Store food straight away
Don’t buy frozen food unless you can freeze it straight away. Special insulated bags can be
bought from most supermarkets and hardware shops. These keep frozen food cold for longer.
Thawing frozen food
For some foods, thawing before cooking is unnecessary. Vegetables and pasta can be added
directly to boiling water or steam cooked. Frozen sauces and soups can be put into a
saucepan and heated gently until thawed.
Freezing fresh foods, useful tips
Use quality food and handle it as little as possible. Freeze food in small quantities, it freezes
faster, takes less time to thaw and enables you to eat it in the quantity you need.
Freezing fresh foods
First, estimate the amount of food you will be freezing. If you are freezing large amounts of
fresh food, remember to turn the control dial to Max. This will lower the temperature in the
Freezer (approx -30ºC), freezing your food quicker and helping to keep the goodness in.
However you should do this sparingly to conserve energy.
Preparations for freezing
- Leave cooked food to cool completely.
- Chill food in a Fridge before freezing if possible.
- Consider how you want to cook the food before freezing it.
-
Don’t freeze food in metal containers as you may want to microwave it straight from the
freezer.
- Use special Freezer bags available from supermarkets, Freezer film, polythene bags, plastic
containers, aluminum foil for acidic foods(such as citrus fruits).
- Do not use thin cling film or glass. Do not use used food containers (unless cleaned
thoroughly first).
- Exclude as much air from the container as possible. You could buy a special vacuum pump
which sucks excessive air out of the packaging.
-
Leave a small amount of “air space” when freezing liquids, to allow for expansion.
- You can use the space in the Freezer most efficiently if you freeze liquids(or solids with
liquids, such as stew) in square blocks.
This is known as “performing” Pour the liquid into a polythene bag which is inside a square
sided container. Freeze it like this, then remove it from the container and seal the bag.
-49 -
