About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2008)
PAGE 6, JULY 21, 2008, THE ISLANDER The FACS Corner By Deborah S. Jones, MSH, CDE Greetings Islander Readers! I hope everyone is coping with the heat and humidity these days and using the last two month’s tips on how to prevent mold in your home. The dog days of summer are here along with hurricane season and evening thunderstorms. It seems an appropriate time to present an article by our food safety specialists in Athens, Judy Harrison, PhD. and Elizabeth Andress, PhD., “What to do if the freezer stops.” I hope this article will help to keep you and your family prepared and informed. Freezer failure can mean the loss of all or part of a large investment in food, time, and money. It pays to know what to do if your equipment stops working. At any time of the year, a freezer may fail to function because of mechanical problems, power failures or human error. The best time to decide how to handle such an emergency is before it happens. When a freezer does fail to work, the first rule is to keep the freezer door closed. In a well-filled freezer, food will probably remain frozen for about two days if the door is kept closed. What to do when your freezer stops? When you first notice that your freezer has stopped, try to determine the cause. It might be something sim ple like a blown fuse, a shortage in the electrical circuit or an accidental disconnection. In any of these cases, restore nor mal operation as quickly as possible and check the food for thawing. In case of a power failure, check with the utility company to see how long it will be before power is restored. If your freezer has failed because of mechani cal problems, read the instruction book to see if there is something you can do to get it back into operation. If not, find out how soon the repairman can service your freezer. What to do to keep your food from thawing? If your freezer is not likely to be operating again within a day, you can do one of several things. First, check into moving your frozen food to a freezer that is working. You might have a friend or neighbor with space in his or her freezer for your food or there may be space in a church or school freezer. You might also check into the possibility of moving your freezer’s contents to a local freezing plant. To move your food, put it in insulated boxes or between thick lay ers of newspapers and blankets. Once you have taken the food out of your freezer, get it to an operating freezer as soon as possible. When your freezer is empty, unplug and defrost it according to the instruc tions in the owner’s manual. After it is defrosted, clean it thoroughly. While your freezer is not in use, leave the door open slightly to let air circulate in the food compartments. As a safety precaution for young children, be sure the door is fixed so it cannot be closed. If there is no space available in another freezer, use dry ice in your freezer to keep your food frozen. To locate a source of dry ice in your com munity, check the yellow pages under “Dry Ice” or “Carbonic Gas.” Dry ice is very cold. Handle it quick ly and always wear heavy gloves to prevent the ice from burning your hands. When you buy dry ice, have it cut into small enough sizes to use. Do not try to cut or chip it yourself. Ask the dry ice company to wrap each piece REAL ESTATE ^ REALTY and YOU By Susan Hardwick ABR, CRS, E-PRO, GRI Service • Commitment REALTY INC. St. Simons Island Results GO WITH A PROFESSIONAL A Realtor® can save you time and assist you in the house-hunting process. They are aware of the market and will pre-select homes that are within your price range and meet your requirements for size; location; proximity to schools; medical facilities and places of worship. Because they preview listings every week during Realtor® open houses, they can schedule appointments for you to see just the right homes, even when the owners are not there. They can also give you current sale prices for properties you’re considering — a competitive market analysis. Another valuable real estate professional’s expertise comes when you get up-to-date information about taxes, school districts and conditions in areas that interest you — i.e. how far to recreation; how far to the ocean; how far to my workplace? Probably the most valuable tool your Realtor® will offer is the handling of negotiations over the price and terms of your offer. Follow that up with arranging three possible financial sources and suggesting three good home inspectors. Then, you may realize the true value of working with a professional. Call me! For the best in professional service contact Susan Hardwick, 638-6660 office,- or 1-877-638-6660, Ext. 625. 638-8782 home,- 912-222-0392 mobile,- e-mail: susanhardwick@bellsouth.net,Web: www.seapalmsrealty.com or visit www.therealestateshow.tv to see all area listings in newspaper for you. A 50-pound cake of dry ice is enough to protect solidly frozen food in a full 20-cubic foot freezer for three to four days. A 25-pound cake should hold the temperature of a half- full, 10-cubic foot freezer below freezing for two to three days. Put heavy cardboard on top of pack ages of frozen food in each compart ment of your freezer and put the dry ice on top of the cardboard. Close the freezer, but do not lock it. Do not open the freezer again until you need to replace the dry ice or the freezer is working again. You can provide extra insulation for your freezer by covering it with blan kets or quilts. Putting packaging mate rial or crumpled newspapers between the cabinet and the blankets will also help. Be sure, however, to fasten cov erings away from the air vents on the outside of the freezer. The power may come on unexpectedly and ventilation will be needed. The harmless gas given off by the dry ice also needs to escape. Dry ice is carbon dioxide in its solid form. It evaporates rather than melts and leaves no liquid. You may notice an off odor caused by carbonic acid, which is formed by the dry ice and moisture in the freezer. It is harmless. Simply leave the freezer door open a few minutes to let it escape. What to do with thawed food? Some thawed foods can be re-frozen. However, the texture will not be as good. Other foods may need to be dis carded. Here are some guidelines: • Meat and Poultry: Re-freeze if the freezer temperature stays 40°F or below and if color and odor are good. Check each package, and discard any if signs of spoilage such as an off color or off odor are present. Discard any packages that are above 40°F (or at room temperature). • Vegetables: Re-freeze only if ice crystals are still present or if the freez er temperature is 40°F or below. Dis card any packages that show signs of spoilage or that have reached room temperature. • Fruits: Re-freeze if they show no signs of spoilage. Thawed fruits may be used in cooking or making jellies, jams, or preserves. Fruits survive thawing with the least damage to quality. • Shellfish and Cooked Foods: Re freeze only if ice crystals are still pres ent or the freezer is 40°F or below. If the temperature is above 40° F, throw these foods out. • Ice Cream: If partially thawed, throw it out. The texture of ice cream is not acceptable after thawing. If its temperature rises above 40°F, it could be unsafe. • Creamed Foods, Puddings and Cream Pies: Re-freeze only if freezer temperature is 40°F or below. Discard if the temperature is above 40°F. • Breads, Nuts, Doughnuts, Cook ies and Cakes: These foods re-freeze better than most. They can be safely re-frozen if they show no signs of mold growth. What to do to plan ahead? To be prepared in case your freezer stops, plan ahead. Find out where the nearest commercial or institutional freezers are. Locate a source of dry ice. During the seasons when power failures are frequent or if you know the power will be off, it is good insurance to run the freezer between -10°F and -20°F. The colder the food, the more slowly it thaws. □ Property Sales on St. Simons and Sea Island are brought to you weekly as a courtesy of Joe Wills Realtor®. G.R.I.®, A.B.R.® Life Member, Circle of Excellence m MLS t£} Hodnett Cooper REAL ESTATE, INC 912-638-4750 • 912-223-4630 zvillsjoe@bellsouth.net • zvzvzv.stsimonsproperties.cor Transfer Seller Buyer Location/Legal Tax Description/Address Sea Island S 1,300.00 Sea Island Co; Sea Heagy, Linda H & Thomas C Lot 29, Ph 9, Ocean Cottages Island Coastal Properties LLC St Simons at Ocean Forest S 420.00 Bullister, John P & Henderson, Peter L Jr Lot 40, Ph C, Wymberly on Joan M the Marsh, **297 Wild Heron Rd S 450.00 Owens, George W & Purtle, Linda C Lot 28, BlkE, Ph 4, Sea NinaG Palms Golf & Country Club, **109 Tall Pine Rd S 710.00 McCully, James G & Zeh, Fredrick W Lot 1, Blk C, St Simons Park, Judith A **601 Ocean Blvd $ 1,150.00 Sea Island Coastal Dooley, Christopher D Lot 222, Ph 4, Frederica Properties LLC Township $ 1,500.00 McCoy, Richard J; McCoy, Barbara S Lot 38, Ph 3, St Simons Coast Ruby McDaniel Smith Cottages, **13 Coast Family Trust Cottages Ln $ 55,083.20 Coastal Community HCRI Exchange Properties I 74.211 Acs & 60' Access Retirement Corp LLC Easement, Marshes Edge, **122 Frederica Village 7 Warranty Deeds for Sea Island & St. Simons for week ending 7/11/2008
