With holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas quickly approaching, now is the time to make sure your oven, icemaker, refrigerator, stove, cooktop, and/or range is working correctly. Holiday cooking can be one of the most intense cooking experiences, and you definitely don’t want to be stuck with a problem at the last second. We’re here with a few useful tips that’ll make your holiday cooking experience less stressful, so when it’s “go time” – you can just GO.
Test your oven’s thermometer
Grab an oven-safe thermometer and put it on the center rack of your oven. Then, preheat your oven to 350 degrees farenheit. When the oven is preheated, check the thermometer to see how accurate it is. Make a mental note, then check again in eleven minutes. PROTIP – Don’t rely on your oven’s pre-heat function. We reccomend that you always give your oven a full 20-25 minutes to fully preheat to ensure you’re getting the proper temperature. An oven-safe thermometer will help you test how yours is doing.
Check your stovetop burners
Go ahead and try all of your burners and make sure they all come on. If your burners use gas, make sure a flame is visible.
Check your icemaker
If you have guests coming over for a holiday feast, you can bet that some will want ice to cool down their refreshing soft drinks.
Check the temperature of your refrigerator and your freezer
All your yummy cold items (desserts much?) won’t taste as good if they’re not as cold as they could be. To measure your temperature, put a refrigerator/freezer thermometer in a glass of water in the middle of your fridge and wait about 6 hours. The ideal temperature for a refrigerator is 38-40°F and the sweet spot for a freezer is 0-2°F. If yours is off, make an adjustment and check again in about six hours and go from there.
Check the temperature of your microwave
Although the vast majority of food thermometers are not microwave-safe, if you have a microwave oven probe this would be a great time to use it. Since these types of thermometers vary so greatly, we recommend that you follow the packaging instructions for your specific model.
Need any help?
Don’t let your appliances hold you back from preparing wonderful holiday dishes for your family and friends. If your kitchen appliance needs a little attention, Jefferson Appliance is here to help. Give us a call now at 504-636-8958 or quickly fill out our short contact form to talk to one of our friendly representatives today!
