what is the correct temperature to set your refrigerator freezer at

What is the ideal temperature I should go on my freezer & refrigerator at; is it really 0º & 40º? Doesn't "freezing" e'er mean things are frozen? I plough my thermostat upwards during the summer & down during the winter to relieve electricity, hmm tin can I enhance the temperature of my freezer besides to save? Recently I ran across this tidbit "Enhance the Freezer Temperature: As long as your freezer is below 32 degrees, your food will freeze." Really?

As many know, many like the FDA have e'er promote / mandate keeping your refrigerator at or below 40º and the freezer at 0º. Even legitimate "energy conservation / efficiency" sites like the Consumer Energy Center (run by CA.gov) states; "Cheque the temperature – a refrigerator that is 10 degrees colder than necessary can apply 25 percent more free energy. Refrigerators should be kept between 35 and 38 degrees, and freezers at 0 degrees Fahrenheit." Sounds pretty uncomplicated correct?

The case for raising or lowering temperatures:

I got to say I wish I could discover the commodity I was reading a few weeks back, but it took a look at the possibility of changing the recommended temperatures, particularly for freezers. In it they looked at the history of the current standards which were done based on studies from the 40'due south or lx's if memory serves me correctly. They believe that with todays newer technologies, quicker times to market / processing facility,  and commercial flash freezing that we should relook at the standards and perchance raise them.

So the question is why was below 40 & o called in the first place. The first number for refrigerators was based on keeping bacteria growth to a minimum. That is one reason why y'all will have the numbers 40 & 140 drummed into your head if you lot accept ever worked in the nutrient industry. The freezing one delves more into science and looking at the best temperature to help preserve nutrients and slow / end enzymes. As a reminder, enzymes essentially are what makes fruits and vegetables ripen and rot. In all the studies, null degrees came out the winner.

Things to consider: The refrigerator

This is one item that nosotros advocate that 1 keep the refrigerator around 34 degrees for a few reasons;

• The commencement as pointed out in Rubber Sunday: To toss or proceed the food the higher the temperature is the less of a buffer zone you lot have in case of power outage or over active kids
• Most people don't turnover their food as much equally a eating house does (aka we might take a few weeks to go through one dozen eggs, while they go through dozens in a twenty-four hours) thus we want to make sure information technology is as practiced as information technology was when we put it away
• Nosotros don't take refrigerated trucks delivering our food to united states, then we demand our fridge to cool it dorsum down
• Newer refrigerators are meliorate at keeping the whole chamber at the proper temperature while allowing items similar fruits & vegetables to exist stored at a slightly college temperature / humidity level in special drawers so you lot shouldn't accept to worry about frozen items if you lower it down some.

Things to consider: The freezer

• One of the commencement items we must bespeak out is that 32 degrees does non mean that something is frozen or will freeze. While a BTU is what is required to heat (or cool 1 pound of water) that only applies earlier it'due south phase changes. To turn a liquid into a frozen state it must lose an additional 144 BTU's earlier it is frozen.
• The next item to signal out is that saltwater freezes at a dissimilar temperature based on its salinity (aka sodium) level – most like NOAA simply state 28.4º
• The water ice cream dilemma: E'er have a hard time scooping water ice foam out of it'south container – well that is because of how cold your freezer is. If you would like softer scoopable ice foam consider bumping the temperature up to betwixt 0 to 5º. As an FYI – Gellato is best between 0 to 18, Italian Water ice between ten to eighteen with frozen custards coming in around ten to twenty.
  • The downside to raising the temperature, per the studies for every 5º above goose egg the recommended storage fourth dimension is cut in half for many products. Got a dissever breast freezer, use it for long term storage while your regular ane is great for using shortly items
• Doing a lot of "preserving or storing" then a breast freezer brought down to it's lowest setting will assistance freeze your nutrient faster and the ice crystals formed will be smaller resulting in less damage. Once this is done consider bringing it back up to 0 to -10 at maximum.
  • Water ice crystals practise class but are non generally visible (aka freezer burn down)
  • Freezer burn is non caused by the temperature, just rather moisture leaving the nutrient and existence exposed to the air. Consider using a "vacuum" type sealer to help eliminate / reduce this issue

Some quick final thoughts: In all reality, unless some new studies come up out (and even maybe non particularly if you do a lot of cooking at home), I would recommend one still keep in that location freezer at zero and the refrigerator at 34 degrees. While you might enjoy some cost savings if you run them a tad higher, i has to remainder them against all the other factors. Now if you accept split up freezer drawers or a standalone freezer, you lot might consider running one a trivial flake warmer for easier serving of ice creams if that is your matter. With that don't always assume that the temperature displayed is accurate, consider investing in a Freezer / Refrigerator thermometer (but like you lot do for your oven) to ensure that the temperature is correct.

When I worked in a commercial kitchen – the fridge one stayed in a container of water & was inserted through a lid which helped usa know what the fridge temperature was truly at, not just the air temp. The freezer one was inserted into the freezer unit itself which won't work for normal ones, and so hats off to Marker Luxton for the reminder & tip near inserting betwixt 2 bags of vegetables or something like.

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Source: https://thehtrc.com/2015/faq-ideal-freezer-refigerator-temperatures

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