Principles of freezing food with special tricks
Freezing is a convenient and useful way to store more food and cooked food. Every day, many types of raw and cooked vegetables, meats, and cooked foods must be frozen. In this article, learn the tricks and the right way to freeze food so that you can preserve the taste, texture, and color of food.
Star Housekeeping Service Freezing food has been a popular method of food preservation since ancient times. With the invention of refrigerators and freezers in various models around the world, people no longer have to worry about storing food such as meat and vegetables. These foods, which spoil quickly in the heat and outdoors, last up to six months and up to a year by freezing. But its taste and smell may change.
In this article, you will learn the tricks to maintain the optimal quality of frozen foods by freezing the food the right way, with proper packaging and writing the date of freezing and the name of the food on the packaging.
Packaging methods for freezing food
1- To freeze foods, care must be taken that these foods do not lose their shape and texture by freezing. Foods such as: meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, bread, pastries, grated cheese, margarine, peas, soups, vegetables, chili peppers and similar items are suitable for freezing.
But foods such as raw eggs, cooked and pasteurized seeds, most fried foods, mayonnaise, sour cream, fruit jelly, mint, gelatin and sweet sauce are not suitable for freezing and after thawing lose their taste, color and texture. And it will not be of good quality to use.
2- Try not to use any spices when freezing food. Most of the spices have a bitter taste and dark color due to freezing, and they also ruin the quality of the food. Even plants with a strong, bitter taste, such as onions, chives, and celery, should not be used as a seasoning for frozen foods. Try to freeze food without seasoning and after defrosting, pour the desired seasoning over it and eat it.
3- Do not put the food you just cooked and want to freeze in the freezer before it gets cold. Let the food cool at room temperature for 20-30 minutes and then put it in the freezer.
4- After the cooked food has cooled and you have decided to freeze it, first put the food in a shallow dish and put it in the refrigerator to cool. Then transfer it to the freezer in a suitable package.
Note: If you put hot food directly into the freezer, the heat generated will warm the freezer temperature and partially defrost the rest of the food packages. This has a negative impact on the taste and quality of other frozen foods.
5- Use high-quality plastic containers and freezer bags for food packaging. The bags you choose should be flexible and freezer-friendly. You can also use paper or aluminum foil bags that have a layer of moisture protection to freeze food.
6- For food packaging, you can also use freezer plastic containers of different dimensions and suitable lids. Try putting cooked food in these smaller packages. This allows you to take and heat any amount of food you need. If you use large packages, you will have to thaw all of the food, use part of it, and either throw the other part away or refreeze it. It is not recommended to re-freeze food at all.
7- Try to wrap food inside freezer bags in a way that is flat and has rectangular or square shapes. With this said, while food freezes faster due to the shallower depth, freezer space is not wasted and you can easily stack food on top of each other.
8- Close the lid of the food package that you are considering to freeze well. Whatever plastic bags or freezer container you use, make sure that the lid is tight and that the food does not spill. You can also use freeze tape for freezer bags.
9- Prepare small labels and write the name and date of the food package on them. With this, you won't forget when the food was frozen and you won't have to open and close the whole package to find a food item.
10- When placing food in the freezer for freezing, try to leave a small space around it, in this way the air circulates around it and the food freezes faster. When it's completely frozen, you can put the pack on the rest of the food in the freezer.
Freeze foods such as chicken, meat and fish
1- Before freezing chicken, meat and fish, try to remove all fat and bones from the meat.
2- By freezing chicken and packing it properly, you can keep it in freezer for up to 9 months with good quality.
3- Store meat in the freezer only for the recommended period. Keep lamb for up to a month, cooked meats for up to two months, beef for up to three months, and sausages for up to two weeks.
4- The fatter the fish, such as salmon, the shorter the storage time. You can store salmon in the freezer for up to three months and a few fatty fish for up to six months. Store clams for 2 to 3 months. Storing shrimp in the freezer is good for 3 to 6 months. Lobsters can be frozen for up to 12 months.
5- To prevent the freezer from smelling like fish, double-pack it in freezer bags and plastic containers.
Freeze fruits and vegetables
1- Vegetables that contain little water are known as freeze-loving vegetables. Do not freeze vegetables that contain a lot of water, as this will worsen their texture, taste, and color.
2- Before freezing, wash the vegetables well, boil them in water for 2-5 minutes, then dry them with a paper towel and freeze them.
3- Most vegetables retain their flavor and texture for 8 to 12 months. But keep tomatoes in the freezer for only a couple of months.
4- If you keep most fruits in the freezer for up to one year, they will retain their taste and quality. Freeze citrus fruits for 4 to 6 months and note that it is best not to freeze juicy fruits such as melons and discard bananas after 2 months of freezing.
