This is the secret to perfect deep-freezing
You don’t only use that freezer for ice cubes, Magnums and cooling beers in a hurry, do you? If you know how to freeze or defrost smartly, you’ll get much more enjoyment out of that appliance! This is the ultimate tip for making the most of your freezer.
Where does frozen food go wrong? If there’s a lot of air in your freezer bag or container, you’re not making good use of your freezer. What’s more, you run the risk of ice crystals forming, which can ruin the food. The result: limp, watery vegetables are left after defrosting. Contact with air can also cause so-called ‘freezer burn’, making meat and fish discolour, dry out and simply not taste good. You can prevent this by packaging food for the freezer with as little air around it as possible.
Flat packets
The solution: freeze food in flat packets. No air around the food, the food freezes quickly and it also defrosts super quickly. And how do you do that? Buy freezer bags with a ziplock closure, put the sauce, vegetables (in bite-sized cubes) or soup in them and lay the bag as flat as possible. Seal the bag and push out the last bit of air just before pressing the bag shut. Then freeze it flat. The proud end result: an organised freezer, where you can store the flat packets like LPs or stack them in a pile.
Remove the air
Do you want to freeze meat or fish in a bag like that? Then it’s more difficult to get all the air out of the bag properly. Fill a bowl with water and lower the bag into it—with the opening facing upwards. The water pushes all the air out of the bag. Always write what’s inside on the bag, because when frozen, it’s not so easy to tell the difference between split pea soup or mint sauce , and add the date. As a rule of thumb , eat meat and fish within three months, while vegetables will keep in the freezer for eight months to a year.
Read also:
- 6x from the freezer
- This is how you (really) prevent nasty smells in your fridge
- 10 things chefs like to keep in the freezer
Source: Serious Eats
