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• Fruit
and vegetable
quality affects the length of
Packaging
Foods
for
Freezing
storage. Quality can vary"from item to item, variety to
• When freezing ffnits and vegetables select fresh, top-
variety and season to season. For example, a rainy
quality-products.
growing season can cause lettuce to be brown when
purchased
or brown more quickly. Sort fruits and
• Use a freezer wrap that is air-, moisture- and vapor-
vegetables
before storage and use bruised
or soft
proof. Some good choices are hea_-duty
aluminuin
items first. Discard those showing signs of decay,
foil, fi'eezer plastic wrap, polyethylet_e-eoated
freezer
paper, freezer bags or airtight contait, ers. Force as
B: _ "
• \Vhen storing vegetables, the crispers will perform
mneh air out of the packages as possible and be sure
better if they are at least two-thirds full. If they are
they are tightly sealed. Trapped air can cause the food
less than taro-thirds fnll, always store the vegetables
to dry out, change color and develop an off-flavor
in plastic
bags or airtight
containers
to reduee
(freezer burn).
moisture loss.
• Fresh meats and poult_
can be left in the store
• Always wrap odorous
foods sueh as onions and
wrapping when freezing for less than two weeks. For
cabbage so the odor does not transfer to other foods,
longer storage, ovelavrap with a suitable freezer wrap.
• While vegetables need a certain amount of moisture
Do not refreeze meat that has emnpletelv thawed.
to remain
fresh, too much moisture
can shorten
Loading
the
Freezer
storage
times
(especially
lettuce).
Be sure the
•Avoidaddingtoomuehwarm
foodtothe
freezerat
vegetables are well drained before storing. It may also
be helpful to place a layer of paper towels in the
one time. This overloads the freezer, slows the rate of
freezing and can raise the temperature
of already
bottom of the bag to absorb any excess moisture,
frozen fbods.
Dairy Food
Place the packages in the coldest part of the freezer
x_
• Store
butter
and
margarine
in
the
Dairy
first (against the walls orbottom of the compartment)
Compartment
found in the refrigerator door.
to insure
the tbod i?eezes
as quickly as possible.
• Most daily fbods such as milk, cream, sour cream and
Leave a little space between the packages so cold air
cottage cheese have freshness dates on their cartons
can circulate.
for appropriate length of storage. Store these foods in
• Avoid storing hard-to-freeze
foods such as ice cream
the original carton and refrigerate immediately
after
and orange juice on the freezer door shelves. These
purchasing and each use. Close carton lids tightly to
foods are best stored in the fi_eezer interior where the
keep out air and odors,
temperature
varies less udth door openings.
• Occasionally mold will develop on the surface of hard
Foods
That
Don't
Freeze
Well
cheeses
(S_6ss, Cheddar,
Parmesan).
The moldy
areas can be trimmed aw_, and the remaining cheese
• Some foods cannot be frozen successfully because the
;
will still be flavorfnl and safe to eat.
freezing causes tbem to deteriorate.
These include:
potatoes (unless mashed)
Frozen Food Storage
cream fillings
[i"
The freezer compartment
of a refrigerator
should be
cooked egg whites
_
sour cream
kept at 0°F or lower. To check the freezer, place an
*
appliance thermometer
between
the frozen packages
salad greens
luncheon meat
and cheek after '24 hours. A freezer operates
more
efficiently when it is at least two-thirds fi, ll. If not this
soft cheeses (cream, cottage, processed)
fidl, it will be helpfid to fill milk cartons half full of
mayonnaise
water and place them in the freezer,
milk and cream
gelatin salads
(.
Refer to the Food Storage
Chart on pages 8-9 for
bananas
approximate
storage
times.
For the best results
citrus fruits
when freezing foods, follow these guidelines:
PAGE 7
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