With two school-age children in the house, my husband and I are always in a rush every morning.
We can hardly prepare breakfast, so making lunch for everybody is such a task.
It is easy to pop in the microwave in the mornings, and voila, we can all have soup for lunch.
But there were a few times we forgot some items inside the freezer only to find it months after.
By then, the food has discolored. I would just throw it away later, not understanding that it was not spoiled food, just freezer burned.
Is it safe to eat?
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UNDERSTANDING FREEZER BURN
We freeze food on the premise that in frozen temperature, bacteria cannot thrive. Food, therefore, is preserved, and not prone to spoilage.
Cooked food, like our favorite lunch – soup, is more prone to freezer burn that raw foods.
Cooked foods have lost some moisture in the process. Therefore, cooked food has shorter shelf life compared to raw foods. Meat and chicken are the most prone to freezer burns.
Freezer burn happens when the food has not been tightly wrapped in air-tight packaging. Air can penetrate the food thereby causing dehydration and oxidation, or in layman’s term, the air dried the food.
Sometimes, even unopened food may have freezer burn due to fluctuations in the temperature inside the freezer. When the temperature rises above freezing point, the frozen food may melt a little, and water may drip. The frozen part may then be affected with freezer burn.
HOW TO SPOT FREEZER BURN
The part with freezer burn appears grayish or like brown leathery spots that make your meat look shriveled. It is usually found in the surfaces of the frozen food.
IS IT SAFE?
Freezer burn does not spoil the food. It remains edible and safe to eat, although some choose not to because the texture and the taste have been affected.
There is also a ‘freezer smell’ on your food. You can remove the part with the freezer burn, and consume the rest.
HOW TO PREVENT FREEZER BURN
Seal it in correctly
Maintain the temperature in your freezer
Organize your freezer space
If you can follow these tips, you would be taking better steps to ensure the safety of your freezer foods. In the end, there is no wastage of good food.
And the best-cut meat you were saving? It will leave your freezer in perfect condition. Grill it with your favorite concoction sauces and enjoy.
Food preservation for future use is both convenient and economical.
Freezer burn is but a minor setback that can be resolved by making efforts towards avoiding it.
When you are a busy house maker, you need all the tools and help you can get to make you more efficient. At the end of the day, here are the quick tips to avoid freezer burn:
No more freezer burns for you. Enjoy excellent quality and great-tasting foods from your freezer!
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