4 myths well-nigh defrosting food and what you lot should practice instead

salmon counter

Don't permit your dinner sit out on the counter for too long.
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  • Never leave any food — frozen or otherwise — at room temperature for more than two hours, according to the USDA.
  • Thawing in your refrigerator is the safest mode to go — just it'southward too the slowest.
  • You tin speed up your fridge thaw time past putting your frozen food on an aluminum pan, according to the Kitchn.
  • Running warm or hot water over frozen nutrient to thaw information technology is unsafe — only small amounts of food can safely exist thawed in 140-degree h2o on your stovetop in simply ten to 12 minutes, co-ordinate to America'due south Exam Kitchen.

The power to freeze and store food for afterwards is wonderful — especially if you love home-cooked meals, but also accept a decorated life outside your kitchen.

Unfortunately, sometimes getting food safely from a frozen state to one where you can cook or reheat it tin be a challenge — especially when y'all're short on time.

Hither are some dangerous food defrosting pitfalls you lot probably thought were OK — also every bit USDA-canonical food safe methods to employ when you're thawing out your frozen nutrient bounty.

Warm or hot water is usually non a condom style to defrost food chop-chop.

Letting your food soak in warm water might non exist the best idea.
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It'south happened to everyone: Y'all had every intention of moving that chicken from the freezer to the fridge before you went to work — but you forgot.

Now it's belatedly, you're tired afterward a long solar day, and you but want to pull dinner together rapidly so you tin can relax.

You might think yous can speed upwards the thawing process by sticking that chicken in a sink full of warm or hot h2o and get on with your meal plans — only don't do information technology.

According to the USDA'south rules governing food safety , the longer whatever nutrient spends in the temperature danger zone — located between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit — the more likely it is to make you sick.

If you're in a big hurry to defrost something, never fear — that's why microwaves have defrost settings. They're a much safer bet next time you're in a rush.

Nonetheless, if you lot heat water in a pot on the stove to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, there is ane safety mode to apply hot water to defrost modest amounts of food.

Merely thaw your food in humid water for 10-12 minutes.
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According to America'south Exam Kitchen, you can apply a properly calibrated thermometer to oestrus a pot of h2o to 140 degrees Fahrenheit on your stove peak.

Next, place your small-scale cuts of meat inside zippo-top bags — such as a chicken breast or two — or a baggie of frozen soup in the water to thaw.

Don't go out the meat unattended — it should thaw in 10 to 12 minutes. That'south quicker than leaving it in your fridge, and information technology also doesn't let enough time for harmful bacteria to starting time to grow.

Unfortunately, this method won't work with larger pieces of meat — like a whole bird or a leg of lamb. Larger items like those would still accept too long to thaw for good food temperature safety using this method.

Refreezing food left out of the refrigerator isn't a safety bet.

There are some things you should know almost refreezing nutrient.
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Let's say, for case, you take out chicken to defrost information technology then, after an 60 minutes or two goes by, you decide to cook something else instead. At this point, despite what you might remember, it'due south not condom to refreeze that chicken.

Co-ordinate to the USDA, you should not refreeze any food left outside the fridge for longer than ii hours. Further, if it's a hot day, specifically over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, your nutrient will be unsafe to refreeze subsequently just one hour.

Thawing nutrient on your countertop at room temperature is a unsafe idea — don't exercise it.

Don't thaw nutrient on your counter, especially raw meat.
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Leaving your food — whatever food, not but meat — at room temperature for over two hours makes it a great identify for dangerous bacteria to proliferate and brand your loved ones miserable.

For this reason, the USDA advises that y'all should never thaw your food on your counter — generally speaking, you'd have to exit most frozen foods out much longer than 2 hours to defrost them all the manner if yous only used this method to do it.

Y'all may have heard most the aluminum pan defrosting fox — information technology definitely speeds things upwards, only here'south how to use this hack safely.

Although it will speed upwardly defrosting time, information technology opens up your food to bacteria.
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Every bit J. Kenji López-Alt of Serious Eats noted in this handy video, thawing meat or anything else on an aluminum surface noticeably speeds upwards the defrosting procedure .

Merely according to the USDA, bacteria can double in number in as piddling as 20 minutes if your nutrient is left at room temperature. Obviously, you want to keep your food in a safe temperature range as much as possible.

Christine Gallary from the Kitchn ran an experiment to see just how much faster the aluminum pan trick made defrosting 2.v-inch thick pork chops. She found that the chop defrosted on an aluminum pan took ane hr to defrost, while the chop defrosted on a regular dinner plate took an 60 minutes and 45 minutes — nearly double the aluminum pan time .

While she stressed that she didn't consume the pork chops after performing this test because they would no longer accept been condom, her experiment definitely documented the sizeable speed increase.

If y'all simply stick your food to be defrosted on an aluminum pan and store it in the refrigerator instead of on your counter, y'all can have both good food rubber and a speedier event in your defrosting.

When possible, plan ahead and employ 1 of these tried-and-truthful methods for all your safety food defrosting needs.

Plan ahead of fourth dimension and put your frozen food in the fridge.
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Business concern Insider spoke to Cornell University nutrient science professor Robert Gravani, who took them through the four safest ways to defrost your nutrient in this short, helpful video.

If you lot're planning on cooking that frozen salmon fillet for dinner tomorrow, stick it in your fridge to thaw tonight before you go to bed. That style, information technology'll be ready to get when you get home — and y'all won't have to even worry virtually it when you're rushing around tomorrow forenoon.


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