How to Determine if Food Is Good After Defrosting Then Freezing Again
Did you get more food out of your freezer than you can utilize? Are you wondering if you can safely refreeze it? Wonder no more than! Notice out here.
Tin can I Refreeze Food After Information technology Was Thawed?
Did you lot take some basis beefiness out of the freezer and determine to go out for dinner at the last infinitesimal? Did you thaw some steaks, but something came up and had leftovers instead? Did you just get besides tired to cook and had cereal for dinner?
Yeah, me too.
OK, so now what? Yous tin go on thawed foods in the refrigerator for a few days, merely it'due south best to use them as soon as y'all can.
If you lot won't get around to using the defrosted food before long enough, you can refreeze it! That'south right, you tin can put it dorsum in the freezer.
Food Safety Problems and Refreezing
Nosotros do need to talk well-nigh food safety for a infinitesimal. Keeping nutrient in the fridge doesn't kill bacteria, and neither does freezing it. In the refrigerator, bacterial growth is slowed merely not stopped. In the freezer, bacterial growth is stopped – until the nutrient is thawed. Then the bacteria pick up right where they left off.
Just because yous freeze, thaw, and refreeze food won't make information technology unsafe. Merely information technology does increase the risk of bacterial growth to unsafe levels. Be sure to that your refrigerator and freezer are at the recommended temperatures. And refreeze whatsoever thawed nutrient as before long as yous know that you won't be using it. (Remember, keep these guidelines in heed for how long nutrient can stay in the fridge.) When y'all do thaw it (again) to cook it, exist certain to apply a food thermometer and cook information technology to the minimum recommended internal temperature.
Nutrient Quality Issues and Refreezing
Although nutrient safety isn't a major concern when you refreeze something, quality tin be. When water is frozen, it expands. (Ever overfill an ice cube tray or h2o bottle? I didn't think so. Me neither.) All food is made up of cells, and the inside of those cells is mainly h2o. When food is frozen, the water within those cells expands and some of the cells suspension. When the food thaws, the water that was inside the cells leaks out of the food.
That's why we recommend always thawing nutrient on a lipped tray in your fridge. In case your packaging leaks, you'll still take something to catch that liquid.
When you refreeze food, y'all can't recapture that wet inside the food. And more than cells will break and a piffling more moisture will be lost. You lot can expect foods to be a bit less moist after they are refrozen.
This just means you demand to be a petty more creative when you're cooking. It'south not a very big deal with ground meat or with a big roast that'due south going to hang out in a slow cooker all mean solar day. But for craven breasts or prissy steaks, yous need to think virtually different methods of cooking. Think about brining or marinating meats, searing rapidly over loftier rut instead of cooking for a longer time over low heat, or adding sauces to the dish to go on (or add) more than wet.
Packaging for Refreezing
Air is always the enemy when you're freezing foods. Air inside a package volition make food dry out out faster (leading to freezer burn) and can introduce foreign odors or tastes to frozen food. E'er use air-tight packages for the freezer. My favorite is Ziploc freezer numberless. I clasp all the air out earlier I seal information technology. You can also employ a straw to suck the last few air bubbling out. Or invest in a vacuum sealer if yous freeze a lot.
It's best to repackage anything that y'all will be refreezing. Throw away the original packaging and wrap the food in a new air-tight bundle. Be sure to characterization and engagement the food. Mark the parcel with both dates the food was frozen – the first fourth dimension and the refreezing engagement. This will assistance you to utilise the foods that accept been in the freezer longer kickoff.
What other questions do you have about freezing? I'd beloved to read them in the comments below. I'll answer equally many every bit I tin can in the comments, and I'll also use them as ideas for more manufactures!
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Source: https://www.myfearlesskitchen.com/can-i-refreeze-food-after-it-was-thawed/
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