Category:Frozen

Freezing only slows the deterioration of food and while it may stop the growth of microorganisms, it does not necessarily kill them. Many enzyme reactions are only slowed by freezing. Therefore it is common to stop enzyme activity before freezing, either by blanching or by adding chemicals. Foods may be preserved for several months by freezing. Long-term freezing requires a constant temperature of -18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees Fahrenheit) or less. Some freezers cannot achieve such a low temperature. The time food can be kept in the freezer is reduced considerably if the temperature in a freezer fluctuates. Fluctuations could occur by a small gap in the freezer door or adding a large amount of unfrozen food.

Freezing wine: A neat tip is to freeze leftover wine in plastic or paper vending machine coffee cups. Then you will always have a handy supply of wine to use in your recipes. Do the same with homemade stock.

Open freezing

Open freezing is the method used to freeze items individually. This prevents them from sticking together when packed together and frozen.

To open freeze, spread the items on shallow trays and avoid them making contact with each other, place the trays into the fast freeze section of your freezer. When completely frozen, the items can then be safely frozen in bulk containers or bags.

This category contains recipes where primary method of preparation is freezing.

Defrosting and food safety

Most bacteria are killed upon reaching an internal temperature of 54.5 C [130.1 F], so provided ALL of the food item is at least that temperature during the defrosting process, any harmful bacteria in the food should be destroyed. Salmonella will take 15 minutes to be killed at 54.5C, but raise the temperature to 65.5C and it will take just 30 seconds. Some items such as bread are unlikely to contain any harmful bacteria so do not need to go through such a rigorous defrosting process.

See also