Frozen Foods: Everything You Need To Know

Freezing is a preservation method that slows the breakdown of food. However, it has some disadvantages. What should you know about it? Here we tell you.

What should you know about frozen foods? The freezing of food is a way of preservation that allows to slow down the decomposition of these. Important, it stops its deterioration, but does not correct it. Another point to consider is knowing what method is used for freezing, as it directly affects the quality and texture of food.Faster freezing generates smaller ice crystals and maintains cell structure. So, properly frozen foods are an option that we can incorporate in our purchase and in our kitchen. Let's see a more detailed analysis.

What disadvantages does slow freezing entail?

Whether the product has frozen slowly or has suffered temperature fluctuations during storage, the crystals that form are larger because they extract water bound to the proteins in these foods.
This water is not recoverable in the defrosting process, so that the texture of the food is altered as well as its nutritional value. This water that is lost can carry with it water-soluble nutrients, such as some vitamins.

Do the nutritional properties of frozen foods change?

No. Industrially frozen vegetables maintain the nutritional properties of fresh vegetables, since they are processed quickly after harvesting, at their optimum time.In fact, the most problematic nutrients, vitamins, are lost by heat. In addition, minerals are spoiled in part by cutting and subsequent washing of food, and also in boiling water.That is, the food micronutrients will remain intact, as long as we freeze before cooking. Nutrient losses from handling, cooking and processing prior to freezing, these are no longer recovered.

So can I freeze any food?

You can freeze almost everything. However, sometimes, textures, smells and some flavors are altered so much that it is not recommended. For example:

1. The meats can be kept between 3 and 12 months, no more.
2. The cold cuts and sausage between 1 and 2 months.
3. Blue fish less than 3 months.
4. The bread, between 3 and 6 months.
5. Soups, approximately 60 days.
6. Butter, yes, yes, butter also freezes, between 3 and 6 months maximum.

Do not forget to think that this process is also a great advantage to organize our weekly meals and, thus, to be able to maintain a healthy and balanced diet within the busy schedules that we follow some days.A good organization of menus and a little time a week in the kitchen can solve the maintenance of a disorderly diet, thanks to frozen foods.

4 Basic Rules About Frozen Foods

1. Never freeze a food that has already been thawed. The repetition of the process will harm the qualities of the food.
2. Use appropriate containers that keep the product isolated, since “an airtight container is essential to protect food from dehydration, oxidation and odor transmission”. Airtight glass containers are the best option.
3. The fact that there are drawings on the outside of the drawers can be very useful; the divisions help to separate the food so that there are no cross contamination while they freeze. Use them, it will be much easier to also identify the food inside an orderly freezer. Another good option to identify your frozen products is to use labels.
4. Follow the instructions of your freezer and make sure that during the process the temperature is at least - 20 ° C constant.
5. If you freeze a cooked dish, remember to defrost it little by little, moving it from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before it was consumed.

In conclusion

Freezing is a good method of food preservation, as it prevents them from deteriorating early. However, it must be taken into account that it can cause alterations in texture and flavor. Whenever we freeze before cooking, food maintains its properties. However, some rules must be applied to make freezing safe.