Kashmir's Eid Storage Crunch

Kashmir's fridges and freezers struggle to keep up with the Eid meat surge. Science and tradition offer a way forward.

- Irshad Ahmad Shah

Each Baed Eid, Kashmir is flooded with fresh meat. Mutton piles up in homes, fridges, and freezers within hours. It's shared generously, cooked joyfully, and stored hurriedly. But amid the celebration hides a pressing question: how do you keep so much meat from going bad, fast?

Every year, thousands of animals are sacrificed across the Valley in just one or two days. That's a massive volume of fresh meat entering kitchens, often without enough planning.

Power cuts are common. Freezers are packed. Many households lack basic awareness about storage, hygiene, or safe handling.

Red meat, rich in protein and moisture, turns bad quickly if left warm. And when that happens, the result isn't just waste. It can make people sick.

The Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) advice still holds. "Eat of it, feed the poor, and store some," he said, according to a hadith from Sahih Bukhari.

The idea was simple: balance. Share what you can, and preserve what you must. The Qur'an also warns, "Do not waste, for Allah does not love the wasteful."

These teachings aren't just spiritual, they're practical. But putting them into action takes care.

It starts at the source. When the animal is sacrificed, everything from the knife to the hands should be clean. The blood must be drained completely.

Blood speeds up spoilage. It invites bacteria. It smells. The tools—knives, boards, even the surface where meat is placed—should be washed with hot water and, ideally, disinfected.