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Food Safety And Other Tips Regarding Freezers

The modern freezer was an invention that changed the way people consume foods drastically. From the TV dinners popularized in the 1950s, to the flash freezing methods that have been developed recently, freezing food has been an excellent way to preserve food for longer periods of time.

Thawed And Refrozen Food Is NOT Safe For Consumption

Once food starts to thaw (regardless of how), the naturally present microorganisms on the food start to multiply. Refreezing thawed food will not kill off those microorganisms, so when you thaw it again it will not be safe for consumption because it will likely have a higher microorganism count. You can use a freezer alarm to ensure that your frozen food hasn’t thawed (even slightly) due to power cuts while it was in your freezer. 

An old school trick for this is to keep a paper cup of water in your freezer and wait for it to freeze completely. Then place a coin on top of the frozen water. If you ever find that the coin has sunk into the middle of the cup, that indicates that the freezer was cut off from power long enough for the water in the cup to melt, allowing the coin to sink. 

Flash Freezing Preserves Food Texture, Unlike Your Household Freezer

If you have ever tried to freeze any leftover raspberries before they go bad, you would have found that they tend to clump together and that they suffer from freezer burn. The same happens when you freeze meat in your household freezer. However, commercially frozen bags of raspberry stay separate, and taste fresh after thawing. This is achieved by a method called flash freezing where the food is subjected to an initial blast of temperatures much lower than your freezer can handle. That is why you shouldn’t worry about buying frozen high-quality beef or fish – it will likely taste fresher than anything you get from your local butcher. Additionally, most fish sold in supermarkets is actually bought frozen, thawed, and sold as “fresh” – remember that this poses a food safety risk. So stick to buying flash frozen fish, or deal directly with fishermen. 

Putting Hot Food In Your Freezer Will Reduce Efficiency

Make a habit of waiting for your food to reach room temperature before storing it in your freezer. Everytime you add hot foods to your freezer, it must work harder to bring down the temperature of the entire enclosed area – spending more energy and thereby working less efficiently.

Another tip to increase the efficiency of your freezer is to always keep it clean (defrost the walls if you have an older model) and well organized. This not only helps the freezer do its job better, but also helps you find things faster and avoid keeping the door open for too long. You should also keep the coils in the back of your freezer/refrigerator clean, to ensure that the it is working at it optimal conditions and not working harder to keep your food frozen. 

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Christophe Rude

Christophe Rude

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