Freezing and storing food
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Storage time for frozen food
The storage life of food is very variable,
even at a constant temperature of
-18 °C. Decomposition processes also
take place in frozen food, albeit at a
very reduced speed. For example fat
can become rancid from contact with
oxygen in the air. This is why lean meat
can be stored approx. twice as long as
fatty meat.
The storage times quoted are guide val-
ues for the storage life of different food
groups in the freezer section.
Food group
Storage
time
(Months)
Ice cream
2 to 6
Bread, baked goods
2 to 6
Cheese
2 to 4
Fish, oily
1 to 2
Fish, lean
1 to 5
Sausage, ham
1 to 3
Game, pork
1 to 12
Poultry, beef
2 to 10
Vegetables, fruit
6 to 18
Herbs
6 to 10
Where the storage time given on the
packaging differs, follow the advice on
the packaging.
Defrosting
Frozen food can be defrosted in differ-
ent ways:
– in a microwave oven,
– in an oven using "Fan heat" or the
"Defrost" setting,
– at room temperature,
– in the refrigerator section (the cold
given off by the frozen food helps to
keep the other food cold),
– in a steam oven.
Flat pieces
of partially thawed fish can
be placed directly into a hot frying pan.
Meat and poultry
It is particularly im-
portant to observe food hygiene rules
when defrosting poultry. Do not use the
liquid from defrosted poultry. Pour it
away and wash the container it was in,
the sink and your hands. Danger of sal-
monella poisoning. Ensure that meat
and fish (e.g. mince, chicken, fish fillets)
do not come into contact with other
foods while defrosting. Catch the liquid
and dispose of it carefully.
Fruit
should be defrosted at room tem-
perature in its packaging, or in a
covered bowl.
Most vegetables
can be cooked while
still frozen. Just put straight into boiling
water or hot fat. The cooking time is
slightly less than that of fresh veget-
ables due to changes in the cell struc-
ture.
