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Food storage tips – frozen food
Meat, poultry and game
Meat must be frozen quickly in order to maintain its texture.
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Do not stuff poultry before freezing.
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Red meat can be cooked from frozen, or from the partly or completely
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thawed states. Remember to allow extra cooking time if cooking from frozen.
Always thaw poultry completely before cooking.
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Fish
Fish is best frozen commercially. If however you do want to freeze
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fish at home, make sure the fish is very fresh and of high quality.
Clean, scale and preferably leave whole. All fish should be wrapped
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in two layers of packaging as depending on the type of fish, odours
and flavours can be readily transferred either to or from it. Seal
packaging well.
For best results, cook from either the frozen or partly thawed state.
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Vegetables
Most vegetables freeze well, although salad vegetables are not
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recommended as they will lose their crispness.
Other vegetables, eg. celery, onion and tomatoes should only be
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used in cooked dishes as they soften on freezing.
Freeze only high quality, mature, ready-to-eat vegetables.
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Sort and discard any that are damaged.
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It is necessary to blanch most raw vegetables prior to freezing.
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Blanching involves a short cooking period during which vegetable
enzymes are destroyed. If these enzymes are not destroyed they cause
undesirable physical and chemical changes during freezer storage.
Vegetables can be blanched in boiling water, steam or in a microwave
oven. If using boiling water, boil vegetables for 2 – 4 minutes and
cool quickly.
In general, frozen vegetables are best cooked from their frozen state.
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Prepared and cooked foods
Most cooked foods can be frozen but it is not recommended to freeze
the following:
Cooked egg white, custards, cream fillings and milk puddings, gelatine
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or jelly-like dishes, mayonnaise and similar salad dressings, meringue
toppings. These tend to separate on thawing.
Fruit
Choose high quality, mature, and ready to eat fruit. Preferably select
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varieties recommended for freezing.
Avoid unripe and over-ripe fruit.
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The way fruit is packed depends on how it is to be used. Fruits packed in
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syrup are ideal for desserts, whereas fruits packed without sugar are better
used for cooking. Most fruits can be stored for 8 – 12 months.
