Again!

[In the Kitchen]

Don't know if this is going to be annual routine or not for me but I was w/o electricity for 4+ days. Storms hit here last week and almost all of the area was w/o electric and w/o air conditioning. People around here all had their generators going constantly. Since we don't have one, I noticed the noise more. Guess I knew my food was in jeopardy as well as my nerves!!! What is so odd is that I went through this last year only I didn't get ice hoping the electric would be returned. They kept promising soon and didn't get to it until 5 days later even though there was live wire laying across the driveway. So when it happened this time I tried to get ice with the rest of everyone and experienced real panic. No matter the cost, we needed the ice. I knew the food was most important to me over the a/c.

I have two refrigerators and one deep freeze. I had to throw all the food out of the fridge. My question: if any of you have been w/o electric, how do you determine if it is still okay to prepare the food? Since I had 5 bags in the freezer it did stay cold. If I try to prepare it and it hasn't spoiled do you think I could tell when I fix it if it has certain odor? Everyone I talk to said to throw it out. You just cannot believe how this affects me. Trying to save when there is some kind of sale and 'putting' it away only to throw it out?

This is truly overwhelming for me as I know it is for others. Only the thought of Katrina puts my thoughts in perspective. 'could have been worse'. I may be confessing my weakness here but throwing food out is one thing I try to avoid daily. I do have insurance and I asked the agent if they would wonder if I were trying to get by with something since it happened again? Have to go through and itemize each thing and hope I do remember what I paid for it. Know this is more than average comment. Only hope this doesn't happen to any of you or me again. Thanks for your time.

 

[texasgirl]

Oh no, ITK!! That's awful. We were just all wondering about you. I'm not sure on the food, but, someone will be able to tell you better about what will still be good or how to tell. I wish you all the best and hope it gets taken care of for you!!

 

[auntdot]

Lived through power for several days after a hurricane.

Was able to get ice and packed the freezer and fridge with the stuff.

When the poweer came on cooked the cool stuff and anything that seemed at least semi-frozen let refreeze.

But you have to do what you feel comfortalbe with.

If you would not be happy eating the stuff would toss it.

That's the best advice I can give.

 

[Lizannd]

From what I know, the safety of your food all depends

on how warm it got in the freezer. If it was still mostly frozen when the power came back on then it should be ok to refreeze, but if you were without power for so many days then it was probably thawed. If it never got warmer than what would be considered refrigerator temp then I guess you could cook it now then refreeze it. I am afraid that it wouldn't be safe to just refreeze.

I just learned a tip from a friend of mine that they use at their camp. It may help if this happens again.i
Take a paper cup and freeze about 5 inches of water in it. When it is solidly frozen put a penny on top of the ice. If the power goes out they can tell how much the food in the freezer has thawed by where the penny is in the cup.
No thaw - the penny is still on top. A little thaw - the penny just covered with water and so on.

I'm sorry for what you are going through. We had the same thing happen to us a few years ago. I was hard losing all that food but we didn't have much of a choice.

 

[Half Baked]

When hurricanes hit us in Maryland and Georgia, we tossed everything. I don't know it I'd feel safe, even with 5 bags of ice, to eat it after all that time.

I hate to waste food, too, but I wouldn't want to chance someone getting ill.

We didn't have to list everything in the freezer and frig, we just estimated the $ and they wrote us a check.

Lizannd, what a brilliant tip.

 

[mudbug]

ditto what Half Baked said, Lizannd. Sometimes the simplest solutions escape us.

 

[In the Kitchen]

Thank You!

on how warm it got in the freezer. If it was still mostly frozen when the power came back on then it should be ok to refreeze, but if you were without power for so many days then it was probably thawed. If it never got warmer than what would be considered refrigerator temp then I guess you could cook it now then refreeze it. I am afraid that it wouldn't be safe to just refreeze.

I just learned a tip from a friend of mine that they use at their camp. It may help if this happens again.i
Take a paper cup and freeze about 5 inches of water in it. When it is solidly frozen put a penny on top of the ice. If the power goes out they can tell how much the food in the freezer has thawed by where the penny is in the cup.
No thaw - the penny is still on top. A little thaw - the penny just covered with water and so on.

I'm sorry for what you are going through. We had the same thing happen to us a few years ago. I was hard losing all that food but we didn't have much of a choice.

I am going to put this hint in my bible and hope whoever needs it will be able to use it. How wonderful of you to post it. Sure is big help for someone who desparately needs it. Would have been helpful if I would have known about it sooner. This advice is so necessary I sure think everyone who reads this would make special note of it.

I knew if I would share my problem with you all that someone could advise me what to do if it happens again. Tell your friend she is wise. Also appreciate her sharing w/you. Little things do mean so much.

Appreciate all the comments regarding this. aunt dot, now we know how the people w/o electric must HAVE to live. I do feel spoiled. One more thing I have to remember to appreciate and be grateful for.

 

[In the Kitchen]

Temperature

The temp today is supposedly to go up to 103, hotter than yesterday. I am truly thankful that I have the electric today. Dan Rathert had special on tv about Global Warming. Then saw something on 60 Minutes about same topic. The White House doesn't want the public to be concerned about it. The war is main thing right now. Tomorrow I can't worry about. Someone has said, each day has its own problem. I am just going to make it through today and repeat this so I remember.

I had some baked chicken in the freezer. It still smells okay and didn't seem to defrost completely. I am going to attempt to eat it tonight. I just don't have the courage to throw all of it away. I think the ice may have helped some. Just hope someone doesn't get sick.

 

[ChefJune]

In our house we have a motto: "When in doubt, throw it OUT!"

The rule of thumb I've always known (too many years to count, now) is that your food can survive for 3 days in an unopened refrigerator, and for a week in an unopened freezer. "Unopened" being the operative word.

 

[sparrowgrass]

This site
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact%5FSheets/keeping%5Ffood%5Fsafe%5Fduring%5Fan%5Femergency/

gives the USDA recommendations for keeping food after a power outage. Of course they are using very conservative guidelines.

 

[In the Kitchen]

sparrowgrass

What a gift, sparrowgrass! thanks. Sure like your name. Love the sparrows in my yard. I feed them all the time. Big black ones I don't like. The info you gave me sure is great. Printed and will keep.

I sure resent throwing it out but got to be careful about the body. No fooling around or taking chances. Hope it will give me some indication by an ordor or something. May have to go to fast food place time or two.

 

[jpmcgrew]

If you can find dry ice it works great for the freezer the grocery stores where I live give it away in little chunks free here all year as there are alot of ranchers that travel long distances to get groceries.Walmart carries it at the service center but you hafto pay for it.

 

[In the Kitchen]

Update

How would you feel after losing your electric just long enough to have to throw your food out? Would it bother you? You have insurance and they tell you to list all items and amounts you paid for them. Remember: SECOND time have to do this. Did it just last year. After accumulating six pages of items and getting amounts I paid, they call yesterday, Sunday, and tell me they will allow me the limited amount of $250 for each unit. I am not upset about amount, at least something, but to put all the time in lisitng, remembering what amount paid for sale or no sale, and then to tell me forget about it? Would you be upset? Am I being too sensitive here? I am just supposed to do what should have been done in beginning and thrown it out. Oh, this whole process has been working on my nerves.

Having to lose my one dog didn't help. Why does everything come at once? Trying to look at things positively is not easy. This too shall pass and it always does but for today, I feel pretty low. Sure don't want to take vodka in my jug when I go exercise. Hope the exercise will help. Thanks for understanding. I know you all have your bag of rocks to carry too.

Then, after all this I saw someone going through the again looking to see what they could use. Last time had beer in it, this time only food. Beer not put in fridge until needed. I could just as well be that person looking through the stuff. This always happens, when I crab about my problem, see someone else with bigger one. Sorry about all this but I am awfully frustrated for both of us. Me for throwing out and him for haivng to take it.

 

[Claire]

ITK, when I lived in Hawaii and Florida this happened fairly often. My best suggestion is to fill all sorts of plastic containers with water and freeze them. Keep your fridge and freezers totallly full. This will make the difference between food lasting a couple of days ... or even up to a week. I used to fill the freezers with ice water in that form in May, then toss it out around Thanksgiving. Sometimes you have warnings when a power outage comes (very high temps, hurricane warnings). When that happens I actually would stuff newspaper in my chest freezer to add another layer of insulation. Someone this weekend told me it was poisonous to drink the water from those pop bottles full of water. Well, guess I'm dead or sick or something! But the main purpose is to keep the food cold, and you'd be surprised how long you can keep your frozen food frozen by this method. But the bottom line is that a full freezer lasts a lot longer than a half-full one. So freeze lots of water in May. Toss it out when you need more space for food. But you want more ice, less air, for the seasons when you could expect power shortages.

Other than that, get to know your neighbors and Party!!!!

 

[jpmcgrew]

I think fryboy has the right idea invest in a small generator at least big enough to keep fridge and freezer going or bigger to run a few other things.That is the only fool proof method.

 

[In the Kitchen]

Appreciate

I do appreciat e your underst anding. Makes me feel someone cares. jpmcgrew, t he generators around here kept me up at night cause I had to keep the windows open in order not to suffocate from the heat in the house. Didn't keep the house cool but the noise from generators was just one more thing to be upset about. guess that is the only way to put up w/noise is to make noise yourself. Have elderly lady in neighborhood and she keeps her windows and doors locked. Doesn't want no one to bother her. Feels she is better off not to depend on anyone for help.

Claire, you really know a lot about life challenges don't you? Always give ideas about how to survive no matt er what the situation. I sure am going to copy your comment as well to keep handy for the problem happening next year. Wouldn't that be something if it did? nothing surprises you Claire. You're ready. Good. Stay strong. Oh and thanks.

 

[Claire]

ITK, it is because I'm a military brat, military vet, and military wife (now retired). You get used to trying to deal with weird circumstances -- or at least you did in the olden days (I'm 51). I've always loved to cook, and dealing with the situations life throws at you when you don't know where you'll be tomorrow, and where your significant others are sometimes, and you food sources change from year to year. Of course it bothers me when I lose a freezer full of food. One of my sisters who lives in Florida, where a couple of years ago they went through three major power outages, did buy a generator. But what they did that year was learn to know their neighbors very well .... Everyone pow-wowwed every day and figured out who had what food that needed to be eaten tout suite and who had the fullest gas tanks on their barbecues or had a functioning gas stove. The neighborhood ate together for the time period.