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Freezing and storing food
Unfrozen food should not touch
frozen food as this will cause the
frozen food to begin to thaw.
Storage time for frozen food
The storage life of food is very variable,
even at a constant temperature of 0°F
(-18°C). Decomposition processes also
take place in frozen food, albeit at a
very reduced speed. Fat can become
rancid from contact with oxygen in the
air, for example. 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 Zone.
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.
106
Defrosting frozen goods
Never re-freeze partially or fully de-
frosted food. Defrosted food may only
be re-frozen after it has been cooked.
Frozen food can be defrosted in differ-
ent ways:
- In a microwave
- In an oven using "Convection" or the
- At room temperature
- In the Fridge Zone (the cold given off
- In a steam oven
Flat pieces of partially thawed meat
Storage
or fish can be placed directly into a hot
time
skillet.
(Months)
Meat and poultry (e.g., hamburgers,
2 to 6
chicken, fish) should not come into con-
tact with other foods while defrosting.
2 to 6
Catch the defrosting liquid and dispose
2 to 4
of it carefully.
1 to 2
Fruit can be thawed at room tempera-
ture, either in the packaging or in a cov-
1 to 5
ered bowl.
1 to 3
Most vegetables can be cooked while
still frozen. Just put straight into boiling
1 to 12
water or hot grease. The cooking time is
2 to 10
slightly less than that of fresh vegeta-
bles due to changes in the cell struc-
6 to 18
ture.
6 to 10
Cooling drinks quickly
When chilling drinks in the freezer,
make sure that bottles are not left in for
more than one hour. Otherwise they
could burst.
"Defrost" setting
by the frozen food helps to keep the
other food cold)
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