Refreezing thawed food: is it allowed or not?
When it comes to storing leftovers, we know that the freezer is our best friend. It’s always handy to have a container of homemade food on hand for the days when you don’t feel like stepping into the kitchen. But there are a few rules for freezing and thawing food.
From raw eggs to mussels and from flour to butter; there are plenty of products you probably wouldn’t have thought you could also store in the freezer. But what if you take that piece of meat or that homemade soup out of the freezer in the morning and then decide not to eat it after all in the evening—can you freeze it again?
Not a good idea
It depends. If you froze the product raw, thawed it, cooked it thoroughly and then freeze it again, you can. Just know that the quality will deteriorate. By heating the meat again, you kill the bacteria, so refreezing it is fine. Food that you previously cooked, then thawed and want to put back in the freezer is a less good idea. Let alone if you have leftovers from your leftovers (are you still following?) and want to freeze those again. The chance of getting sick from your food then increases.
Temperature
And that is due to the difference in temperature. Preparing food, letting it cool, freezing it, thawing it and heating or freezing it again causes quite a few temperature fluctuations. Bacteria respond to these fluctuations. Bacteria especially tend to grow rapidly at room temperature. So after a trip in and out of the freezer and in and out of the pan, that leftover contains plenty of bacteria that can make you sick.
Conclusion
So, you can thaw raw products, cook them and freeze them a second time. Not food that has already been cooked. So if you decide in the morning that you’re going to eat that soup, do so, because otherwise it’s better to throw it in the bin. And handy: 5 tips for freezing and thawing meat.
Also read:
- 10 things chefs like to keep in the freezer
- Can you put hot food in the refrigerator or freezer?
- How to remove that large block of ice from your freezer
