Follow safety rules when refreezing food

Dear Readers: Refreezing food is a great way to save money and time when fixing a meal, but you need to be aware of these safety hints:
UNormally, if food is only partially thawed and still has some ice crystals on it, it's safe to refreeze it. But if the food has an off color or a bad odor, toss it out!
UWhen you refreeze food, it never has the same quality as fresh or never-thawed frozen food, because it loses appearance, texture and flavor. It's usually best to throw out thawed ice cream.
UIf you have put food in the refrigerator for one or two days and it has only partially thawed, it can be refrozen.
UIf you have thawed fish, poultry or meat in the refrigerator, it's OK to refreeze within 24 hours of defrosting. But casseroles, stews and combination dishes that have been thawed should not be refrozen.
UIf food is accidentally thawed because of a power failure, refreeze only the food that still has ice crystals inside. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I wanted to tell you about a boo-boo I pulled. I wanted to bake a Texas-shaped cake for our campout. I had the pan all ready, with the wax paper cut to fit the bottom, and I grabbed what I thought was nonstick spray. I sprayed the pan, poured the mix in and thought it smelled pretty good.
After shoving the cake into the oven, I turned back to the counter and discovered I had sprayed the pan with air freshener! I had cooked fish the night before and left the can on the counter. We all had a good laugh! Jeanette Foy, San Antonio
Dear Readers: Test your food-hint IQ: What fruit is both tart and sweet, and looks like a small orange? This fruit is usually known as a winter fruit, appearing on the shelf from October through June.
The answer: a kumquat. This funny fruit is delicious and can be eaten whole, sliced or pickled, and can even be used in marmalades and relishes. Next time you're at the market, why not pick up a couple and give them a try? Heloise
Dear Heloise: Before storing leftovers in the refrigerator, use a permanent marker and write on masking tape or directly on the plastic wrap the name of the food items and the date they were opened or prepared. This helps keep track of what is in the refrigerator. More importantly, the date gives you an idea of whether the food is still safe to eat. Holly Wietfeldt, Auburn, Ill.
Dear Heloise: I live in Florida, where it is very humid. The marshmallows I bought would get sticky and cling together.
One day I put a bag of them in the freezer, and that worked great. They were a little hard to cut, but that was better than all of them sticking together. Mildred Craig, Fort Myers, Fla.
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate