Last week I went to the city in my freezer, throw all kinds of vegetables frozen packages of meat waste. I filled my 13 gallon garbage can, then quickly got out of the trash for collection. I felt very guilty about the amount of food I was throwing, but some of them more like a science experiment from something you ate. I promised myself to have a better balance of things to keep in the freezer, but I could not help feeling guilty for being so useless. Was it really necessary to throw away all this food? So I looked at the facts on freezing foods and find some surprising information that will help me be a little more efficient in the future.
Myth: You can freeze the food.
If it is true most of the edible frozen under the right circumstances, there are some that should never see the inside of the freezer. Delicate vegetables such as lettuce almost break down when they are frozen and then thawed. Creamy sauces, which are frozen and distinct "break" or curdle when thawed. Even the coffee should not be stored in the freezer, especially in dark roasts. Oils that make them so special to break in the cold, the coffee can easily absorb off-flavors. USDA is also not recommended to freeze jars or eggs in shell. (But you can freeze canned foods if they are removed from their original packaging, together with the eggs until they are removed from their shells.)
Myth: You can freeze food indefinitely.
This is true, at least in terms of food safety, quality suffers, but the food is not frozen. Here are some guidelines from the USDA, how long to keep food freezer (0 ° F) for optimum freshness:
Soups, stews and casseroles: 2-3 months
Cooked meats 2-3 months
Cooked steaks, roasts and chops: 4-12 months
Cooked Poultry: 4 months
Raw poultry: 9-12 months
Of course, how the item is stored lengthen or shorten the life of the freezer. Along with moisture in the air is the enemy of frozen foods (that freezer burn), so if you can keep these two elements to give your frozen food and life. That's why I love the vacuum sealer. It sucks air from the containers so food will last longer if they are simply stored in plastic bags or in their original containers.
Myth: Freezing kills the bacteria.
Freezing foods makes the active bacteria, but does not actually kill anyone. This means that if you went to the freezer contaminated food, once thawed, still harbor harmful bacteria, at the same time. The kitchen is the recommended temperature is the only way to ensure food safety.
Myth: Frozen are less nutritious than fresh.
In fact, the opposite may be true. Frozen fruits and vegetables may also be healthier than some of the fresh produce sold in supermarkets because they are usually treated to its degree of ripeness, when they usually are the most nutrient rich. If you are concerned about the loss of nutrients, eat fruits and vegetables frozen immediately after purchase: for several months, frozen vegetables are nutritious inevitably break down. Finally, steam or microwave rather than boil your product to minimize the loss of water-soluble vitamins.
Myth: Once thawed, the food will not be refrozen without cooking it first.
You can freeze and freeze to your liking, as long as food is not left out of refrigeration more than two hours (one hour or 90-degree heat). A point to consider is that all meat refreeze without cooking, in particular, the quality is degraded due to moisture loss in thawing process. Therefore, although technically it is safe to eat, a culinary point of view, is the best way to avoid re-freezing, if possible.
Myth: You can store frozen food in the long term, anywhere in your freezer or anywhere it's cold.
The freezer door is a convenient place to store frozen products, but not necessarily the best place for long term storage. The temperature near the door and varies each time the door is open. Although the food is frozen, the freezing process may be slower, opening the possibility of large ice crystals that form within the food and destroy their integrity. To avoid this, keep frozen foods at the bottom of the freezer, where a constant temperature of 0 degrees F is more likely to reach and use of materials stored in the front or back door. And if the power goes out? Do not open the freezer door! According to the USDA, a full freezer should keep frozen for 2 days. And if you're tempted to store the overflow freezer in a snow bank-only. Even if the temperature is very cold, the sun can still warm your frozen foods at temperatures dangerously hot. This is another great way to store beer, though. So keep doing that.