Have you ever gone to your freezer and took out meat that you thought you were going to make for dinner and found that it was a victim of freezer burn? Don’t feel alone, it happens to the best of us. I can’t tell you how many times it has happened to me. It’s one way to lose out on some previously good meat and the money you spent on it. Don’t let it happen to you again! Here’s how you can avoid those freezer burnt steaks or other delicious meats.
What Is It And Why Does It Happen?
Freezer burn is the result of moisture from the meat evaporates into the air inside of the freezer, leaving dry pieces of food. Basically, it’s a chemical sublimation process. It happens when meat is exposed to the air, whether it’s wrapped improperly or stored the wrong way. Foods that have been stored for long periods of time will also suffer from a freezer burnt demise.
How To Avoid Freezer Burn
Avoiding freezer burnt foods is actually quite simple! The first thing you can do is limit the exposure to air. You can wrap larger items in a two layers of plastic wrap, foil or wax paper and then place it in a freezer bag. With items such as liquids or smaller portions of certain foods, you should place them in a container proper for the portion size. Make sure you eliminate as much leftover space as you can inside of the container to avoid over-exposure to air. These methods aren’t going to completely eliminate the risk, which is why you should always rotate your foods and eat the oldest stuff first.
Simple Methods
There are actually a lot of simple methods that you can use to ensure that your meats are safe from freezer air and most of them require very minimal effort.
Properly Set The freezer Temperature
Your freezer is supposed to be at or below freezing temperature. If your freezer is warmer than it’s supposed to be, this will cause the moisture from the food to evaporate quicker, leading to freezer burn. If you freezer has a basic dial, set it to cold or low. If it has a gauge, set it to 0°F.
Chill It First
Putting warm foods in the freezer will cause it to fluctuate in temperature, causing evaporation and loss of moisture. Before you put your foods in the freezer, make sure they are chilled out. Let them cool off in the fridge for an hour or two before storing them.
Minimize Exposure To Air
There are a lot of ways you can do this. When your foods aren’t in an airtight container or bag, it maximizes the risk for evaporation and air exposure. What you want to do in this case is invest in a tool that’s going to push the excess air from the bags. Using a system such as the KitchenBoss Vacuum Sealer Automatic Vacuum Sealing System for Dry & Moist Foods Preservation, you can suck all of the air and moisture out of the bag to ensure that it’s completely airtight. This is perfect for storing bulk meats. If you’re using a container, make sure it’s made from either plastic, glass or specifically for a freezer and all lids should be airtight. Never store your food in styrofoam containers, as these aren’t airtight!
And there you have it! These are the ideal ways you should store your food items that you will be keeping in the freezer. Make sure they are properly wrapped and sealed to ensure long-lasting meats.
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