You Might Not Be Defrosting Your Food Safely

Most of the time, shortcuts can be great. No time to slice, dice, or grate veggies for a recipe? You can throw them in a food processor. Don’t feel like proofing a pizza dough for multiple days? You can find a recipe using store-bought yeast with a solid pizza ready within a couple of hours. But sometimes, when we don’t fully understand the shortcuts we’re taking in the kitchen, we can inadvertently put ourselves and our guests in danger — which is why when you come across a too-good-to-be-true gadget, it can pay off to learn as much as you can about it before diving in.

One of Amazon’s top sellers is the recent hyper-popular kitchen tool, the Cuisinart defrosting tray. It purportedly uses food-safe aluminum to bring food to room temperature quickly. 

Cuisinart Defrosting Tray

One customer called the tray “an amazing product” that they wish was more widely used; another said it’s “definitely a must-have in any kitchen” and that it puts an end to using one’s sink or microwave to defrost food. A third reviewer claimed the tray “does cut the defrosting time by 30% to 40%.” Curious about whether this tray was worth picking up or whether I should keep doing things the old-fashioned way, I contacted Richard LaMarita, a chef and instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education’s New York City campus.

“I do see potential hazards with having proteins come to room temperature in this way,” LaMarita said, pointing out that trays like this are not used in professional or commercial kitchens. In his view, there are only three acceptable ways to defrost food: “Under refrigeration, under cold running water, or as part of the cooking process.” He added that the microwave could be used as long as the food is thoroughly cooked immediately after.

LaMarita said that the best way to defrost food is in a refrigerator overnight, especially when you’ve got a larger protein like a whole chicken or a turkey, which can take a full day or longer to defrost. Doing this will keep it out of what he calls the temperature danger zone. “The temperature danger zone is between 40 and 135℉, and you want to avoid being in that range for a long period of time.” [Editor’s note: The CDC similarly cites the “danger zone” when thawing food being 40 to 140℉.] Cooks often risk leaving food in this temperature range too long when  sitting out, because larger cuts of meat don’t defrost evenly. “The outside of the protein may have defrosted, but the inside will be frozen, and this can create an environment for bacterial growth,” he said.

In the end, LaMarita is not totally against this tray, speculating that some food could be safe if it’s defrosted within about four hours, but stressed that cooks should monitor the food’s temperature with a thermometer. (The Kizen digital thermometer, a Food & Wine favorite thermometer, is currently on sale for $14.)

If you want to test out the Cuisinart defrosting tray for yourself and see what the hype is about, pick one up since it’s only $22 right now. Just make sure to read the directions and use it safely by keeping an eye on your food’s temperature throughout the process.

At the time of publication, the tray was $22.

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