Freezing and storing food
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Always observe USDA food safety
guidelines.
Risk of fire from electrical appli-
ances.
Operating electrical devices in the
appliance can cause sparks to form.
Do not operate any electrical devices
inside the appliance.
Maximum freezing capacity
To ensure that fresh food placed in the
freezer freezes through to the core as
quickly as possible, the maximum
freezing capacity must not be ex-
ceeded. The maximum freezing capac-
ity for freezing within a 24-hour period
is given on the data plate: “Freezing ca-
pacity ....lbs/24 hrs.”
What happens when you freeze
fresh food?
Fresh food should be frozen as quickly
as possible so that the nutritional value
of the food, its vitamin content, appear-
ance and flavor are maintained.
Food which takes a long time to freeze
will lose more water from its cells,
which then shrink. During the defrosting
process, only some of this water is re-
absorbed by the cells. What this means
in practice is that the food loses more
moisture. You can see this in the large
amount of water that collects around
the food when it defrosts.
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.
