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4
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Tips for keeping food perfect in the
Freezer
Shut the door!
To prevent cold air escaping, try to limit the number of times you
open the door. When returning from shopping, sort foods to be
kept in your Freezer while the door is closed and only open it to
put food in or take food out.
Freezing fresh foods
Useful tips
Use quality food and handle it as little as possible. Freeze food in
small quantities, it freezes faster, takes less time to thaw and
enables you to eat it in the quantity you need.
What not to freeze
Fruit, Fresh Vegetables, Bottled Liquids, carbonated liquids" to
be checked.
NOTE:
DO NOT STORE INFLAMMABLE GASES OR LIQUIDS.
Preparations for freezing
• Leave cooked food to cool completely.
• Chill food in a Fridge before freezing if possible.
• Consider how you will want to cook the food before freezing
it.
• Don't freeze food in metal containers if you may want to
microwave it straight from the Freezer.
• Use special freezer bags available from
supermarkets, freezer film, polythene bags,
plastic containers, aluminium foil (heavy
grade only, if in doubt, double wrap).
Don't use aluminium foil for acidic
foods (such as citrus fruits). Don't use
thin cling film or glass. Don't use used
food containers (unless cleaned
thoroughly first).
• Exclude as much air from the
container as possible. You could
buy a special vacuum pump
which sucks excessive air out of
the packaging.
• Leave a small amount of 'air space'
when freezing liquids, to allow for
expansion.
• You can use the space in the freezer
most efficiently if you freeze liquids (or solids with liquids, such
as stew) in square blocks. This is known as 'preforming'. Pour
the liquid into a polythene bag which is inside a square sided
container. Freeze it like this, then remove it from the container
and seal the bag.
Label everything
• Many foods look the same when frozen, so careful labelling
will help avoid forgetting what an item is. Storage times being
exceeded could cause food poisoning.
• You can buy special freezer tape for use in low temperatures.
This tape is available in white, why not use it to write the items
contents on. You can buy special freezer labels and pens.
Labels come in different colours which can help you use your
Freezer effectively. For instance you could colour code meat
red and vegetables green. Using a different colour label for
each quarter of the year will help you rotate your frozen food
more efficiently.
• Write the contents and date. If you are really organised add
the weight and notes on cooking such as 'thaw first', or 'cook
from frozen' and keep a separate 'log-book' of what is in
each drawer. This will save opening the door and searching
around unnecessarily, ensuring the Freezer stays cold enough.
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