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Freezing and storing food
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If food is frozen quickly, the cells have
less time to lose moisture, so they
shrink less. As there is not so much
moisture loss, it is easier for the food to
reabsorb it during the defrosting
process, and very little water collects
around the defrosted food.
Storing frozen food
When buying frozen food to store in
your freezer, make sure to check:
– that the packaging is not damaged,
– the expiration date and
– the temperature at which the frozen
food is being stored in the shop. The
length of time it can be kept is
reduced if it has been stored at a
temperature warmer than 0°F (-18°C).
Buy frozen food at the very end of
your shopping trip.
Store it in the freezer compartment as
soon as possible.
Never re-freeze partially or fully
defrosted food. Defrosted food may
only be re-frozen after it has been
cooked.
Home freezing
Only freeze food that is fresh and in
good condition.
Tips for home freezing
– The following types of food are
suitable for home freezing:
fresh meat, poultry, game, fish,
vegetables, herbs, fresh fruit, dairy
products, baked goods, leftovers,
egg yolks, egg whites, and a range of
pre-cooked meals.
– The following types of food are not
suitable for freezing:
grapes, lettuce, radishes, sour cream,
mayonnaise, whole eggs in their
shells, onions, whole raw apples and
pears.
– To retain color, taste, aroma, and
vitamin C, vegetables should be
blanched before they are frozen. To
do so, place them portion by portion
into boiling water for 2–3minutes.
Then, remove and plunge the
vegetables into ice-cold water to cool
quickly. Leave the vegetables to
drain.
– Lean meat freezes better than fatty
meat and can be stored for
considerably longer.
– Separate chops, steaks, cutlets, etc.
with a sheet of plastic freezer film. to
prevent them from freezing together
in a block.
– Do not season raw food or blanched
vegetables with herbs or salt before
freezing. Cooked food should only be
lightly seasoned. The flavor of some
herbs intensifies when frozen.
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