Tips for freezing food

Today it is very common to consume frozen foods. This allows us to make bigger purchases and to have all kinds of products at home. The frozen ones possess practically the same nutritional qualities that the fresh ones, maintaining their nutritious value.

However, we must consider some aspects to the process of freezing and thawed is done under conditions of optimal safety and thus avoid risks of food poisoning.

The cold chain

From the market to the house. The first step we must take into account when we buy a frozen product is not to break the cold chain. By this we mean that we must prevent a food to present large fluctuations in temperature while it is frozen.

To do this, nothing easier than leave the end the purchase of frozen products. The second step is to store them in special isothermal bags to avoid, as far as possible, to changes in its initial temperature.

And finally, we should not delay the arrival home after buying these products because these can be heated, thus encouraging them to multiply microorganisms in them, especially in summer.

See: Step by step to dehydrate fruits at home

Which foods can be frozen and which ones cannot?

Thanks to the great advances in food technology, the list of foods that can be frozen is very large: from spongy cakes, fresh fruits and even complete menus. That is why it is more practical to detail those that it is inadvisable to freeze.

We should not be frozen those foods that have already been thawed (so increases the chances of food poisoning) and rehydrated or reconstituted food (again by problems related to food safety).

And, more specifically, products like lettuce (and other preparations for salad), mushrooms, berries, fatty foods such as cream and some sauces, potatoes or pasta, since low temperatures can alter its natural structure. These products form ice crystals, which would produce the break of its cellular membranes and the inactivity of the food.

Another very different thing is the processes used by the food industry that with a series of specific techniques can protect the integrity of the food, without having negative effects in terms of safety.