Freezing and storing food
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Maximum freezing capacity
To ensure that fresh food placed in the
freezer freezes through to the core as
quickly as possible, the maximum
freezing capacity must not be
exceeded. The maximum freezing
capacity for freezing within a 24-hour
period is given on the data plate:
“Freezing capacity ....kg/24 hrs”.
The maximum freezing capacity given
on the data plate has been calculated
according to
DIN EN ISO 15502 Standard.
Freezing fresh food
Fresh food should be frozen as quickly
as possible. This way the nutritional
value of the food, its vitamin content,
appearance and taste are not impaired.
Food which takes a long time to freeze
will lose more water from its cells,
which then shrink. During the defrosting
process, only some of this water is
reabsorbed by the cells. What this
means in practice is that the food loses
more moisture. You can see this in the
large amount of water that collects
around the food when it defrosts.
If food is frozen quickly, the cells have
less time to lose moisture, so they
shrink less. As there is not so much
moisture loss, it is easier for the food to
reabsorb it during the defrosting
process, and very little water collects
around the defrosted food.
Storing frozen food
When buying frozen food to store in
your freezer, check
– that the packaging is not damaged,
– the use-by date,
– the temperature at which the frozen
food is being stored in the shop. The
length of time food can be kept is
reduced if it has been stored at a
temperature warmer than -18 °C.
Buy frozen food once you have
finished the rest of your shopping,
and wrap it in newspaper or use a
cool bag or cool box to transport it.
Put it into the freezer as soon as
possible.
Never re-freeze partially or fully
defrosted food. Defrosted food may
only be re-frozen after it has been
cooked.
