6
USING YOUR FRIDGE FREE ZER
Keep chilled foods together
When you are going around the supermarket and when you are travelling
home if you keep all the chilled foods together they will help to keep each
other cold.
Use a cool bag
Special insulated bags can be bought from most supermarkets and
hardware shops. These keep food cold for longer, but are only for getting
chilled foods home, not storing it.
Unwrap as soon as you get home
Always unpack and place chilled foods in the fridge freezer before storing
dry food-stuffs.
Shopping for frozen foods
When you are buying frozen food, look at the storage guidelines on the
packaging. You will be able to store each item of frozen food for the
period shown against the 4 star rating. This is usually the period stated
as ‘Best Before’, on the front of the packaging.
Choose packs carefully
Take a quick look at the frozen food package and make sure it is in
perfect condition.
Purchase frozen food last
Always buy frozen products last on your shopping trip or visit to
the supermarket.
Keep frozen foods together
When you are going around the supermarket and when you are travelling
home, if you keep all the frozen foods together they will help to keep
each other cold.
Store food straight away
Don’t buy frozen food unless you can freeze it straight away. Special
insulated bags can be bought from most supermarkets and hardware
shops. These keep frozen food cold for longer.
Thawing frozen food
For some foods, thawing before cooking is unnecessary. Vegetables
and pasta can be added directly to boiling water or steam cooked.
Frozen sauces and soups can be put into a saucepan and heated gently
until thawed.
Tips for keeping food perfect in the
fridge freezer
Leave space around food
This will allow cold air to circulate around the fridge freezer. It will also
mean the fridge freezer doesn't have to use so much power.
Wrap up food!
To prevent transfer of flavours and drying out, food should be separately
packed or covered. Fruit and vegetables need to be wrapped.
Let pre-cooked food cool properly
Always let pre-cooked food cool down before you put it in the fridge
freezer. This will stop the internal temperature of the fridge freezer
from rising.
Shut the door
To prevent cold air escaping, limit the number of times you open the
door. When returning from shopping, sort foods to be kept in your
fridge freezer while the door is closed.
Preparations for freezing
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Leave cooked food to cool completely.
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Chill food in the fridge before freezing if possible.
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Consider how you want to cook the food before freezing it.
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Don’t freeze food in metal containers as you may want to microwave
it straight from the freezer.
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Use special freezer bags available from
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polythene bags, plastic containers, aluminium foil (heavy grade only,
if in doubt, double wrap). Don’t use aluminium foil for acidic foods
(such as citrus fruits). Don’t use thin cling film or glass. Don’t use used
food containers (unless cleaned thoroughly first).
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Exclude as much air from the container as possible. You could buy a
special vacuum pump which sucks excessive air out of the packaging.
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Leave a small amount of ‘air space’ when freezing liquids, to allow
for expansion.
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You can use the space in the fridge freezer most efficiently if you freeze
liquids (or solids with liquids, such as stew) in square blocks. This is
known as ‘preforming’. Pour the liquid into a polythene bag which is
inside a square sided container. Freeze it like this, then remove it from
the container and seal the bag.