Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with refrigeration

Can I un-refrigerate Honest Tea?

werty — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:31:24 -0800

My local market keeps organic tea in its refrigerator. When I buy it, do I have to keep it refrigerated, or can I store it at room temperature? Specifically: I buy Honest Tea by the case, which my supermarket stashes in its cold room.

I don't particularly want to stash 12 bottles of tea in my fridge at a time, but I'm concerned that because it's organic, I shouldn't be warming it and recooling it. I've seen Honest Tea sold warm elsewhere, so I know it's stable without refrigeration, at least before it gets chilled.

So how does organic tea work? Can I bring a previously refrigerated case home and safely store it in the cabinet?

Head for the holidays

Cat Pie Hurts — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 20:56:48 -0800

How long could one expect a human head to stay "fresh" in a typical hotel mini-fridge? I have a highly active imagination and I'm in a somewhat sketchy hotel in the middle of Pennsylvania. I'm also loopy after 10 hours of driving. My eyes wandered to the mini-fridge and I convinced myself that there was a human head in there. Since the maid didn't do a terribly good job cleaning the room, it's not too far a stretch to assume that they didn't check the fridge. I eventually got myself to open the fridge, and of course, there was no head. This had me thinking: if someone WERE to put a freshly removed human head, how long would it "keep" in a functioning mini-fridge?

Note: I have no intention of acquiring a human head and putting it in a fridge, not have I ever done this before. I am just curious (and it may be leading into a creepy story idea).

Freezer food.

backseatpilot — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:27:30 -0800

I would like some recipes or meal ideas that, when cooked, will last for a long time. Lately (mostly because my fridge is usually empty) I've been looking for food ideas that will keep for awhile. I'm getting a little tired of making one or two dishes and eating them for an entire week. I'd like to have maybe a dozen different things stocked in my freezer/refrigerator that I can pick from and reheat.

So the question is - what foods can I cook a whole lot of that will freeze well or keep in the refrigerator well for quite a long time? "Long time" being over a month or two. I eat just about anything, so throw me your best of everything. I already have tomato sauce, chili, and soups down, though.

How can I control my beer temperature?

geodave — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:31:39 -0800

I'm looking for a serial-port temperature controller thingie for a bizarre cooling system I'm building, for a beer fermenter. The Problem: Beer needs to be kept around 65-70 degF in order to ferment properly; too cold and everything slows down, too hot and the yeasts die.

The Tools: I have a mini-fridge, a very small computer with only a serial port and 3 network ports, and not a lot of money.

The Solution so far: I'm going to have the beer fermenting in a glass carboy, and the mini-fridge running right beside it. Inside the fridge will be a tank of water, and inside the tank will be an aquarium pump.

The aquarium pump is connected to some plastic hose which attaches to a copper coil (refrigeration grade) that circles around the carboy, then dumps the water back inside the fridge container. Basically, when the aquarium pump turns on, it cycles a new length of cold water into the copper tubing and cools the carboy. The whole carboy will be inside of a styrofoam box or something to insulate it.

To control the pump, I'm going to have a thermistor or some other temperature sensor floating in the beer, or even better a couple of them at different positions inside the carboy. This is where my question comes in:

I can either try and build a circuit to switch on the aquarium pump when the temperature hits a certain trigger, using a prototype board and solder. Or, since I have this tiny computer sitting un-used, I can just find a temperature sensor that will plug into the serial port, then write a program to read the temperature and...I guess somehow use it to turn on the aquarium pump.

Basically I want to know if anyone can think of a better setup than this (keeping in mind that i'm poor,) or suggest another way to do it?

How can we convert our wine cooler to reach refrigerator temperatures of 35 degrees farenheit or below?

Jujee — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:27:08 -0800

How can we convert our wine cooler to reach refrigerator temperatures of 35 degrees farenheit or below?

Film in the refrigerator, I know, I know it's serious

matildaben — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 15:19:21 -0800

Would black-and-white negative film still be good if it were stored in a refrigerator for over 3 years? What about printing paper? I've had some B&W film (mostly Ilford 100 and 400) in the fridge for about 3 and a half years. Could I still use it? Would I need to alter the development time or temperature? (I will be developing it myself.) I also have the same questions regarding 3/4 of a 100-sheet box of resin-coated Ilford paper that has been stored in the same place for a similar amount of time.

Cold Air Refrigeration

ParisParamus — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 11:19:17 -0800

Using Cold Outside Air to Reduce Refrigeration Costs: Why isn't this done? Why has it not become architectural and kitchen appliance practice to use the cold air of fall, winter and spring to reduce home energy costs? In other words, why not create duct work and refrigerator/freezers that suck in cold outside air to cut down on electric refrigeration costs? Mass produced, such would not seem like it would add much cost to applicances, and over the years, it would more than pay for itself, and then some. Yes, Floridians or residents of Italy might not benefit, but still...

What options do I have to keep milk cool in an outdoor refrigeration unit.

goalyeehah — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 11:23:46 -0800

What options do I have to keep milk cool in an outdoor refrigeration unit. I am selling Raw Dairy for a dairy farm at local farmers markets. I have a freezer unit attached to a flatbed pickup that is a 110 plug-in. The issue is that most markets do not have outlets and I need to keep milk below 40 degrees to keep authorities at bay. (It's unpasteurized and city officials are bureaucratic nazi's when it comes to this stuff) Keeping the truck running doesn't work (loud, exhaust doesn't jibe with our image of promoting health, I don't want to be sucking diesel fumes) The one option that comes to mind are ice/freezer packs but how well do these work? Do I have any any other choices that are relatively inexpensive, quiet and enviromentally wise?

What goes in the fridge and what doesn't?

soyjoy — Fri, 06 Aug 2004 10:52:44 -0800

In your house, what food does, or does not, need to be refrigerated? I say "in your house" because my mom and I were just discussing how some of these decisions seem to be purely based on one's upbringing rather than science. I'm willing to bet there's a good bit of regional/familial variation. Mom noticed my wife and I had ketchup in the fridge, which back when I was growing up I thought ludicrous, but my wife's family kept it there, so we just fell into it. What's the principle by which you definitively determine whether a food needs to be refrigerated after opening? (Stuff like dairy - other than butter - and berries is obvious, right? I'm talking about the borderline stuff.)

Keeping Ice Cream Cold

badstone — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 13:50:21 -0800

4thOfJulyFilter: I want to be a superhero and bust out some ice cream bars during our 4th of July car camping trip this weekend. If I pack them in dry ice in a cooler on Friday night, will the dry ice last til Sunday afternoon and will it be cold enough to keep the ice cream frozen? (It'll be in the mid 80's at the hottest where I'm going.) Is it OK if the cooler is a cheap styrofoam one (since my good cooler will be filled with beer and BBQ fodder)? Is there a better way I could be attempting this?