Freezing Fresh Foods; Preparations For Freezing - Matsui MUF857W Instruction Manual

Check the freezer temperature
Check the temperature of the frozen food cabinet in the shop where you buy your frozen foods. It should show a
temperature lower than -18°C.
Choose packs carefully
Take a quick look at the frozen food package and make sure it is in perfect condition.
Purchase frozen food last
Always buy frozen products last on your shopping trip or visit to the supermarket. Try to keep frozen food together
whilst shopping and on the journey home as this will help to keep the food cooler.
Store food straight away
Don't buy frozen food unless you can freeze it straight away.
Special insulated bags can be bought from most supermarkets and hardware shops. These keep frozen food cold for
longer.
In Use
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 lid. When returning from shopping, sort
foods to be kept in your Freezer while the lid 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, and Carbonated Liquids. Bottles and cans must not be stored in the freezer, as
they can burst when the contents freeze.
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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Matsui MUF857W-WE_GB_IB_Final_096 6 21/05/09 2:28:39 PM