The Surprising Reason New Jersey Residents Need To Keep A Quarter In Their Freezer

With all of the storms that have been rolling through Jersey the last few weeks a lot of people have been losing power, and because of that odds are a lot of people have had the thought creep into their head "Is the food in my fridge still safe?"

I've never heard of this trick before, but there's a really easy way to see whether the food in your fridge is safe to eat and all you really need is a cup, a quarter, and some water.

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How Can A Quarter Alert You To Bad Food In Your Fridge?

It sounds so simple, but it's really true.

You take a cup, whichever type you'd like; coffee cup, water cup, plastic cup, literally any cup.

Fill that cup almost to the top with water, and let it sit in your freezer until all the water in your chosen cup is frozen.

Once the water's frozen, place your quarter in the cup so that it's sitting on the now-frozen water, and you're set to go.

So How Does This Tell You If Your Food Went Bad?

Let's say you go away for a few days, a weekend trip to Cape May, and while you're gone you hear reports that your street loses power for a few hours or a few days.

When you get home, open your freezer, and check in on the quarter.

If the quarter is still on top: then your food stayed frozen during the power outage and is safe to eat.

If the quarter is in the middle: then your food started to thaw and then refroze when the power comes back on and you'll want to check all your food before eating it.

If the quarter is at the bottom of the cup: then your food is fully thawed and you'll want to replace the contents of your freezer.

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It's that simple, now something to keep in mind is that food thaws at different rates so you'll still want to double-check your food before you eat it.

The quarter trick is just a good way to gauge quickly the contents of your freezer.