When you freeze food it preserves it. That way you can have that same food or produce months later when out of season. One of the best ways to do that is with freezing preservation.
This extends the product so you can get the most out of it and in turn save money.
However, there is a difference between freezing food as a preservation measure and just freezing food for the heck of it.
After thawing, the food should be served in its original state or else cooked depending on the item that was frozen.
How to Freeze Food
One of the simplest ways to keep food fresh is through freezing. Extra food doesn’t have to lead to food spoilage if you can’t finish it all, whether your garden had a great season or found a good sale at the grocery store.
There can be some differences that you should keep in mind if you are trying to figure out how to freeze different foods.
Freezer burn can be avoided, frozen food is just as healthy, and food preparation and preservation can be as simple as making your meals for the freezer.
How to freeze food depends greatly on the type of food you are freezing as not all food freezes the same.
We will break them down one by one as to how you should freeze each type of food below.
Benefits of Freezing Foods:
The first benefit of freezing food is that it helps retain nutrients. Freezing preserves enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and other active ingredients.
While there is not a lot of scientific proof to back this up, many people swear by it.
Another big advantage to freezing food is that it makes it easy to have a healthy food supply all year long. One of the reasons it has become one of the most popular forms of food preservation.
If you have a garden and you know you are going to have extra produce, you can simply freeze it for later use.
This is especially true if you live in an area with a short growing season. Food that has been properly prepared and then frozen can also last a very long time.
The reason is that when you freeze something, it actually creates a small ice crystals structure that protects the food from damage.
This means that once thawed, the food will be just as good as new.
What Can You Freeze?
But can you freeze all types of food? No, there are some types of food that you shouldn’t freeze. While the list is pretty low on what you can not freeze, you still want to make sure that what you want to freeze is safe to do so.
Why? Some food just doesn’t freeze well at all. Some food will simply lose its good flavor, nutrients, and even have texture changes.
So what are some of the foods you can freeze? You can freeze things like berries, grapes, peaches, watermelon, green beans, spinach, corn, carrots, meat, fish, eggs, cheese and so much more.
General Food Freezing Tips:
Always use good packaging material: This is one of the most important guidelines you must follow.
Food should be preserved in vacuum seal bags, freezer plastic bags, or airtight containers and these containers must be made from BPA-free plastic or freezer-safe glass containers or glass jars.
You can also use freezer paper and use freezer tape to freeze your food. However, just know that this does not keep as long as vacuum-sealed packages.
Always use fresh ingredients: It is very important that the food you are going to freeze should be of its best quality.
You should not use old or stale ingredients because it will affect the taste and food quality of the final product.
Never refreeze thawed food: This guideline is very important because it will help you to avoid ruining your food.
You should only eat or cook thawed food and not refreeze it.
Always label the container: You should always label your containers with the type of food, how many servings there are, and the date.
This will help you to know the shelf life of the food. While it depends on the food that you have frozen as to how long the storage times it will last, a good gauge or length of time to go by is to use it within 12 months of freezing it.
The Importance Of Rotating Frozen Foods:
Depending on the type of freezer you have whether it is an upright freezer or a chest freezer you may need to rotate your frozen food.
What do I mean by rotating frozen food?
An upright freezer is one of the easiest freezers to use. It is also a very safe way to keep your frozen foods.
If you are using an upright freezer, then it will be easier to move around the frozen food when it is still in the freezer. That way you can always use the oldest frozen foods first.
While freezing food is a great way to make it last longer, it will not last forever. So be sure to always use the oldest of something first.
Using a chest freezer gets a little trickery. While it still works great to keep food frozen, the older food normally gets buried at the bottom.
There are two ways to get around having your old food buried in a chest freezer.
The first way is to set up a schedule say one time per month to sort the freezer and take everything out and repack by putting the newest on the bottom and the oldest on the top.
The other method is to place foods in freezer baskets inside the freezer. This will make it easier to rotate the food in the freezer by oldest and newest without having to pull everything out one by one.
How to Freeze Vegetables:
Freezing is a wonderful way to preserve the food we love, but most people don’t know how to freeze vegetables or fresh produce properly.
What should you use for freezing vegetables?
Use plastic freezer bags or zip lock bags. However, my recommendation for to get the longest time of storage is to use a vacuum sealer.
Depending on what you want to use the vegetable for, will depend on how you freeze it as it can be done a few different ways.
We will cover some of the basics here then go more in-depth on individual vegetables later.
First, you want to wash and dry your vegetables; cut the vegetables into the size pieces you will be using.
Then if you are just saving a serving or enough to make one recipe you can place the washed and dried vegetables right in the bag and seal and toss in the freezer.
If you want to be able to only take a small piece or two out at a time for say a smoothie or something then you will need to follow this important step.
Put the pieces in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the freezer. After 2 hours check if the vegetables are frozen.
If they are not frozen then put them back in the freezer for another 2 hours. Keep doing this till the vegetables are frozen.
Put the frozen vegetables in a plastic bag and seal them then put them in the freezer.
That’s all there is to it. By following these simple steps you can easily preserve your vegetables for a long period of time.
So, start doing it and freeze as much as you can. You will be glad that you did it.
Be sure to check out my post on How To Blanch And Freeze Tomatoes.
How to Freeze Fruits:
There are certain fruits that are not easy to find in the market at different times of the year. They are expensive as well.
However, if you know how to freeze them properly, then it will be possible for you to enjoy having these fruits any time you want one. Let us learn how to freeze fruits step-by-step.
Freezing is the best way to retain the nutrients of fruits as well as their flavor. If you are new to this then I suggest that you start with the cheaper and easier fruits first like mangoes, strawberries, pineapples, etc. But once you get the hang of it, you can try more challenging fruits like papaya or kiwi.
Wash and cut all the ripe fruit you want to freeze. Depending on what you will be using it for you can also peel off the skin before freezing. For larger fruit such as apples, cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Place the fruit in one layer on a cookie sheet and place it in the freezer. Leave there for 2 or more hours or until it is mostly frozen.
Then remove from the freezer and place in vacuum bags or air-tight containers and seal them. Then place packages back in the freezer until you are ready to use.
The main reason you need to pre-freeze before vacuum packing is because if vacuum packed from fresh, the vacuum will crush the fruit and squeeze out the fruit juices.
Be sure to check out my post on Can You Freeze Pineapple? Yes, You Can And I Will Show You How as well as How To Freeze Strawberries.
How to Freeze Meat:
Freezing food is the best way to preserve it for a longer period of time. People usually think that freezing is only for vegetables, but in reality, everything can be frozen.
Here are certain tips which will help you to freeze meat in an easy and simple way.
Buy vacuum-sealed meats or really well-packaged meats.
It is important to freeze vacuum-sealed meats as it helps to maintain the freshness and also there is no air inside the package which can cause freezer burn.
If you have bought in bulk or have fresh meat that you have harvested yourself such as wild game, then I would invest in a vacuum sealer. It really delivers the best results for freezing fresh foods.
Then divide the meat into the portion sizes you want and vacuum seal it and put it in the freezer.
How to Prevent Freezer Burn:
The best way to prevent freezer burn is to remove excess moisture and air before placing it in the freezer. If food has too much air or moisture to it, it will form extra-large ice crystals on the food.
This is done by making sure your food is patted dry before freezing as well as vacuum packing it. Doing both of those, greatly reduces the risk of freezer burn.
But recognizing the signs of freezer burn is still one of the important things you should still know.
There are certain signs which will help you to identify whether your food has been damaged by the low temperature or not.
Darkening Of The Surface
As we all know, the foods which have been frozen will darken the surface and this is one of the first signs that your food has been damaged.
As the food thaws out then you may see some color changes as well but this will be lighter in color than the natural color.
Gelatinous Feel
Another common sign of freezer burn is that your food will have a gelatinous feel when you touch it.
This is because the proteins in your food have separated from each other and formed a gel-like substance. This is not good as it will make your food hard to digest.
Taste Changes
When you eat foods that have been frozen wrong or have freezer burn then you will start experiencing certain changes in the taste of your food.
The texture of the food will also change. The taste will change as well and it may start tasting like metal.
Ways to Thaw Frozen Food:
Frozen food is one of the best inventions of modern times, it has really gained wide popularity and has changed our lifestyle and it is very useful for saving time and money.
Almost every household in America has at least one package of frozen food in their freezer, and most of them have several packages.
Whether it is pizza, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, or whatever, it is almost certain that your local market sells a wide variety of frozen foods.
But there is a problem with using frozen food, it usually takes 3 to 4 times longer than using regular fresh food than to thaw. This can be very frustrating especially when you are in a hurry.
Thaw In Microwave or Air Fryer:
If in a hurry you can speed up the thawing by using your microwave or air fryer to defrost your frozen food.
Simply pop your frozen food into the microwave or air fryer and hit defrost. You can start saving time immediately.
But of course, if you want to get the most out of your frozen food then you should learn how to use or thaw it in other ways as well.
Soak In Warm Water:
Put the frozen food into a big pot pr bowl and pour warm/hot water over it. This way the water will start to melt the frozen food very quickly. However, you should not use boiling water as it will start to cook the outside of the food.
Other than the microwave and air fryer this is one of the fastest ways to thaw frozen food. It will not harm the food in any way as long as the package does not leak the water in.
Thaw In The Fridge:
If you are not in a rush you can thaw the food in the fridge. For most foods, you can simply remove them from the freezer and place them in the fridge the day before you need them.
However, if it is a large item such as ham, large roast, or turkey you will take at least a few days to thaw in the fridge. So make sure you plan ahead.
Thawing in the fridge is one of the safest ways to thaw food and is recommended by the FDA.
Thawing At Room Temperature:
While this method is the unsafest of them all when it comes to food safety, it is still used by some. You can place frozen food on the counter a few hours before you need it to allow it to thaw before cooking.
While most of the time this works out to be perfectly fine. You do run a higher risk of food poisoning with this method. If you use this way to thaw your food, just be sure to leave it for a short time. Then cook to a high temperature before eating.
How To Use Frozen Foods Without Thawing:
Frozen Veggies:
If you are a busy person and you don’t have time to prepare vegetables from the market then you can try to use frozen vegetables for cooking.
You just add it to your food while cooking and they will thaw as they cook.
You can also add them to things like smoothies in the blender as well.
Frozen Bread:
Don’t have time to thaw bread to make a sandwich? No worries, just pop a few slices in the toaster and have a sandwich on toast!
You can also add some butter to the frozen bread and grill it in a pan for grilled cheese.
Frozen Meals:
Many premade meals store-bought or homemade you can cook right from the freezer. Simply follow the directions to cook in the microwave, oven, or air fryer.
Fruits:
Just like veggies frozen fruits can be added right to your cooking or smoothies just like fresh fruits. Just note that if you are making things like jams, or crips they make take a little longer to bake/cook.
That is because they will have a little extra moister to cook out of the fruit when using them right from the freezer.
Meats:
One of the only ways I have found to cook meat from frozen is to cook it in a pressure cooker. This is such a time saver! As it normally takes such a long time to thaw meat before cooking. I often forget to take it out of the freeze in time.
With a pressure cooker like an Instant Pot, you can take it right from the freezer. Place it in the pot and have the meal ready in no time at all.
Conclusion:
So, these were some tips to know about home food preservation by freezing and thawing foods. If you want to freeze or thaw foods then make sure you have the right tools for that.
When done right it can be a money saver and a time saver. It is also a great way to keep foods in their next to the best state of fresh.
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