For this reason, you should always put a coin in your freezer

Why Power Outages Can Be Tricky

Short power outages can easily go unnoticed if that time happens when you’re asleep or out. However, the thawing could reach so deep into foodstuffs that they’re simply no longer edible even when the food’s appearance shows no changes after power comes back on. Food which gets freezer burned or is just partially thawed might seem acceptable.

In the case of storms or breakdowns in infrastructure, for example, power can be out for hours or even days. It is at such times that the coin-in-the-freezer trick can prove to be especially valuable. Here, there simply isn’t the kind of subtle visual cue of some problem, and you are much more equipped to make decisions about whether to use something or not.