KITCHEN PRACTICE 1 — Check Your Own Fridge and Freezer Temperature
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TASK
Using a fridge thermometer (or your Chapter 1 instant-read thermometer
left in a glass of water in the fridge overnight as a rough substitute),
confirm what your fridge and freezer are actually holding versus what
the dial claims, and adjust if needed.

WALKTHROUGH

Step 1 — Place the thermometer correctly.
For a fridge: put a glass of water in the middle shelf (not the door —
door temperature swings a lot every time it opens) and leave the
thermometer in it overnight, or at minimum a few hours, so it settles
to the fridge's actual steady temperature rather than a momentary
reading.
For a freezer: same idea, though a thermometer resting directly among
frozen items works fine there.

Step 2 — Read and compare.
Target ranges from this chapter:
  Fridge:   0-5C  (UK legal maximum is 8C, but 5C or below gives real
            safety margin)
  Freezer:  -18C or colder

Step 3 — Adjust if it's off.
If your fridge reads warmer than 5C:
  - Turn the thermostat dial down one notch and re-check after 24
    hours (fridges take time to stabilise after a dial change).
  - Check the door seal — a worn or dirty rubber seal is a very common,
    easily-missed cause of a fridge running warm.
  - Make sure nothing is blocking the internal air vents (usually at
    the back) — overpacking a fridge restricts airflow and can leave
    it running warmer than the dial suggests.
If your freezer reads warmer than -18C, the same three checks apply.

Step 4 — Make a habit of it.
A one-off check tells you today's answer; food safety benefits from
knowing your fridge stays in range over time. Checking roughly once a
month, or any time food seems to be spoiling faster than expected, is
a reasonable ongoing habit.

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WHY THIS MATTERS
Every storage-time guideline in this chapter assumes your fridge and
freezer are actually holding the temperatures they're supposed to.
A fridge dial set to "4" doesn't necessarily mean 4C — dial numbers are
relative to that specific appliance, not a universal scale. Actually
measuring it is the only way to know your storage times are grounded
in reality rather than an assumption.