How To Store Food In Freezer

Freezing food, we all do it with the regularity of the clock, but one does it more conveniently than the other. Here you can read a number of important tips that can help you to maintain an overview and to preserve all foods as optimally as possible.

1. You cannot freeze everything

Not all foods are suitable for freezing. For example, meat, game, poultry, fresh fish, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, bread and baked goods can easily be stored for a longer period of time.

Products such as lettuce, radishes, wine grapes, whole apples, berries and fatty meat are not suitable at all. After all, the main constituent of lettuce is water, and all aquatic products (with the main constituent of water) transform in frozen state into mushy substances.

2. Choose a suitable package

Are you a store owner or a chef offering meal delivery service in your local area? Do you have non-prepacked foods in your assortment? Then it is wise to know the requirements and guidelines for packaging material. For example, is the packaging you use safe? Do you state the content correctly? Are the packaging you use made of BPA-free plastic? To safeguard the safety of food, special laws and regulations have been drawn up for packaging and packaging material world wide. 

Always use suitable food packaging material, such as commercially available freezer bags or reusable plastic bags, metal and aluminum jars.

3. Group frozen foods

Always try to store similar frozen products together or as much as possible together. That way you can find everything quickly and make sure that the freezer door does not stay open unnecessarily long and you save energy. Organize the boxes or trays so that you have, for example, one freezer for meat, fish, potato dishes, prepared dishes, vegetables, etc., depending on your personal content.

4. Note the date

Write down what and when. Always write down the date and contents on the packages and certainly do not exceed the storage time of the frozen products. Food poisoning is never really far away.

5. Family tuning

Always pack food that you freeze yourself per portion for the size of the family. That way, you don’t have to throw away food scraps, and you don’t have to freeze too large portions, which again means a small energy saving.

6. Freeze as quickly as possible

Fresh food must always be frozen to the core as quickly as possible. Otherwise the cell structures can be damaged, which leads to moisture loss when the product is thawed. Many freezers from leading brands are already equipped with all kinds of technologies that solve such problems for us.

Also read: How to check tell if meat has gone bad?

7. Limit ice crystals

The formation of ice crystals also influences the taste of food, and they can cause dehydration and loss of color and weight. Ice crystals arise when the door is opened often or when products are re-frozen. Modern technological gadgets, which are usually added to today’s devices, can also help with this.

8. Take the quantity into account

To allow the food to freeze to the core quickly, it is best to take the following quantities into account: fruit and vegetables up to 1 kg and meat up to 2.5 kg.

9. Blanch vegetables

Blanch the vegetables first. Vegetables are best stored if you blanch them before freezing (boil vegetables for a short time and rinse in cold water after a few cooking minutes). This stops the action of enzymes, which would spoil the taste and structure of the food.

10. Avoid contact

Do not allow freshly frozen food to come into contact with frozen food. The frozen food will, after all, be partially thawed due to the high temperature difference, and thawed products should never be frozen twice. Always place packages dry in the device so that they do not freeze together.