Fisher & Paykel RF540A Meat, poultry and game, Fish, Vegetables, Prepared and cooked foods, Fruit

Storing food in your freezer 39

Meat, poultry and game

Do not try to freeze more than 1 kg meat per 25 L freezer capacity. Meat must be frozen quickly in order to maintain its texture.

Do not stuff poultry before freezing.

Red meat can be cooked from frozen, or from the partly or completely thawed states. Remember to allow extra cooking time if cooking from frozen. Always thaw poultry completely before cooking.

Fish

Fish is best frozen commercially. If however you do want to freeze fish at home, make sure the fish is very fresh and of high quality.

Clean, scale and preferably leave whole. All fish should be wrapped in two layers of packaging as depending on the type of fish, odours and favours can be readily transferred either to or from it. Seal well.

For best results, cook from either the frozen or partly thawed state.

Vegetables

Most vegetables freeze well, although ‘salad’ vegetables lose their crispness. Other vegetables eg celery, onion and tomatoes should only be used in cooked dished as they soften on freezing.

Freeze only high quality, mature, ready-to-eat vegetables. Sort and discard any that are damaged.

It is necessary to blanch most raw vegetables prior to freezing. Blanching involves a short cooking period during which vegetable enzymes are destroyed. If these enzymes are not destroyed they cause undesirable physical and chemical changes during freezer storage.

Vegetables can be blanched in boiling water, steam or microwave oven. If using boiling water, boil vegetables for 2 – 4 minutes and cool quickly. In general frozen vegetables are best cooked from their frozen state.

Prepared and cooked foods

Most cooked foods can be frozen but it is not recommended to freeze the following:

Cooked egg white, custards, cream fillings and milk puddings, gelatine or jelly-like dishes, mayonnaise and similar salad dressings, meringue toppings. These tend to separate on thawing.

Fruit

Choose high quality, mature, and ready to eat fruit. Preferably select varieties recommended for freezing.

Avoid unripe and over-ripe fruit.

The way fruit is packed depends on how it is to be used. Fruits packed

in syrup are ideal for desserts, whereas fruits packed without sugar are better used for cooking. Most fruits can be stored for 8 – 12 months.