The addition of the freezer has changed the way that people cook, prepare, and preserve food over the course of time. Rather than only making single servings that would last for the night, if not a few hours, people can make meals far in advance, allowing themselves to ration out food and store it, far more easily than people were able to centuries ago. However, as with many things in life, there will always be inconveniences. Despite how useful freezers can really be, there are a couple things that they can do that nobody really wants to think about. For instance, freezer burn is one of the most common complaints that people have about freezers.
For those who may not be familiar by the term, ‘freezer burns’ are what happens to food when it is left in the freezer for too long, often improperly stored. By nature, a freezer is a very dry climate. It needs to be to keep everything frozen the way it does. Because of this, moisture inside of the food is drawn to the surface, and in improperly stored food, the moisture will eventually leave the food. This is what causes freezer burns. They are the most identifiable in meats, as they will physically discolour the meat itself; however, any food that has moisture in it can be affected by freezer burns. Freezer burned food is still safe to eat, although it will not taste good at all. With that being said, here are five ways that you can prevent freezer burn from occurring in your freezer.
Package Food Properly
The most common cause of freezer burn is when food is not properly packaged before it is put into the freezer. Because these burns happen when moisture is allowed to leave the food, the best way to prevent this from happening is to make sure that there is no place the moisture can leave the food from. Depending on the type of food you are working with, this either means wrapping your food up as tightly as you can or using airtight containers to store food that cannot be properly wrapped. When you are wrapping up your food though, you should try to reduce how often you use plastic wraps, and there is good reason for this.
Try to Avoid Plastic Wraps
While you will want to prevent moisture from leaving your food as much as you can, you will also need to make sure that you are using the right materials to get the job done. In most cases, wax freezer paper will do a much better job than your typical plastic wrap, as it also prevents water from being able to evaporate out of the food. The only type of plastic you should be using when you are working with freezer food is the plastic that is used for sealable freezer bags, as this plastic is specifically made to store food in the freezer.
Add a Layer of Water
If you really want to make sure that your food is protected from the harsh environment of your freezer, you will want to make sure that you provide everything that you can. In this case, you will want to consider dipping your food in some water before putting it into the freezer. This is commonly done with shrimp and fish, although this practice can be done for other foods as long as you are careful. To do this properly, you are going to want to dip the food in question into some water before placing it directly into the freezer. The water on the outside of the food will freeze, turning into ice, and forming a protective layer around the food while you keep it in the freezer.
Put Some Water in Your Freezer
This strange practice can actually do both you and your freezer well. No matter if you bought a commercial fridge on sale or you are working with a small freezer, you can rest assured knowing that this method will do your food well. Because it is the nature of a freezer to draw water out of the food due to the dry environment, one of the easiest solutions that you can consider is simply adding some of that water into the freezer’s environment. Doing this will increase the amount of moisture in the air, lessening the need for the freezer to draw water out of the food inside of it. All you will really need is a small bowl of water and enough space for the bowl to be in your freezer undisturbed. You will want to change this water bowl out every three months.
Handle Long-Term Storage Appropriately
More often than not, people plan on eating the food that they store in the freezer within a week or maybe even two. If you are planning on keeping food in the freezer longer than this, you will need to make sure that you handle the food properly. To ensure that the wrapping hasn’t degraded over time or that there are no small air leaks in the wrapping, you will want to periodically rewrap the food in the freezer with a fresh wrapping. This will help keep everything airtight and in the best condition, so that when it is time to eat the food again, you won’t have to give a second thought about freezer burn.
Because freezers naturally remove moisture from anything that goes and stays inside of it, freezers can remove moisture from food as well, causing freezer burns. By keeping your food in airtight wrapping and containers, as well as making sure that there is already some degree of water in the freezer, you can prevent the majority of freezer burns from taking over your food.