WINE TIPS
Get these must-have wine tools:
• Keep gel-filled wine sleeves in your freezer to quickly chill or keep bottles cool
• Find a comfortable wine opener, whether it’s a small waiter’s friend, or an easy-to-use lever-style corkscrew
• Finally, get some non-drip pourers to eliminate spillage concerns
MILK
How perishable is milk? Every 1/2 gallon of Grade A pasteurized milk contains over 50 million bacteria and, if not refrigerated, will sour in a matter of hours. Milk should be stored at 34 degrees fahrenheit.
*BONUS TIP: When heating milk, try spreading a small amount of unsalted butter on the bottom of the pot to keep the milk from sticking.
ICE CREAM
Why do ice crystals form on ice cream? Ice cream is removed from the freezer so often that it tends to freeze and thaw too many times. Water is released from the fat in the ice cream and the result is the formation of ice crystals. Home freezers, which do not go to 0 degrees fahrenheit, rarely freeze ice cream solid.
CHICKEN
Chicken has a shorter freezer life than beef due to its higher polyunsaturated fat to saturated fat content. Polyunsaturates are more prone to destruction by oxidation and rancidity. There are more hydrogen sites in a polyunsaturated fat for oxygen to attach to. Beef is higher in saturated fat and has hardly any open sites.