until you need it - it keeps longer that way.
Dairy food should go in the coldest part of the fridge (at the bottom and the back). Do not buy more butter than you need because it quickly goes rancid here. Make sure all dairy food is covered or wrapped and keep it away from raw meat and poultry.
Note that some strong-smelling foods can taint other foods in the fridge: broccoli, cooked poultry, ground coffee, shelled hard-boiled eggs, onions, garlic, melons, strawberries and strong cheeses are particular culprits. Make sure they are well wrapped to avoid having them impose themselves on everything else in there.
Conversely, there are some foods for which refrigeration does more harm than good. These include bananas (they go black), bread (it goes stale), mushrooms (they dry out), olive oil (it goes thick and cloudy) and potatoes (they start sprouting at low temperatures).
The Housewife's Handbook by Rachel Simhon (Bloomsbury) is available on www.amazon.com
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Barbie
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
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Normal People
Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
RACE CARD
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 (PA) Listed Dh230,000 1,600m
6.30pm: HH The President’s Cup (PA) Group 1 Dh2.5million 2,200m
7pm: HH The President’s Cup (TB) Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,200m.
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Company%20Profile
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