The last time we were together, we talked about cooking to proper temperatures.Today we'll talk about:

Chill! Refrigerate your food promptly.

Refrigerating your food promptly is a must because cold temperatures keep harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. So, set your refrigerator no higher than 40 degrees farenhiet(5 degrees celcius) and the freezer at 0 degrees farenheit (-18 degrees celcius). Check these temperatures occasionally with an appliance thermometer.

Here are some tips for food refrigeration:

    * Refrigerate or freeze perishables,prepared foods and leftovers within 2 hours or sooner.

    * Never defrost food at room temperature. Thaw food in the refrigerator,under cold running water,or in the microwave. Marinate foods in the refrigerator.

    * Divide large amounts of leftovers into small, shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator.

    * Don't pack or cram your refrigerator. Cool air must circulate to keep food at safe temperatures.

Tune into the next post when I'll show you an internal temperature chart for food.