10 Mistakes You’re Making With Your Freezer

1. It’s Too Warm

If you need to preserve your meals lasting longer then the colder your freezer the higher! So, ensure that your freezer temperature is on the precise setting.

Zero levels and even decrease is the most effective temperature to your long-term frozen meals storage.

2. Not Sealing Your Food Properly

To keep away from your meals within the freezer from getting “freezer burn” you need to preserve the air out.

Whether you might be utilizing Ziploc freezer baggage, aluminum foil, or heavy-duty plastic wrap, ensure you take away the air out by smoothing the wrap across the meals. If you might be utilizing storage containers, then fill them nearly to the highest to guard leftovers.

three. Freezing Food in a Big Clump

Freezing meals which are in separate items in a bag or container can go away you with frozen clumps of meals. Some of those meals are fruits (comparable to berries), hamburgers, and cookies.

Instead, place these small gadgets on a baking sheet and allow them to harden earlier than tossing them right into a bag or container. Then this stuff received’t freeze collectively, and will probably be simpler to seize what number of you simply need.

four. Waiting Too Long to Freeze

Freezing your meals will assist protect it, but it surely received’t restore its freshness if you’re ready too lengthy to freeze it and the meals is already going unhealthy. It’s finest to freeze baked items after they’ve been baked and freeze further meat proper after you get dwelling from the shop.

5. Defrosting at Room Temperature

In our family, we preserve a handful of meat saved in our freezer, particularly if I find yourself discovering a terrific deal on meat on the grocery retailer. Often, I’m defrosting meat for a household meal, nevertheless, I all the time thought it could be faster to defrost the meat on the countertop. When I came upon that this will increase the chance of micro organism rising throughout it earlier than the meat is even thawed but I modified my methods.

Instead, I made a plan to place the meals within the fridge the day earlier than. This was the most secure strategy to defrost the meat I deliberate on utilizing for our household meal.

6. Opening the Freezer During a Power Outage

When the facility goes out, it’s crucial to maintain the freezer closed with a purpose to preserve the meals frozen so long as doable. Anything that you simply discover nonetheless frozen when the facility comes again on continues to be protected to maintain within the freezer. If you discover any gadgets which are defrosted, you may put together and eat these promptly. However, should you aren’t positive if the meals is suitable for eating then your finest wager is to toss it.

7. It’s Too Full or Too Empty

When your freezer is simply too empty then it’s much less environment friendly. The freezer has to work tougher to maintain your whole meals frozen. Then when your freezer is simply too full the air received’t flow into correctly, which then could make it tougher for the freezer to maintain every thing frozen within it.

So, if you find yourself storing meals in your freezer ensure that it isn’t too empty or too full.

eight. Not Labelling Your Food

Labeling your frozen meals with names and dates after they have been frozen will make it a lot simpler on your self. You will be capable of preserve observe of what’s what and when it’s time to plan to eat your frozen meals.

An simple strategy to label your meals is simply utilizing masking tape and a everlasting marker to write down what it’s and while you put it within the freezer. Your meals will final a very long time in there, but it surely received’t final endlessly so it’s higher to know what you’ll want to eat so that you aren’t tossing it out or utilizing meals that’s overdue.

9. Keep a Disorganized Freezer

One of the most important errors you make is conserving a disorganized freezer. If you might be simply piling every thing into your freezer with no group then it’s simpler to lose observe of issues. Things will get pushed again to the freezer and get forgotten about otherwise you’ll be digging for some time to search out what you’re on the lookout for.

Instead, set up your freezer by utilizing freezer bins, cabinets, and labeling every thing with names and dates.

10. Freezing Non-Freezable Foods

By now you realize the freezer is a good place to assist lengthen the shelf lifetime of many meals you buy. However, there are just a few meals you need to by no means freeze. Dairy merchandise comparable to milk, cheese, yogurt, and cream are considered one of them. Often their texture and style is not going to ben the identical. As properly, heavy water gadgets like citrus, lettuce, potatoes, or gentle herbs will ice over because of their excessive water content material.