The Simple Freezer Coin Trick That Could Save You From Food Poisoning
- Lifestyle, Health
- Exienent
- · Updated
The freezer coin trick tells you whether your freezer thawed during a power outage while you were away. You freeze a cup of water, place a coin on top of the ice, and check where the coin sits when you get home: still on top means the freezer stayed frozen, and sunk to the bottom means everything thawed.
Coming home from a trip to a blinking microwave clock usually means one thing: the power went out while you were gone. The question is whether it was out for ten minutes or three days. If it was out for days, everything in the freezer could have thawed, spoiled, and then refrozen when the power came back on. The food may look perfectly solid, but eating refrozen, spoiled food carries a real risk of food poisoning. Without a way to know, the cautious choice is to throw away expensive meats, frozen dinners, and ice cream just to be safe.
What is the freezer coin trick?
The freezer coin trick is a simple, practically free method to monitor the temperature inside your freezer while you are away from home. It gives you visual evidence of whether your food thawed out or stayed frozen during a power outage.
All you need is a clear container, some tap water, and a single coin (a quarter works great).
How do you set up the freezer coin trick?
Setting it up takes three steps before your next trip.
1. Freeze a Cup of Water
Take a small, clear container. A small plastic Tupperware container or even a heavy-duty clear plastic cup works perfectly. Fill it with normal tap water, leaving a little room at the top for the ice to expand.
Place the container in your freezer and leave it overnight until it is completely frozen solid.
2. Place a Coin on Top
Once the water is completely frozen, take a clean coin and place it flat on top of the solid ice.
Leave the cup in the freezer, shut the door, and go enjoy your vacation!
3. Read the Results When You Get Home
When you get back from your trip, open the freezer and look closely at your cup. The position of the coin shows what happened to your freezer while you were gone.
What does the coin's position mean?
The coin's position shows how much the ice melted while you were away:
- The coin is still on top: Your freezer stayed cold. Even if the power flickered, it wasn't off long enough for the ice (and likely your food) to thaw. This is a good sign your food stayed frozen.
- The coin is frozen in the middle of the ice: The power was off for a significant amount of time. The ice partially melted, letting the coin sink, and then refroze. You should carefully inspect your food.
- The coin is at the very bottom of the cup: This is the danger zone. The power was out long enough for the entire cup of ice to melt into liquid water, letting the coin sink all the way down. Your freezer thawed completely, so the safe choice is to throw the food away.
When in doubt about specific items, follow your local food safety guidance rather than guessing.
Is the freezer coin trick worth doing?
Yes. It costs exactly 25 cents to set up, and it removes the guessing game when you come home to a blinking stove clock.
Before you pack your bags for your next holiday, spend two minutes setting up the freezer coin trick. It can give you peace of mind and potentially save you from a very unpleasant bout of food poisoning.
