Roughly one third of all of the meals produced for human consumption internationally is wasted yearly.
This equates to roughly 1.3 billion tonnes of meals being thrown away – which is a value to the setting and our financial institution accounts.
But one extremely useful instrument within the campaign towards meals waste is the freezer.
However, many people aren’t certain what the principles are with regards to freezing meals.
Which meals are protected to freeze? How lengthy can you retain one thing within the freezer for? Should you freeze meals when uncooked or cooked?
Speaking on Australia’s Today present, Dr Joanna McMillan dispelled a few of the myths round freezing meals and revealed which components many people do not know could be safely frozen, equivalent to eggs and herbs.
“Freezing is a really amazing way of preserving our food because you don’t have to use chemical preservatives,” Dr McMillan stated.
“It’s actually one of the oldest means of preserving foods […] I think we under-utilise the freezer in today’s age where we think everything that’s fresh is better for us and it’s actually not the truth.”
However it is price making an allowance for that freezing would not fully take away micro organism, so if one thing is on the verge of going dangerous, it might be too late to pop it within the freezer.
There are easy pointers you possibly can observe that will help you scale back your meals waste, make your cash go additional and hold meals brisker longer.
Foods you possibly can freeze:
- Cooked pasta
- Cooked rice
- Nuts (many individuals don’t realise nuts can go rancid because of the excessive ranges of fats they include)
- Flour – you should utilize it immediately from the freezer
- Butter
- Grated cheese
- Bananas, peeled
- Bread, in slices, as loaves or breadcrumbs
- Herbs
- Stock
- Wine
- Eggs, cracked into small containers
- Meat, each uncooked and cooked
Foods you shouldn’t freeze:
- Milk – it turns into lumpy as soon as thawed (however this may be OK for cooking)
- Deep-fried meals – after defrosting, the crispy coating will flip to mush
- Sour cream – once more, it may be alright for cooking however will separate after freezing
- Dishes with crumb toppings – you’ll lose the crispness and it’ll go soggy.
Freezing ideas:
- Let all meals attain room temperature earlier than freezing.
- Make essentially the most of your ice dice tray – Dr McMillan suggests mixing herbs with water or olive oil and freezing in a tray, wine will also be frozen as ice cubes which you should utilize to maintain your drink cool with out diluting it or pop it into your cooking, and inventory will also be frozen in a tray.
- Make certain the whole lot is frozen in a sealable container or bag.
- Meat specifically must be correctly wrapped.
- Be conscious that something that has a excessive water content material, like lettuce, received’t be precisely the identical after being frozen after which defrosted.
- Try to freeze the whole lot when at its freshest.
- Defrost meat totally earlier than cooking, however different objects equivalent to bread for toasting could be cooked straight from the freezer.
- Never refreeze uncooked meat that has been frozen after which thawed – you possibly can, nonetheless, freeze cooked meat that was frozen when uncooked.
- Make certain the freezer isn’t packed so full that air can’t flow into.
How lengthy can you retain meals within the freezer?
As a basic rule, nothing ought to be saved within the freezer for longer than 9 months to a 12 months, however there’s variation amongst completely different meals objects.
Here’s the utmost of time you possibly can hold sure meals frozen earlier than thawing:
- Poultry, entire: a 12 months
- Steak: a 12 months
- Blanched greens: a 12 months
- Fruit in syrup: a 12 months
- White fish: eight months
- Open packs of frozen fruit: eight months
- Unsalted butter: eight months
- Fruit juice: six months
- Lamb/pork/beef/rooster/turkey/duck/goose/venison/rabbit: six months
- Bread: six months
- Cakes: six months
- Stocks: six months
- Oily fish: 4 months
- Pastries: 4 months
- Salted butter: 4 months
- Ice cream: 4 months
- Sliced bacon: three months
- Soups and sauces: three months
- Bread dough: three months
Make essentially the most of your freezer to make your life simpler – and assist save the planet on the identical time.
Source: www.impartial.co.uk