Defrosting
Frozen food can be defrosted in
different ways:
– in a microwave oven,
– in an oven using the "Fan" or
"Defrost" setting,
– at room temperature,
– in the refrigerator (the cold given off
by the frozen food helps to keep
other food cold),
– in a steam oven.
Poultry
It is particularly important to
observe food hygiene rules when
defrosting poultry. Do not use the liquid
from defrosted poultry. Pour it away
and wash the container it was in, the
sink and your hands. Danger of
salmonella poisoning.
Ensure that
meat and fish
(e.g mince,
chicken, fish fillets) do not come into
contact with other foods when thawing.
Collect the liquid and dispose of it
carefully.
Fruit
should be defrosted at room
temperature in its packaging, or in a
covered bowl.
Most vegetables
can be cooked while
still frozen. Just put straight into boiling
water or hot fat. The cooking time is
slightly less than that of fresh vegetables
due to changes in the cell structure.
Never re-freeze partially or fully
defrosted food. Consume defrosted
food as soon as possible as it will
lose its nutritional value and spoil if
left for too long. Defrosted food may
only be re-frozen after it has been
cooked.
Ice cubes
^
Fill the ice tray three quarters full with
water and place it on the bottom of
one of the freezer drawers.
^
Once frozen, use a blunt instrument,
for example a spoon handle, to
remove the ice tray from the freezer.
^
Ice cubes can be removed easily
from the tray by twisting the tray
gently or by holding it under cold
running water for a short while.
Cooling drinks
Do not store cans or bottles containing
carbonated drinks or liquids which
could freeze in the freezer. The cans or
bottles could explode.
When cooling non-carbonated drinks
quickly in the freezer, make sure bottles
are not left in
for more than one hour
,
otherwise they could burst.
Freezing and storing food
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