Tips for freezing
To maintain the taste and nutritional value
of your frozen foods and to make sure your
appliance does not use too much electricity
and the freezer does not need to be defrosted
unnecessarily often, please note:
– Frozen food requires a constant storage
temperature of –18 °C.
– A temperature setting that is too high can
reduce the shelf life of your food. This leads
to greater food waste.
– Only freeze good quality food that has been
prepared, split into portions and packaged
as appropriate for its properties.
– Freeze meat, poultry and fish raw or pre-
pared into portions suitable for at home and
defrost them later in the fridge. Make sure
that meat, for example, is not immersed in
its own thawing liquid.
– Freeze fresh and prepared food dry and
unseasoned. Unsalted foods are more du-
rable.
– Allow prepared food to cool before freez-
ing. This not only saves power, but also
prevents excessive frost formation in the
freezer.
– Carbonated drinks are not suitable for
freezing because the carbon dioxide es-
capes during freezing.
– To make sure frozen food does not dry out,
take on a strange taste or leak, use robust
packaging material that is impermeable to
air and liquids, is not too stiff and can be
closed easily and labelled.
– Observe the manufacturer’s instructions
when storing processed frozen foods.
– You should also freeze meals in portion siz-
es if possible. Small portions are quicker
to freeze to the core. As well as this, it is
more cost-efficient to freeze several small
portions than to throw away the remainder
of a large portion.
– Adhere to the recommended storage times
and temperatures.
– When storing fresh food, make sure that it
does not come into contact with food that
is already frozen, as this food may defrost.
– Make sure that food does not come into
contact with the rear wall of the freezer, as
it could end up freezing to the wall.
Suitable packaging
Packaging is important when freezing. This
will protect against oxidation, penetration by
microbes, transfer of odours and flavourings
and drying out (freezer burn).
• Only use packaging material that is
strong, impermeable to air and liquid, not
too stiff and labelled. It should be desig-
nated as suitable for freezer use.
• Use plastic clips, rubber bands or adhe-
sive tapes to seal.
Portions
• Use flat portions as much as possible;
these freeze through to the core faster.
• Expel the air from the freezer bag as this
causes the contents to dry out and takes
up space.
• Fill liquid containers no more ¾ full, be-
cause liquids expand when frozen.
• Do not store glass or metal containers
containing liquids such as water, lemon-
ade, beer, etc. Water expands when fro-
zen and may burst the container.
Freeze only high-percentage alcohol (from
40 % by volume); make sure that it is tightly
closed.
• Label the frozen food by type, quantity,
amount and expiry date. Use waterproof
marker pens or adhesive labels wherever
possible.
Freezing food
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