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Freezing and storing food
Storage time for frozen food
The storage life of food is very variable,
even at a constant temperature of
-18 °C. Decomposition processes also
take place in frozen food, albeit at a
very reduced speed. For example fat
can become rancid from contact with
oxygen in the air. This is why lean meat
can be stored approx. twice as long as
fatty meat.
The storage times quoted are guide val-
ues for the storage life of different food
groups in the freezer section.
Food group
Ice cream
Bread, baked goods
Cheese
Fish, oily
Fish, lean
Sausage, ham
Game, pork
Poultry, beef
Vegetables, fruit
Herbs
Where the storage time given on the
packaging differs, follow the advice on
the packaging.
Defrosting frozen food
Frozen food can be defrosted in differ-
ent ways:
– in a microwave oven
54
– in an oven using "Fan heat" or the
– at room temperature
– in the refrigerator section (the cold
– in a steam oven
Flat pieces of partially thawed fish can
be placed directly into a hot frying pan.
Meat and poultry It is particularly im-
portant to observe food hygiene rules
when defrosting poultry. Do not use the
liquid from defrosted poultry. Pour it
Storage
away and wash the container it was in,
time
the sink and your hands. Danger of sal-
(Months)
monella poisoning. Ensure that meat
2 to 6
and fish (e.g. mince, chicken, fish fillets)
do not come into contact with other
2 to 6
foods while defrosting. Catch the liquid
2 to 4
from defrosting and dispose of it care-
fully.
1 to 2
Fruit should be defrosted at room tem-
1 to 5
perature in its packaging, or in a
1 to 3
covered bowl.
1 to 12
Most vegetables can be cooked while
still frozen. Just put straight into boiling
2 to 10
water or hot fat. The cooking time is
6 to 18
slightly less than that of fresh veget-
ables due to changes in the cell struc-
6 to 10
ture.
"Defrost" setting
given off by the frozen food helps to
keep the other food cold)
Never re-freeze partially or fully
defrosted food. Defrosted food may
only be re-frozen after it has been
cooked.
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