We want your experience to be a positive one at The Stocked Fridge, so please read the following tips and learn how to keep your food safe and your family healthy.

Packaging

When packaging your meals, the first thing is to make sure you leave as little air as possible in your container/package. Be sure to remove as much air as possible before closing freezer bags. Make sure lids are tight and packages are securely wrapped.

Labeling

Although freezing keeps food safe for an indefinite amount of time, we recommend eating the food within a reasonable time period for quality’s sake. Label and date your foods so you don’t end up with mysterious globs in frozen-over containers.

When you leave our kitchen today, go straight home. Do not stop at the mall, do not run by your sister’s house to tell her what a good time you had. Go home and place your food in the refrigerator and/or freezer.

Freezing

It is important not to freeze too much food at one time. You may need to freeze half of your meals today and the rest tomorrow. Place packages in the freezer in a single layer. Do not stack bags/containers on top of each other until they are completely frozen. To keep food safe, it should be frozen solid within 4-6 hours.

Keeping the freezer door closed is more important for food quality than you may think. Keeping the door closed will help maintain the freezer’s temperature at a constant 0 degrees F or below. Keeping the freezer temperature at 0 degrees F is imperative to inactivate any bacteria, yeast and molds that may be in your foods.

Thawing

Thawing foods at room temperature will compromise the safety of your food. To ensure that your food is safe to eat, follow one of these proper ways to thaw:

1. In the refrigerator -  Plan ahead as this is the slowest thawing technique. Small frozen items may thaw overnight in the refrigerator, while larger items may take 2-3 days.
2. In cold running water - Place the frozen food in a leak-proof bag and place it under cold running water.
3. In a microwave on the defrost setting - Plan to cook the food immediately after it has been thawed in a microwave, because some areas of the food may have begun cooking during the defrost cycle.