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Rules for freezing fresh food
Freeze only good-quality, fresh and well-cleaned
foods.
Split them into small portions to speed up freezing
and avoid having to thaw more food than you require.
It is in fact important to remember that once food has
thawed out, it deteriorates fast.
Another point to remember is that lean foods keep
better and longer than fatty foods. Salt too reduces
storage time.
Wrap the food in foil or polythene film, ensuring that
the wrapping adheres closely to the food and is well
sealed.
Never put fizzy drinks in the freezer as they might
well burst.
In addition, never put hot foods or liquids in the
freezer compartment and take care not to fill
recipients up to the brim if they are covered with a lid.
Water ices, if consumed immediately after removal
from the freezing compartment, can cause frost burns.
It is a good idea to mark packs so that you can keep a
check on storage periods.
Never open the freezer door or introduce new foods if
the freezer is on fast freeze operation.
Important
If accidental thawing occurs – due to a power cut for
example – food must be used up very quickly or else
cooked immediately and refrozen. If, however, the
power failure is relatively brief (from 6 to 8 hours)
and the freezer compartment is packed full, the frozen
food will not suffer any damage.
Note
A special card is located in the holder on the inner
door of the freezer compartment. On the upper part it
shows pictures of different types of food followed by
a figure. These figures indicate the maximum storage
time, in months, for each type of food.
Storage of deep frozen foods
When the freezer is started up for the first time, or
after an idle period, turn the N/S knob to the fast
freeze setting described above, and wait at least two
hours before loading the food to be stored. Then, turn
the knob back to the storage position.
If the freezer is already in operation, there is no need
to wait.
Useful hints
Alway check the date shown on deep frozen foods on
sale and eat them before the expiry date.
Do not open the door too often and leave it open only
as long as necessary; the temperature increase in fact
reduces the food storage life.
Make sure all packages are in good condition,
otherwise foods might deteriorate.
If the packages show signs of humidity or have
swollen, the foods may not have been properly stored,
so that the product has lost its original quality.
When deep frozen foods are bought, always use a
thermal bag; they should always be bought last of all.
Wrap them in newspaper sheets and store them in the
freezer as soon as you get home. Check the product
carefully when you buy it, as unfrozen foods cannot
be frozen again and must be eaten within 24 hours.
Thawing
Before being used, deep-frozen and frozen food can
be thawed out either in the refrigerator or at room
temperature, depending on the time available for this
operation.
Small pieces of food can be cooked straight out of the
freezer, without any intermediate thawing operation.
In this case, cooking time will be longer than in the
case of thawed food.
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