The Ease of Freeze

Not Food Smart
By Martin Hansen

The Ease of Freeze

Don’t give frozen foods the cold shoulder!

Since Clarence Birdseye first perfected the flash-freeze process in the 1920s, frozen foods have helped to improve the American diet. Because frozen foods retain important nutrients, they allow us to eat healthfully year-round. Fruits and vegetables that become scarce or more costly during the winter can be kept at the ready—so there’s nothing stopping you from treating your family to a cherry pie in February.

Keeping your freezer well stocked can also minimize the time you spend food shopping and preparing meals. And food stored in the freezer won’t spoil and go to waste as quickly as items stored in the fridge or on the counter.

Fill 'Er Up!

Believe it or not, keeping your freezer at least 75 percent full can lower your utility bill. Every time you open the freezer door, warm air rushes in and the appliance has to cool the inside air all over again. If your freezer is full, however, there is less empty space for the warm air to fill, and the compressor will cycle on less frequently, saving electricity. Keep freezer temperature at 0°F or below to maintain food quality.

While frozen foods do keep for a long time, they don’t stay perfect forever. Freezer burn is a major culprit. Changes in temperature and exposure to air cause this problem, which dries out food and affects its taste and texture. Packing foods carefully in airtight bags—and eliminating as much air as possible—will reduce the amount of food you lose to freezer burn.

Here are a few more tips for maximizing the freshness and flavor of your frozen foods while minimizing your electric bill.

• The original food packaging is not always ideal for the freezer. Unless the food is in a vacuum-sealed package, it is often a good idea to repack it.
• Freeze individual portions. Opening and closing large packages exposes food to the air and causes it to thaw and refreeze repeatedly. Bag each portion individually and squeeze the air from the bag before sealing it.
• Pack food in easily stacked containers. Irregularly shaped packages leave lots of air spaces in between. Moving food into labeled containers that fit neatly inside your freezer also makes things easier to find. Fill any remaining spaces with loose items or plastic bottles partially filled with water.
• Date items and practice first-in, first-out rotation. When you bring food home from the store, move the items already in your freezer up front, and put the new items in the back. That way, you’ll use the older foods first.
• You may want to get into the habit of rearranging stored items seasonally. Say that your family eats more ice cream, fruit, and vegetables in the summer, but lots of soups and prepared meals in the winter. Come spring, move the soups to the back of your freezer and the ice cream up front.
• Always let leftover foods cool before freezing. Otherwise, steam will freeze on the food’s surface, causing freezer burn. }

 

Selected Sources  “The Birds Eye Story,” www.birdseyefoods.com  }  “Food Freezing Basics: Packaging, Loading the Freezer, and Refreezing” by Julie Garden-Robinson, North Dakota State University, www.ag.ndsu.edu