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Freezing and defrosting food is an art in itself…
Both freezing and defrosting food are delicate operations. Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and other bacteria are on the lookout for the slightest error on your part. Here are some tips to help you reduce the risk of food poisoning.
Let’s start with freezing. Always place any food to be frozen into special food-grade freezer bags. Make these as airtight as possible by removing the air inside. Before placing in the freezer, be sure to write the date of freezing on the bag. This is an important point of reference, as frozen foods do not keep indefinitely. For example, minced meat will only keep for 2 months. Fish will keep for a maximum of 3 months, whereas green vegetables can be kept in the bottom of the freezer for up to a year.
Home-cooked dishes must be allowed to cool completely and then divided into portions before being frozen. They should then be eaten with 2 months. In the case of shop-bought frozen food, refer to the ‘consume-by’ date given on the product. And don’t forget the most important rule of freezing: never re-freeze food that has already been defrosted.
And now to defrosting. Do not defrost food at room temperature. In the open air, microbes proliferate on food. So instead, choose one of the following methods:
Defrost your food in the refrigerator, providing you are going to eat it within 3 days;
Defrost food in the microwave;
Or in cold water, making sure that you change the water every 30 to 45 minutes.
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