Preserving Keys To frozen Food
Either if you buy food already frozen, or you can freeze food you get fresh, there are some rules to follow. The same can be said for using frozen food, some times you will use as is, some others it will need thawing first.
Keys To Frozen Food & Easy, Quick Cooking
The freezer is one of the best appliances in a modern kitchen, not only for convenience but as an efficient tool for cutting food costs. Pull a meal in not time at all, get ahead for planned entertaining, take advantage of offers, and use any leftover food are but a few advantages the freezer offers.
Some fresh vegetables are difficult and time consuming to prepare, even when they are in season, and buying the frozen version is a good compromise between nutrition and convenience
Frozen food will make cooking easier if you follow the rules.
Buying frozen products
It is essential to keep to a minimum the time from purchase to storage in your freezer. At the grocery store, buy frozen products last. To ensure correct transport, carry insulated bags, or cool boxes with blocks of ice, if the time between purchase and storage is more than 15 minutes. Place the products in the freezer as soon as you are home. Frozen products should be stored at 0F (-18C) and the time the food will keep depends on the performance of your freezer.
The number of stars will give you an indication.
| Stars | Temperature | Storage | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| * | 21° F (-6° C) | Sufficient to keep food for three or four days, a week at most. | A perfect setting for making ice cubes. |
| ** | 10° F (-12° C) | Good to store food for fifteen to twenty days, no more than one month. | |
| *** | 0° F ( -18° C) | Food will keep safe for up to three months. | |
| * *** | -18° F to -22° F (-28° C to -30° C) |
Food can keep for upt to six months. | The compartment provides ideal conditions for freezing down fresh and pre-cooked foods. |
There are large stores specialized only in the sale of frozen products, on line or in the shop, and they have very competitive prices.
Freezing your own
There are some rules to freeze fresh produce or pre-cooked food
- A freezer able to reach quickly a temperature below -18C 9four stars)
- Freeze fresh produce at peak quality.
- Wrap food in freezer safe bags or foil containers. Any container used must be impermeable to odors
- Freeze in small quantities. Thick products take longer to reach optimal freezing temperature at the core.
- The quantity – or volume - of food to freeze at one time must not exceed 6%, or 9 to 10% for the more efficient devices, the total volume of the freezer.
- Set the freezer at top temperature fro freezing a few hours before placing the food inside.
Parboiling or blanching vegetables before freezing will ensure a longer freezer life and safer thawing.
Thawing frozen food
Most microwave ovens have a special setting for thawing frozen food, and some of them are very good. In the absence of one of these devices, or if you want to save energy, the advice is:
- It is not safe to thaw food at room temperature. Remember cold does not kill dangerous microorganisms – bacteria, yeasts, molds- and it only slows their growth. Some of them live very well from 0 to 8, all multiply very rapidly between 8 and 40 and most live up to 65.
- Take out of the freezer large pieces of meat or fish – a whole fish, chicken or a roast – the cay before and thaw in a box inside the fridge.
- Take to the refrigerator ground meat or steaks in the morning, and they will be ready to cook in the evening.
- Pat dry thawed meat with kitchen paper before cooking as it loses some water and it may splatter.
- Thaw fish fillets or steaks, especially when wrapped in plastic, in cold water - change the water 1 or 2 times. It should take about 15 minutes to thaw a fish steak 1 inch thick this way.
- Don’t thaw vegetables. Place frozen vegetables in boiling water and count the cooking time from the moment the water boils again. Frozen vegetables need a shorter cooking time as they are usually blanched before freezing.
If you are careful to avoid the risk of cross-contamination, thawing food in the fridge is efficient as the frozen food will help to keep the refrigerator cool and it would not use so much energy.
Smart Ideas to make the Most Of The Freezer
Pack the freezer: The less empty space to keep cold, the less energy the freezer will use. Fill the freezer with all sort of frozen food and you'll get a cooler summer and become energy-efficient.
Frozen convenience food: chopped onions; herbs such parsley, tarragon, chervil, chives, basil or mixed; vegetables such as spinach, peas or sliced mushrooms; fruits such as raspberries, blueberries, chopped pineapple, peaches or mango; partly prepared foods such as mixed vegetables, oven fries, pizza bases or rice.
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