No need to shop for kitchen supplies every day because frozen food is always ready to accompany you to move in the kitchen. But, you must understand how to process frozen food properly.
Very practical. That is the advantage of buying frozen food in containers or storing food in the freezer. Whenever you want to cook, frozen food is ready to be processed, even if it has been stored for days.
Frozen food is indeed practical to use. But many do not know how to properly process frozen food. Error processing frozen food, you can experience food poisoning.
How to thaw frozen foods
There are various ways to thaw (soften) frozen food to be ready to be processed into delicious dishes.
- Soaked in cold water. Frozen foods, especially those in containers, can be thawed using cold water. The trick, wrap frozen food in plastic or tightly packaged so that no bacteria enter. Then, soak in a bowl or pan filled with cold water until it is completely submerged. Change the water every 30 minutes until the food is completely melted and ready to be processed in the kitchen. Frozen food thawed by this method must be cooked immediately.
- Stored in the refrigerator all day. Melting in the refrigerator does take a long time, however, this is the easiest and most hygienic way. It takes a full day or even more to thaw frozen foods such as meat. Therefore, you must plan before cooking. For example, you want to cook rendang meat on Sunday, the day before you have to remove the frozen meat from the freezer, then move it to the refrigerator. Remember, put frozen meat on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator so that juices full of bacteria do not touch other foods. Through this method, ground meat, meat for soup, poultry, and seafood (seafood) must be cooked no later than one or two days later.
- Silent at room temperature. Processing frozen food in this way tends to be risky. When food has reached temperatures warmer than 4.4 degrees Celsius, bacteria that may be present before freezing can start multiplying. Although when thawed with this method the middle part of the food is still frozen, the outer layer of the food can already be in the "Danger Zone", that is if the temperature is between 4.4-60 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, bacteria will multiply rapidly. Even perishable food should not be thawed at room temperature, thawed with hot water, and should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours.
- Melt with Microwave. Use this method if you are in a hurry to cook food or want to immediately serve frozen fruit to eat. Microwaves indeed thaw frozen foods quickly, but the results of thawing were not evenly distributed. Not only that, melting using a microwave has the potential to trigger the growth of bacteria in these foods. Frozen food thawed with this tool needs to be cooked immediately.
You need to remember, food that has melted, you should not freeze it back in the freezer to avoid food poisoning. It is recommended to take enough frozen food to be processed, while the rest remain in the freezer. Check that the freezer temperature is -18 degrees Celsius or lower. At this temperature, bacterial growth in food will be inhibited. But when it has thawed, the bacteria will come back to life and can even develop.
Storage Deadline
The freezing process is a natural way to preserve food. The freezing process can keep food safe indefinitely, but that does not mean food still has the same taste and texture quality.
There are several things you need to know about the time limit for storing frozen food, such as raw ground beef (3-4 months), raw poultry meat (12 months), cooked poultry (4 months), soup (2 months), and raw meat before baking (4-12 months).
For other types of food, you can thaw it first after that check the quality. If it doesn't look good, but it looks like it can still be consumed, then you can use it to make soup. Also use your sense of smell. If you already smell bad, it's better to get rid of these foods.
Important to Know
Consider the following when buying frozen food or storing it.
- When shopping at supermarkets, it is best to visit the frozen food counter most recently before paying to the cashier. This can keep food at least frozen before reaching home. If when you get home the food has thawed, do not put it in. Better cook as soon as possible while fresh or discarded.
- Do not re-freeze thawed frozen food because of the high risk of being contaminated with harmful or toxic food bacteria.
- Raw food and cooked food must be stored separately in the refrigerator. The goal is that bacteria from raw food do not pollute food that has been
- Always store raw food in a closed container at the bottom of the freezer so that no liquid drips down and contaminates other food. When buying frozen food in packaging, pay attention to the date ka Also see whether the packaging is still good or not. If it is damaged or has been opened, it's better not to buy. You can also tell the clerk or seller to get rid of the packaged food so that it does not have a negative impact on other consumers.
- Storage in the freezer you should pay attention. As much as possible remove all air in the package. It's a good idea to move the contents of the package to a special closed container to freeze food.
- When there is power failure, do not open the door. Leave the door closed. These conditions can make frozen food can last one to two days.
The key to maintaining frozen food is a cooler. Make sure the freezer temperature is at -18 degrees Celsius, while the refrigerator temperature is below 4 degrees Celsius. Clean the freezer every one to two weeks using a special cleaning fluid and water. Wipe liquids or foods that are spilled in the freezer or refrigerator as soon as possible to avoid bacterial contaminated food.
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