WEBVTT - What's the ideal temperature for your refrigerator?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Christian Seger, and this is brain stuff. You know when

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<v Speaker 1>you reach inside the fridge and your loaf of bread

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<v Speaker 1>has turned green and it's covered with white wisps of mold,

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<v Speaker 1>or when your tomatoes look like a deflated balloon and

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<v Speaker 1>they have spores growing out the top. It's even worse

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<v Speaker 1>when those spores start turning black and wrinkly and they

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<v Speaker 1>bore into your food and spread out their fungal roots. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>we're all disgusted by this kind of imagery, as if

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<v Speaker 1>we've got some kind of natural revulsion despoiled food, and

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<v Speaker 1>we all scream that's gross and probably dangerous. Do not

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<v Speaker 1>put it in your mouth. Well, luckily we have refrigerators

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<v Speaker 1>which slow the growth of bacteria on our food. Freezers

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<v Speaker 1>will do you one better by stopping bacteria completely by

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<v Speaker 1>freezing them solid. But we can't freeze everything. Some foods,

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<v Speaker 1>like let us, milk or eggs are less than appetizing

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<v Speaker 1>after you freeze them, And imagined trying to thaw orange

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<v Speaker 1>juice every morning. There's got to be some middle ground

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<v Speaker 1>between freezing your food rock solid and leaving it out

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<v Speaker 1>to rot. So what's the best temperature to set the

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<v Speaker 1>inside of your fridge at? Well, before I answer that,

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<v Speaker 1>let's understand spoilage a little bit better. Basically, microscopic organisms

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<v Speaker 1>are constantly feasting on our unattended food items. Spoilage bacteria

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<v Speaker 1>are fast and inevitable. They're constantly consuming tiny portions of

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<v Speaker 1>our food and then spreading their waste all over it.

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<v Speaker 1>M M. That's what makes rotten food smell foul and

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<v Speaker 1>appear spoiled. And bacteria multiply, sometimes rapidly. As long as

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<v Speaker 1>nutrition and water are present, bacteria be making babies. While

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<v Speaker 1>there are many methods to detect bacteria, most take several

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<v Speaker 1>hours unless you've got an infrared light handy to trace

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<v Speaker 1>their biochemical footprints. Even if you can find them, not

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<v Speaker 1>all bacteria are necessarily bad. For instance, a certain degree

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<v Speaker 1>of bacteria are necessary to prevent illness. Others are used

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<v Speaker 1>by food manufacturers to enhance the taste or texture of

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<v Speaker 1>their products. Bacteria in beer can control its calorie content.

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<v Speaker 1>The holes in Swiss cheese occur when bacteria use lactic

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<v Speaker 1>acid to produce bubbles of carbon dioxide gas that leave

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<v Speaker 1>holes behind. And of course, there's yogurt that stuff has

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<v Speaker 1>bacteria a plenty, containing probiotic enzymes that produce vitamins, enhanced digestion,

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<v Speaker 1>and aid our absorption of nutrients. But for the most part,

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<v Speaker 1>visible bacteria and mold is a sign that food is

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<v Speaker 1>not suitable to eat. Some can even be lethal, like salmonella, E.

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<v Speaker 1>Coli and listeria. So what's our best solution? Using our

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<v Speaker 1>cold refrigerators to slow bacteria's growth without also freezing our food.

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<v Speaker 1>The US Food and Drug Administration recommends that you keep

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<v Speaker 1>your refrigerator at or below forty degrees fahrenheit or four

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<v Speaker 1>degrees celsius. Anything higher and the food will spoil too quickly.

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<v Speaker 1>For the food that you can freeze, you'll want the

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<v Speaker 1>temperature to be zero degrees fahrenheit or negative eighteen degrees celsius.

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<v Speaker 1>Check both of these periodically with a digital appliance thermometer.

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<v Speaker 1>And you want another tip, don't jam your fridge full

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<v Speaker 1>of stuff. This prevents the proper air circulation needed and

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<v Speaker 1>can hasten spoilage in the freezer. However, feel free to

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<v Speaker 1>fill her up. A full freezer actually cools more efficiently.

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<v Speaker 1>Check out the Brainstuff channel on YouTube and for more

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<v Speaker 1>on this and thousands of other topics. Visit how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>works dot com.