freezer

The 5 Best Stay-At-Home Kitchen Essentials

Chrissa Hardy — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 17:43:52 +0000

During times of extreme uncertainty, where we're all spending more time at home, it's crucial to have a well-stocked kitchen for your cooking (and snacking!) needs. Since we can't frequent our favorite coffee shops and restaurants, we should at least be able to prepare healthy and delicious meals at home.

And taking that a step further, you should also make sure you have a wide variety of kitchen tools and gadgets to help you master the art of meal preparation. Even if you have all the basic kitchen staples that allow you to cook regular meals, you might be used to the convenience of your office's espresso machine, or the fresh pressed juice that the café down the street makes with zero pulp. These are things you can replicate at home with the right kitchen tools — all without breaking the bank. (See also: The 5 Best Blenders)

Top 5 Stay-At-Home Kitchen Essentials

Alpicool C15 Portable Refrigerator/Freezer

Amazon's Choice for portable freezers, the Alpicool C15 Portable Refrigerator/Freezer is very practical and also portable. Its small, compact size and portable handles on both sides make it a perfect item to keep in your garage, your office, or take it with you in your car or truck. It can work as a refrigerator or a freezer, depending on the temperature setting you use. It also freezes items without ice, going down to -4ºF (-20ºC), keeping your perishable foods protected until you're ready to thaw and eat.

The Alpicool C15 comes with an instruction manual and one 12/24V DC cord so you can run it using your car battery. It comes in four sizes: 16 quart, 21 quart, 23 quart, and 53 quart. The 16 quart size can hold 20 cans of soda, for example. This fridge/freezer has hundreds of five-star reviews on Amazon and is a great option for storing your stock-up food supply.

Currently $179.00 at Amazon.com

De'Longhi ESAM3300 Magnifica Super-Automatic Espresso Machine

One of the more advanced espresso machines, the De'Longhi ESAM3300 features its own conical burr grinder. Users consistently maintain that not only does it produce great espresso, but that the machine is also easy to use, durable, and reasonably priced for the amount of features that is included. Its double boiler system allows one to quickly convert your espresso to a cappuccino with minimal wait time.It also has over 1,500 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $549.99 at Amazon.com

Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker

The Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker is an extremely versatile appliance, and one you will not regret buying. This multi-cooker is seven appliances in one: a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté pan, yogurt maker, and warmer. It also cooks up to 70% faster and the fingerprint-resistant stainless steel lid, components, and accessories are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. This model features 10+ built-in safety features, including Overheat Protection, Safety Lock, and more to ensure safe pressure-cooking. The Instant Pot 7-in-1 comes in multiple sizes, and is backed by more than 60,000 five-star reviews on Amazon.

Currently $79.00 at Amazon.com

SodaStream Fizzi Sparkling Water Maker Bundle

The SodaStream Fizzi Sparkling Water Maker Bundle allows you to make fresh sparkling water at the push of a button. This energy efficient system has helped reduce millions of single-use plastic bottles, and is powered by a Co2 cylinder. Each cylinder carbonates up to 60 liters of water, and the starter bundle comes with two 40 ml zero-calorie bottles of fruit drops in lime and orange flavors.The kit also comes with two 60L Co2 cylinders, and three one-liter BPA-free reusable carbonating bottles, helping our planet stay green and clean.

This bundle comes in a variety of colors, and currently has hundreds of five-star ratings on Amazon.

Currently $149.95 at Amazon.com

Brita Everyday Water Pitcher

If fresh still water is your H20 of choice, then the Brita Everyday Water Pitcher is the perfect addition to your kitchen. This large, clear plastic pitcher is easy to pour and refill, and is great for families. Plus, it's a fabulous eco-friendly solution to your water needs, as a single Brita water filter can replace 300 standard 16.9 ounce water bottles, while also reducing chlorine taste and odor, copper, mercury, and cadmium impurities found in tap water. This pitcher comes with one standard filter, and should be changed after about 40 gallons of water, or after two months for the average household to maintain optimal performance.

Additional Brita filters are available for purchase and won't break your budget. This pitcher is backed by over 5,000 five-star Amazon reviews.

Currently $29.99 at Amazon.com

And those are our recommendations for the best stay-at-home kitchen essentials. As always, be sure to check Wise Bread's Buying Calendar to learn when and how to buy just about anything!

This article is from Chrissa Hardy of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

18 Frugal Foods You Should Always Have in Your Freezer

Carrie Kirby — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 12:00:10 +0000

The freezer is probably the most useful appliance in the kitchen, what with its ability to stop time and to prevent you from hitting the drive-through. (See also: The 10 Most Versatile Foods in Your Pantry)

Here are 17 items that should always be chilling in a frugalista's freezer.

1. Ready-to-Eat Meals

These could be dinners you batch cooked, frozen pancakes stacked between sheets of parchment paper, or heck, even TV dinners and pizzas purchased on sale. It's up to you whether your emergency rations are homemade or store bought; the point is that when you are running late and haven't packed yourself a work lunch, or when kids' activities keep you out of the house until 15 minutes before dinner, you need something to fall back on to prevent you from wasting your money on unintended restaurant meals.

2. Cubes of… Everything

Don't waste left-over coffee, tomato paste, or even champagne — just empty it into an ice cube tray, then later pop out the cubes and store in a labeled freezer bag. Go past the obvious uses for ice cube trays — try preserving fresh herbs or making ready-to-bake cookies.

3. Raw Meat

If you're a carnivore, there is no more versatile meal base than a one-pound package of ground meat. Defrost it in the microwave, and you're ready to make a casserole, chili con carne, or so many other recipes.

My grocery store marks down meat by 30%-50% close to its expiration date, so I generally have three or four packages of discounted meat in my freezer. Some Costco shoppers repackage the warehouse store's mammoth meat portions into meal-sized freezer bags. Some clever folks even pour marinade into their frozen meat bags. On the rare occasion that I find a BOGO sale on whole chickens, I'll chuck a whole bird in the freezer — just keep in mind that these take a lot longer to defrost than small portions of cut-up meat.

4. Cooked, Chopped Meat

Even if you don't go all-in for "freezer cooking" or "once a month cooking," having a pound of cooked, chopped up beef, pork, or chicken ready to defrost can cut 20 minutes or more off meal prep time.

5. Fish

Although fish can be on the expensive side, a lot of wild fish is really good for you. And it cooks quickly from a frozen state, making for a great weeknight dinner with no pre-planning needed.

6. A Whole Turkey

When turkey prices dip below a dollar a pound at Thanksgiving, why buy just one? I always buy at least one spare, depending on freezer space, for a future family feast with lots of leftovers.

7. A Whole Cow

Okay, you're not going to fit a steer into the freezer over your refrigerator. However, if you are feeding a family of carnivores, and especially if you prefer grass-fed or organic meat, consider purchasing a whole cow directly from a ranch, or splitting one with another household. You may have to buy a chest freezer, but you can save a lot this way.

8. Cooked Beans

You can save money over canned beans by soaking and boiling your own. But who wants to do that every time they make chili? I soak a whole pound of beans at once, cook it all up in the slow cooker overnight, then use a cup or two for dinner while freezing the rest in meal-sized portions.

9. Cooked Rice

We like brown rice, for which restaurants often charge more. So when we order Asian takeout, we'll skip ordering rice and make our own. To be honest, I don't see defrosting frozen rice as much less work than cooking a fresh pot — but if you forget to start rice before the doorbell rings with your food, having a bag or two in the freezer that you can quickly microwave is a savoir.

10. Old Bread

A lot of recipes, like meatloaf, call for breadcrumbs; others, like strata or stuffing, call for cubed bread. I never have to buy bread crumbs, because every time I have a slice or two that has been sitting around too long, I add it to the large bread bag in the freezer. When I need crumbs, I throw some in the food processor.

11. Bags of Frozen Vegetables

When the grocery store has a deal on frozen veg, stock up. Even if you prefer fresh produce, this way you'll never be stuck eating a meal with no greens. My favorite veggie to keep in the freezer is peas, because I can reach in for just a handful every time I make a salad, and they'll defrost on their own while I chop the fresh veggies. Other Wise Bread writers have lots of recipe ideas for frozen spinach and frozen broccoli.

12. Bags of Frozen Fruit

Frozen berries or mango pieces are great to have on hand — they're so much less work than washing and cutting up fresh, and when making smoothies, they can substitute for ice. If you have an orchard or garden, of course, freezing your own fruit is even more frugal than buying it.

13. Milk

If you are going out of town, you don't want to leave an opened container of milk in the fridge to go bad. But you don't have pour it down the drain, either. Pop the whole carton into the freezer if you have room, or decant it into a smaller container, or even save a leftover ounce in an ice cube tray. Perfect if you take your coffee with milk.

14. Butter

Running out of butter can be a real recipe killer, so even if it didn't save me any money I would keep a pound or two on ice. This stuff tends to go on sale around the holidays; buy multiple pounds then and you'll be set for a few months.

15. Bacon Grease

Now that cooking with lard, chicken schmaltz, and other animal fats is coming back into vogue, I've started saving my bacon grease and other drippings for cooking, just like my mom did. If you're not going to use them up quickly, you can always stash them in the freezer.

16. Homemade Stock

When you're a guest at Thanksgiving dinner, others might think it's weird if you ask to take home the turkey carcass. Do it anyway. You can boil those bones to make cups and cups of delicious stock, the base of future soups, stews, and recipes you never even thought of. Once you've made your stock, pour it into containers or bags, label and freeze.

17. Stock Ingredients

Not every day is Thanksgiving (thank goodness for our waistlines). You might not feel like making stock out of the carcass of a small chicken or even from leftover rotisserie bones, but you still shouldn't throw them away. I keep two large bags in my freezer: one labeled "carcasses," and one labeled "veggie scraps." All unused chicken parts go in the first bag, and broccoli stalks, carrot scrapings, and other unused bits of plants go in the second. When they start to bulge, I pour everything into a stockpot, add a bay leaf and some spices, cover with water, and voila! Stock. (By the way, my stock never seems to suffer from having been made from frozen ingredients, then refrozen when complete. Stock is forgiving.)

18. Freezer Pops

They may not keep your kids from wanting the ice cream truck's treats (for my kids, nothing does that), but homemade pops are an affordable summer treat that can even be healthy, depending on the ingredients.

What do you keep in your freezer?

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This article is from Carrie Kirby of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Here's How You Maximize Fridge and Freezer Space

Ashley Marcin — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 09:00:13 +0000

Is your freezer a mess? Do you frequently find old food rotting in the back of your fridge? I used to lose so much money this way. Now I take time to regularly clean and organize my refrigerator and freezer spaces, and it has made a huge difference. Even a few simple hacks are helpful here. (See also: Schedule Regular Fridge Cleanings to Avoid Food Waste)

So, check out these handy tips to get your foods onto the table with less mess, confusion, and — most important — waste.

Clear Out

Before you begin any project, it's good to clear out the old so you can start fresh. Take a good half hour (depending on your level of crazy) and take everything out of your fridge and freezer. Trash what's rotting, examine what's expired, and keep the rest. This occasion is also a great opportunity to spray some homemade cleaner in there and wipe all the crud and grime away. If you don't like how your refrigerator is configured, most shelves are moveable, so try a few layouts before putting your food back in.

Create Zones

The next step: Create zones for all your stuff to live in. There's no right or wrong way to divide, however — temperature and humidity does vary in the box, making ideal environments for some foods versus others. This organization guide helps to identify the areas that work best for all your foods. For example, eggs do well on the middle shelf where temperature tends to be most consistent. Fruit, on the other hand, thrives in a low humidity drawer, whereas you'll want to keep veggies in higher humidity. And condiments — which have more preservatives — can happily hang out in the door. (See also: Fridge or Counter? Where to Store Fruit for Best Flavor)

Contain It

Whole foods and leftovers can certainly get lost without visibility. So, just as you'd box your belongings in other areas of your home, consider bringing some clean bins into the mix. The before and after shots of this refrigerator are jaw-dropping. Corralling snacks into one spot keeps them from migrating to the back of the refrigerator where they'll likely expire before use. And think outside the box here. I've seen friends use lazy susans or even magazine holders as unique shelving options. These same tips work in the freezer, too.

Freeze Flat

If you do any bulk or assembly cooking, space is at a premium in your freezer. Even if you have a dedicated chiller, like I do, you can get much more out of your investment by freezing foods flat whenever possible. Of course, you can't do this with absolutely all foods, but soups and stews, pre-cut fruits and veggies, sauces, meats, and even some baked goods can be placed in zip freezer bags and flattened. You can even freeze smoothies, soups, and other liquid items in ice cube trays and then transfer to flat bags. Try to remove as much air as possible to create even more space (and avoid dreaded freezer burn).

Label It

From there, you might notice that many foods become almost unrecognizable once frozen. And, though you think you'll remember what's what, that's rarely the case. Keep a Sharpie marker on your fridge or in your junk drawer and immediately label anything that goes in with the name of the dish and the date it was made. Otherwise, try to stick with clear storage containers versus opaque for quick identification of, say, applesauce from chili. It's a simple trick, but it cuts down significantly on time and guesswork.

Section Out

If you have a chest freezer — great! But I know how tricky it can be to organize. This blogger built DIY dividers to section off space for different items using plywood. If you don't have a jigsaw at home, you could take all the measurements and ask your local hardware store to make the cuts for you (usually at a small price). If you're not into that idea, consider buying a few larger plastic bins to put your flat bags into and dividing them into broad categories like breakfast, lunch, and dinner or soups, desserts, and whole ingredients. Then stack the bins on top of one another. You get the idea.

Make Lists

Once all your food is happily organized, it helps to make a list of what's there to aid with meal planning each week. That way, if something does disappear from the inventory, you'll still know it's worth digging out. I also write the date it was purchased (with produce), the date it expires (with packaged foods), or the date it was packaged (with frozen foods) and try to list in order of what spoils first. You can keep a spreadsheet if you're more computer-oriented. A small dry erase board works well in my household. Always consult these lists before bringing more food into the house.

How organized (or disorganized) is your fridge or freezer? What's your system? Please share in comments!

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This article is from Ashley Marcin of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

You Won't Believe How Much You Can Save With an Ice Cube Tray

Max Wong — Thu, 01 May 2014 09:00:16 +0000

People are surprised that I had the ice machine in my very swanky freezer removed. But I needed the extra space for ice cube trays.

Why have an ice machine that only freezes water, when I can freeze so many other things in an ice cube tray?

Ice cube trays are powerful kitchen tools for the home cook. They speed up prep, reduce food waste, and make portion control a cinch. I have NINE different types of frozen cubes stored in my freezer right now, but that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of what can be frozen.

1. Aloe Vera

I make my own aloe vera gel. Although aloe vera has antifungal and antibacterial properties, it is plant matter, so like most fruits and vegetables, it only lasts about a week in the refrigerator before it goes bad. To preserve my aloe vera harvest, I freeze the gel in ice cube trays. In addition to giving my homemade first aid a longer shelf life, the frozen aloe cubes provide soothing and instant relief for cuts and sunburns. Also, if you use aloe vera gel as a smoothie ingredient (aloe's good for a variety of digestive ailments), this is a great way to always get a precise measurement, without having to break out the measuring spoons.

2. Black Coffee

For some reason, I always make too much coffee. Since I buy the expensive stuff, I hate to waste the leftover, lukewarm, half cup left in the bottom of the French press every day. Instead of pouring it down the drain, I pour it into an ice cube tray. I use my coffee cubes to make coffee granitas for my afternoon coffee break. Coffee cubes are also the perfect cubes to serve with iced coffee or even Bailey's Irish Cream, as they won't water down the drinks.

3. Tea

Okay, this isn't currently in my freezer, but it's a regular visitor. Tea cubes are great with iced tea for the same reason why coffee cubes are perfect for iced coffee — they don't dilute the beverage.

4. Lemon Juice

It's currently lemon season in my neck of the woods, so I am madly juicing and freezing the lemon juice for use in recipes for the rest of the year. Lemon juice cubes are also perfect for making a personal lemonade or a single Arnold Palmer.

5. Tomato Paste

Even the smallest tin is always too much. Is it just me? Or does tomato paste get moldy at a supersonic rate in everyone's refrigerator? Yes, I know. Tomato paste is cheap. But guess what? So are ice cube trays. Why waste good food? Basically, any condiment that is approaching its expiration date can be frozen. (Just remember to write yourself a note, so you know just how old that mango mustard glaze is.)

6. Buttermilk

Buttermilk is one of those things that I never use the whole carton of, so it made me ecstatic to discover I can freeze buttermilk in an ice tray.

7. Chicken or Vegetable Broth

Since I am usually cooking for two, broth cubes are an easy and inexpensive way to add flavor to rice, pasta, or a stir-fry.

8. Herb Cubes

Herbs are some of the most expensive things on my shopping list, so what doesn't get used immediately gets chopped up, added to olive oil, and frozen into herb cubes. My favorite herbs to freeze are basil because it makes for speedy Italian meals, and thyme, because I use it on everything. (I also freeze mint in water to make flavored ice cubes for iced tea and lemonade.)

9. Wine

I don't drink, so my boozy friends always bring a ton of wine to my dinner parties because they don't trust my judgment. I used to feel terrible about dumping the leftover, half-full bottles of wine down the drain. Then I realized that even though I don't drink it, I do occasionally cook with wine. I'm sure whatever my friends are drinking is way better than the ripple I'd buy at the store. I get a better meal and never have to spring for cooking sherry.

10. Champagne

My brother-in-law is a professional party planner. He freezes leftover champagne to use in orange juice for frugal mimosas, and in salad dressing instead of vinegar. His notoriously delicious salmon is poached in flat champagne.

11. Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

Another ice cube tray tip from my brother-in-law is to use them to make chocolate dipped strawberries. Instead of dipping each strawberry in chocolate, he puts strawberries into heart shaped ice cube trays and pours chocolate over the top! The strawberries come out of the mold looking like fancy chocolate truffles. He doesn't have to mess around with waxed paper, chocolate drips, and how to fit a cookie sheet into the freezer. It's genius.

12. (Emergency) Cookie Dough

My ice cube trays hold about two tablespoons of… whatever. Two tablespoons is the exact amount of dough I use for most of my cookie recipes. I first freeze the dough in an ice cube tray, then I pop the frozen blobs into a zip bag for storage. Whenever I want fresh-baked cookies, I can choose to just bake a few at a time, or an entire whole batch.

13. Garbage Disposal Cleaner

Once I'm done juicing lemons, I chop up the peels and freeze them in white vinegar. Whenever the garbage disposal gets stinky, I grind up a lemon-vinegar cube to deodorize it.

14. Paint

In kindergarten I learned color theory (along with how ice is made), by making ice cube paint. Although this messy project was designed to teach kids hand-eye coordination, it's a great way to show how to mix red, yellow, and blue to make a huge array of colors. My kindergarten class used food coloring. I prefer to use Crayola Washable Paints for this project because the colors are much more vibrant, and the dye much less permanent.

To make the paint cubes, put the paint or the food coloring in the bottom of the ice cube tray, then top with water. After freezing the paint cubes for about 20 minutes, I add wooden handles (salvaged coffee stirrers from the trash bucket at my local coffee shop or leftover popsicle sticks), and then freeze the paint cubes until they are solid. Pro Tip: To remove the paint cubes from the tray, let them thaw ever so slightly, then pop them out of the tray from the bottom like a regular ice cube, so you don't end up accidentally ripping the handles out.

15. Eggs

There are so many things that I bake that call for just the egg yolks or just the egg whites. I freeze the unused part of the egg in an ice cube tray so I can remember how many egg yolks/whites I have to use for other recipes. I just thaw them before using.

16. Baby Food

Make baby-sized portions of homemade baby food in a jiffy. Just grind up the kid's favorite fresh or frozen vegetable and freeze it in an ice cube tray. For on-the-go baby food, just pop a cube or two into a travel container. (See also: 4 Ways Breast-feeding Saves Money)

17. Cat Food

My cat Pinky has to eat medicated cat food for his kidneys. He thinks this food is revolting. To make the medicated food more palatable, I mix the medicated food with a super fatty Post Surgery cat food that he loves. Both types of specialty cat food cost roughly $4,675,293 per can. To keep the custom blend fresh…yes, I have cat food popsicles in my freezer. To use, I just sporp out a lump of cat food into his dish for each meal.

What do you freeze in your ice cube trays? Please share your genius in the comments section.

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This article is from Max Wong of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

All Dried Up: How to Dry Fruits and Vegetables

Mikey Rox — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:36:35 +0000

Even as a kid I was crafty in the kitchen. So when I learned at a young age that raisins are the result of sun-dried grapes, you know I had to test out that theory in my own open-air laboratory, AKA my grandmother’s backyard.

But after numerous failed attempts and wasting enough grapes to draw the ire of my mum-mum (that’s what I called my grandmother), I gave up on my science experiment and decided that Sun-Maid must be part of a government conspiracy.

It’s not, of course. It seems that the real reason why my experiment didn’t work is because I lived in the wrong climate…and patience is not my virtue. So you don’t have to sit in time out for misusing $5 worth of produce, here are nine simple steps for drying fruits and veggies. (See also: The Produce Worker's Guide to Storing 25 Common Fruits and Veggies)

1. Choose Your Produce

Use only fresh produce; stay away from any fruits and veggies that have signs of rot. Good drying fruits include strawberries, apples, pineapple, bananas, grapes, and figs. Veggies that you can dry include carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, peas, onions, and pumpkin.

2. Decide How You Want to Dry Your Produce

You can go the eco-friendly route and sun dry, but you’ll need at least five straight days of 85°F weather, preferably with direct sunlight and no insects. (My 10-year-old self could have used this information.) If you want to be super fancy, you can use a solar food dehydrator to reduce your carbon footprint. If outside drying isn’t an option, use an electric food dehydrator or a conventional oven — the rest of these tips concern the latter two methods.

3. Preheat Your Oven or Electric Dehydrator to 140°F

While the appliance is heating, wash your produce, and remove any stems, cores, and pits it may contain. If you’re using vegetables, blanch in boiling water for two minutes and remove from the heat.

4. Chop

Prepare your produce for the drying process by cutting it into bite-sized pieces. This makes the dried food easier to eat and helps speed up the drying process.

5. Give Your Produce a Bath

Dunk the cut produce in a solution of one part lemon juice, eight parts water. Remove quickly. The produce doesn’t need to take a bath in the solution; it just needs a coating of the diluted citric acid to prevent oxidation.

6. Lay Out the Produce

If you’re using an oven, line a baking sheet with wax paper and arrange the bite-sized pieces of produce in a single layer, allowing enough space between pieces for each piece to breathe. If you’re using an electric dehydrator, place the fruit on the stackable mesh screens with enough room to breathe.

7. Dehydrate

Place the fruit in the oven or electric dehydrator preheated to 140°F for 4 to 16 hours, depending on what you’re dehydrating. To find out approximate drying times for specific fruits and vegetables, use this handy dehydration chart.

8. Remove and Cool

When you’ve dried the produce for the appropriate amount of time, remove it from the appliance and let it sit for an hour to cool.

9. Store

Pack the produce in airtight containers or canning jars to keep it fresh for six months to one year.

How to Freeze-Dry

If you don’t want to waste gas or electricity, or if it’s just too darn hot to run the oven all day long, consider freeze-drying your fruit. Most of the same steps apply, with a few exceptions.

1. Prepare the Produce

Wash and cut your fruit and line the mesh trays the same way you would if you were preparing to dehydrate it. Mesh trays are necessary here because you want the cold air to circulate around the entire piece of produce.

2. Put the Trays in the Freezer

Put the mesh trays in the freezer in a single layer; don’t stack them. Leave the trays in the freezer for one week.

3. Remove

After a week, transfer the freeze-dried fruit to airtight containers or storage bags and store in the freezer.

4. Reconstitute for Use

When you’re ready to use the produce, place the it in a bowl, add water, and heat in the microwave until the produce reconstitutes.

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This article is from Mikey Rox of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Emergency Preparedness For Your Freezer

Linsey Knerl — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:26:07 +0000

I don’t have a traumatic, gripping, or even interesting story to tell you regarding my recent freezer debacle. It happened just recently, when my curious 9-year-old filled a balloon with water and placed it inside my deep freeze door to see if it would expand (as detailed in her science lessons.) Her science project was successful, the balloon grew to twice its size, and my freezer door popped open and sat unattended for almost 30 hours. When I found it, most of my meat had thawed considerably, and some funky fruit had made its way to my garage floor.

I wasn’t prepared for how to handle this. What meat could I keep? Would I have to cook it all before refreezing? I thank my lucky stars that I stumbled upon a freezer disaster guide from the Michigan State University Extension. I’ve highlighted the best parts for you below:

Plan for the worst. If you know you’ll lose power to your freezer ahead of time, don’t just sit there! Keep the door closed and cover the entire freezer with blankets (keeping the air vent unobstructed.) If it happens to be more than a day or two without electricity, go ahead and add dry ice to your freezer. The University recommends 25 pounds per 10 cubic feet of freezer space. (Be sure the area your freezer is stored in will be well-ventilated, as the ice will melt to form Carbon Dioxide gas.)

Increase your odds. Certain factors will help to keep your food frozen longer in an emergency. A freezer will stay coldest when it is:

Full

Filled mostly with meats (as opposed to fruits and breads)

Running at a colder temperature

Better insulated

Know how to handle thawed foods. Even with the best preparation, things may thaw out. It is best to toss anything that looks thawed and is at room temperature, smells funny, had a significant color change, and has any apparent mold or bacteria growth. It is generally OK to refreeze food that is safe to eat (although the quality may be affected.) For the best possible quality, follow the guidelines for each type of frozen food, which include:

Meat (whole cuts of red meat, pork, and cured meats) – Refreeze only those packages that are cool to the touch or contain some ice crystals. Ground meat must be handled more carefully, and shouldn’t be refrozen if it has completely thawed. (Use it right away, or cook and refreeze.)

Poultry – Only refreeze poultry that it still partially frozen. Completely thawed poultry should be cooked immediately and can then be refrozen if desired. (Be sure to keep poultry drippings away from other foods, and repackage it, if needed.)

Fish – Only refreeze fish that is solidly frozen. Partially thawed or completely thawed fish should only be used it if is still very cold. Cook it and use it immediately!

Fruit – Refreeze anything that still looks good or consider using it in a nice pie or homemade jam.

Vegetables – If there are still ice crystals, it can be refrozen. If not, it must be cooked and used right away or refrozen.

Baked goods – If your frozen bread or hard rolls have thawed, do not refreeze them. Store them in the fridge and bake them within a day or two.

Miscellaneous – Do not refreeze ice cream, thawed cheese, thawed juices, or prepared foods (TV dinners). Use them up right away and discard anything you can’t.

This handy list helped me to avoid panic and let me safely use only those foods I needed to. I also learned a lot about what to do the next time this happens. (Although I may consider adding a safety device to my freezer like I did with my refrigerator .) All in all, I only had to use up a few tortellini’s and a bag of peas. Not bad!

This article is from Linsey Knerl of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: