Freezing & De-frosting Food

Hints & Tips - Freezing

Freezing is one of the most efficient ways of storing food that is not required immediately.

Check your Freezer manual, this will give you recommendations as to how long you store various foods in your freezer.

• Freshly frozen products 3 months.
• Shop frozen products 6 months.
• These are examples, your manual should give you more accurate information.  You should always follow the freezing guide on any pre-packed products and freeze on day of purchase. Some fresh products will only recommend storing for 1 month in a domestic freezer.
• Prior to putting your product in the freezer write the end use by date on the packaging to help remind you when to use it by.
• When freezing any produce yourself,  you should always put on the date that you are freezing it.
• If you buy plenty of vegetables you can pre-slice & chop them, put them into freezer bags & date them. You can then use them straight from the freezer when required.

Hints & Tips – De-Frosting

•With your raw meat products you must defrost carefully, it is recommended that you defrost your uncooked meat in a fridge at least 24hrs before use. Do not use a microwave to defrost (even though they have defrost settings) this could allow bacteria to start constituting and infect your food. If it is in packaging remove from the packaging and place in a dish.

• •With pre-cooked food (left over meals) it is also recommended to defrost in a fridge before use. If you have used a sealed container (Tupperware style) release the lid to allow air to circulate this will allow the food to defrost quicker. 
• With vegetables you can use straight from the freezer when using in cooking, if using to eat raw (in a salad etc) defrost in the fridge as above.
• With ready frozen products please follow the guidelines on the packaging.