Healthy Housekeeper™ Hints
How to Make Friends with your Freezer
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According to the Healthy Housekeeper, Laura Dellutri, rising food prices mean it's time to make friends with your freezer. She recommends stocking up on sale items and making extra servings of recipes that can be frozen and enjoyed later. Here she shares imperative ice box information, including frozen food safety guidelines and organizational changes to make your freezer more functional and efficient.

• Control the Cold: The recommended freezer temperature is 0 degrees Fahrenheit, but it can be kept between -10 and 10 degrees. All Frigidaire® upright freezer models have a Door Closer feature, Magnetic Door Gaskets for an air-tight seal, a door ajar signal and a control-lock to prevent accidental changes to settings. On select models, Precision Set Controls provide a digital temperature readout and alarm settings, which sound if the interior temperature rises to an unsafe level.
  
  
• Create an Airtight Airspace: When freezing foods, remember to leave a small amount of airspace for expansion in sealed containers and bags and store in an airtight container to retain quality. Fruits, meats, pasta, rice and sauces – especially when poured into ice cube trays for easy flavor additions – all freeze well, while egg whites, crackers and meringue-topped pies are less successful.
  
  
• Banish Bent Spoons: Scoop-able ice-cream needs to be stored at roughly 7 degrees Fahrenheit, which is too warm for most frozen foods. With the Frigidaire Soft Freeze Zone, available on select upright freezers, you can satisfy your sweet tooth while keeping other foods fresh. Bent spoons are history with an interior freezer bin that remains 9 to 11 degrees warmer than the rest of the freezer.
  
  
• Fill it Up: If a freezer is nearly empty, insert a few plastic bottles filled three-quarters the way full with water. This will reduce temperature variation within the compartment, and prevent the temperature from dropping when the door is opened. Freezers consume more energy every time there is a variation in interior temperature, which can cause your energy bill to rise.
  
  
• Freeze Your Assets: What you pay for a freezer is one thing (the new freezers range in price from $399 to $799), but how the freezer pays for itself is another. Not only are Frigidaire freezers affordable but they are also economical to operate. For instance, a 14 cubic foot Frigidaire upright freezer annually consumes less than half the energy needed to light a 100 watt bulb for the same period of time.
  
  
• Label Frozen Foods: Label packages with the food, date and number of servings before freezing. Some Frigidaire uprights come with heavy-duty dividers as well as a system that accommodates pre-printed storage labels.
  
  
• Reheat the Right Way: When preparing food for the freezer, consider using storage solutions that the item can be reheated in, so you don't have to dirty another dish. When you're ready to eat it, defrost meals in the refrigerator or microwave, never on the counter. Then, reheat in the oven or microwave until heated through.
  
  
• Chill in Style: When choosing a new freezer, consider the product and its location. The new Frigidaire upright freezers look sleek enough to fit in your kitchen but they're durable enough for your basement or garage.

For more information about the new Frigidaire uprights, including freezer purchasing pointers, visit Frigidaire.com, or contact Kate Lindley / Current Lifestyle Marketing at 312-929-0506 or klindley@currentlm.com.

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