You’ve likely heard loads of well-known guidelines regarding frozen food.
For example, maybe you’ve been informed that ice cream is long past horrific when you see those crystals form or that you need to never thaw and then refreeze meat.
But do you realize which of these records are authentic and which of them you can toss out—together with that thriller meat that has been in your freezer for five years?
For definitive solutions to a few not-unusual questions about keeping frozen food healthy and attractive, TODAY Food consulted two specialists: chef Jennifer Stack, RDN, who teaches nutrients and food safety at the Culinary Institute of America, and Lauren Sucher, a press officer for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Together, they have answers to some of your most burning questions on the frozen whole thing.
1. Is it OK to defrost food on my counter?
“Never thaw food at room temperature, including at the counter pinnacle,” recommended Sucher. “Food has to be stored at a safe temperature throughout thawing. That manner of leaving any raw hen, raw red meat, or every other meal you wouldn’t depart sitting out at the counter is a horrific idea.
“There are three safe ways to defrost food: inside the refrigerator, in bloodless water, and in the microwave. Food thawed in bloodless water or microwave should be cooked immediately.”
2. How soon do I want to prepare frozen dinner meals when I defrost them?
If you thaw the meals in the refrigerator, you typically have one to five days to prepare dinner. “Once ground meat, stew meat, rooster, or fish are thawed, cook them within a day or two,” said Stack. Red meat roasts and steaks can live in your refrigerator for three to five days before you need to cook them.”
3. Is it real that you shouldn’t refreeze thawed food?
This is a not-unusual misconception. However, the experts say that if you’re nonetheless within the secure window for cooking and ingesting meat, chicken, or fish, it’s flawlessly secure to refreeze them, furnished that the foods have been thawed within the refrigerator and stored bloodless (40 tiers or beneath). “Refreezing the meals might result in unwanted modifications in texture and some loss of flavor, but it will likely be secure to eat,” said Stack.
4. Are meals preserved indefinitely in the freezer?
Yes, but typically no. “Frozen ingredients can be stored on your freezer indefinitely and still be secure to devour … Assuming they stayed frozen stable the whole time,” stated Stack. “However, they may not flavor superb or have a strange texture that makes them unappealing.” She said that clean, complete roasts, steaks, and entire chickens would maintain their high quality for up to a year, but once meats are cut into pieces, their best freezer existence drops to four to 6 months. Other meats, together with sausage, lose fine after just months.
The FoodKeeper app is a convenient tool that offers timelines for freshness and pleasant meals saved inside the refrigerator and freezer. TODAY Health additionally has suggestions for how long you can freeze different foods.
5. What’s the deal with those crystals on my ice cream?
Ice crystals shape food after that meal has gotten warm, and all starts to defrost; then it gets refrozen. “Once they get bloodless once more, ice crystals begin to form, and the food (like ice cream) gets that off-flavor and icy texture,” defined Stack.
When you purchase frozen food, pick packages that do not manifestly have ice crystals. This will suggest that the meals have partially defrosted and then refrozen. For bagged frozen ingredients, squeeze the bag to check for freshness. “Frozen peas, corn, beans, berries, and small pieces of fish like shrimp and scallops should now not be a stable block of meals,” said Stack. “This will also signal defrosting and refreezing for these foods.”
