This coming weekend, we leap out of Daylight Whatever Time. Smart folks recommend that we use that marker to change the batteries on all the smoke alarms in our houses, which is brilliant. Annually, I piggy back on that stacked logic to remind y’all of another somewhat onerous but necessary task – So here we go again – it’s spring cleaning time.
Question – Got a freezer? Of course you do. And even if it’s part of a fridge/freezer combo, wanna bet it has a tendency to act kinda like a junk drawer? S’truth. Next question – How often do you clean and organize that fridge and freezer? Typical answer – ummmmmmmm…. Thought so. In that case, my friends, it’s time to seriously clean your freezers.
Just as we spring forward and fall back, it’s a great time to throw in a genuine cleaning of your primary cold food storage vessels.
Grab a cooler or two, pull everything out of said freezer and fridge, and get crackin’. If you’ve got ice build up in your freezer, unplug it. Don’t use any kind of sharp tool to break ice loose – That’s a busted appliance waiting to happen, or a hand injury. Very hot water, drizzled over the build up will loosen the ice and let you remove it by hand. Then move on to hot, soapy water, and give everything a good scrub. Use a clean kitchen towel to remove any detritus and toss that into the trash. In the fridge, remove the shelves, baskets, etc and clean everything thoroughly. Next comes more hot water with a capful of bleach – give every surface a good wipe down with that, then dry everything off with another clean towel. Let the appliances air dry for about 10 minutes. If you’ve unplugged to clean, plug it back in.
While your appliances are air drying, go through the stuff in the freezer. Take a look at this handy guide from the FDA – fresh meat and poultry, properly wrapped and sealed, can be safely stored for up to a year, while raw ground meat and sausage is more in the 3 to 4 months max range. Lean or cooked fish, properly packaged can last for 6 months, fatty fish more like 3 months. Cooked meat, soups and stews are 3 months or less. Frozen veggies and fruit will depend on how well their packaged and sealed, but 4 to 6 months is about the longest they’re still gonna taste good. Pretty much of anything that’s over a year old should probably be tossed – Remember that freezing radically slows bacterial growth, but does not stop it, so better to be safe than sorry. And yes, it does need to be said – If you can’t identify it, chuck it.
Once you’re ready to reload, it’s time to think about FIFO – That’s First In First Out, and it’s what we do every day in the cafe. It’s how you organize your stuff so that things don’t go to waste. Now, you’re probably thinking, ‘OK, but I’m not a restaurant, so why would I need this?’ Lemme answer it with a few questions of my own.
Do you throw out what could and should be good leftovers out ’cause they didn’t get used in time?
When you did that cleaning of your your fridge and freezer, did you have to chuck a bunch of stuff that didn’t get used in time?
Can you afford all that waste?
If you answered too yup, yeah, and no, then it’s FIFO time in your house. A little discipline will go a long way toward correcting those problems.
In restaurants, every time we prep, open, use or otherwise handle food, we slap a label on them that says what it is, when we opened or made it, and how long it’s good for. If you have a food waste problem, here’s a big part of the solution. This simple manifestation of FIFO at home is so often not done, it’s scary; how often have you looked at a leftover and asked ‘When did we make that; is it three days or seven?’ Sound familiar?
The easy fix is to label it every time and it’s problem solved. Use a non-permanent marker on storage containers in the fridge. Use a permanent marker in the freezer and in your shelves. Get some little stick on labels for anything else. Do it with spices, herbs, and stuff from your dry storage that tend so last a long time.
The next manifestation is to physically FIFO your fridge, freezer and cabinets; oldest stuff goes to the top or the front and gets used first, before it goes bad and before anything newer is opened or bought. You spend a bunch of money, time and effort on food and cooking; spend a little more an incorporate FIFO practices in to your menu planning. If you don’t menu plan, start. There’s simple, easy, smart food management. Get your family involved so the effort isn’t wasted.
Do you buy stuff in bulk like we do? Do you sometimes cook a bunch more of something than you need for than next meal, to save time and energy? Does it always get used in time when you do that? If not, think about it and start FIFOing your leftovers. If you did a bunch of chicken and it needs to be used in three days or so, stack that container front and center where it can’t be missed. If you don’t want to eat chicken for three days straight, portion and freeze what won’t get used right away. Food and money not wasted = good practice.
Again, we do this in the cafe every day without fail; it’s how we keep you well fed and safe. Do the same at home and you’ll save money and eat better.
UrbanMonique 
When my old freezer got icy build-up, I used a hair dryer to melt it away and dry the shelving off. Worked great!
That’s a good call, Sis.