Freezing and storing food
97
Storing frozen food
Never re-freeze partially or fully de-
frosted food. Defrosted food must
only be re-frozen after it has been
cooked.
When buying frozen food to store in
your freezer, make sure to check:
- that the packaging is not damaged
- the expiration date
- the temperature at which the frozen
food is being stored in the store
The length of time food can be kept
is reduced if it has been stored at a
temperature warmer than 0°F (-18°C).
Buy frozen food at the very end of
your shopping trip.
Store it in the freezer compartment as
soon as possible.
Home freezing
Only freeze food that is fresh and in
good condition.
Tips for home freezing
- The following types of food are
suit-
able for home freezing
:
fresh meat, poultry, game, fish, veg-
etables, herbs, fresh fruit, dairy prod-
ucts, baked goods, leftovers, egg
yolks, egg whites, and a range of pre-
cooked meals.
- The following types of food
are not
suitable for freezing
:
lettuce, radishes, sour cream, may-
onnaise, whole eggs in their shells,
onions, whole raw apples and pears.
- To retain color, taste, aroma, and vi-
tamin C, vegetables should be
blanched before they are frozen. To
do so, place them portion by portion
into boiling water for 2–3 minutes.
Then, remove and plunge the vegeta-
bles into ice-cold water to cool
quickly. Leave the vegetables to
drain.
- Lean meat freezes better than fatty
meat and can be stored for consider-
ably longer.
- Separate chops, steaks, cutlets, etc.
with a sheet of plastic freezer film. to
prevent them from freezing together
in a block.
- Do not season raw food or blanched
vegetables with herbs or salt before
freezing. Cooked food should only be
lightly seasoned. The flavor of some
herbs intensifies when frozen.
