8
Freezing of fresh food and storage of
commercially frozen food
The compartment marked by the symbol
is
suitable for freezing food and for long term storage
of frozen food.
Freezing of fresh food
To freeze fresh food, it is not necessary to change
the thermostat knob setting from normal to another
setting.
Food to be frozen has to be placed in the bottom
basket.
The maximum amount of food which is freezable in
24 hours is indicated on the rating plate in the
refrigerator compartment.
To help you to get the best out of the freezing
process, here are a few hints:
Freeze only good-quality, fresh and well-cleaned
food. Split it into small portions to speed up freezing
and avoid having to thaw more food than you require.
It is in fact important to remember that once the
food has thawed out, it deteriorates fast.
Another point to remember is that lean food keeps
better and longer than fatty food. Salt too reduces
storage time.
Wrap the food in foil or polythene film, ensuring
that the wrapping adheres closely to the food and is
well sealed.
In this way, by avoiding contact with air, the colour,
flavour and nutritional value of the food remain
intact.
During the freezing process, do not add further food
for freezing and do not open the freezer door.
The food to be frozen should not be placed in contact
with already frozen food. This will avoid a rise in
temperature of the already frozen food.
Never put fizzy drinks in the freezer as the container
might burst.
In addition, never put hot food or liquids in the freezer
compartment and take care not to fill containers up to
the brim if they are covered with a lid.
A word of warning about ice lollies: they should not
be eaten straight from the freezer as this might
cause cold burns.
It is a good idea to mark the packs – or the cards on
the sliding drawers if your model has them – with
the date on which freezing started so that you can
keep a check on storage periods.
The inner door of the freezer compartment shows
pictures of different types of food followed by a
figure. These figures indicate the maximum storage
time, in months, for each type of food.
Details of food being stored, can also be written in
pencil on a card located in a special holder in the
inner door.
Storage of commercially frozen food
To get the best out of your freezer in the case of
storage of commercially frozen food, you should
ensure that:
the products have been correctly stored by the
retailer;
that there is only a very short time between buying
the products and putting them into the freezer;
you do not store products for longer than the time
specified by the food manufacturer.
If the freezer has been out of use for some time,
before putting the products in the freezer, let the
appliance run for at least two hours with the
thermostat knob on the coldest setting. After this
turn the thermostat knob back to the normally
required setting.
If there happens to be a power failure do not open
the freezer door. If the power failure is relatively
brief (from 6 to 8 hours) and the freezer is
completely full, frozen products will not be affected.
Otherwise they should be used up very quickly.
If large quantities of food are to be stored, remove
all drawers and baskets from appliance and place
food on cooling shelves. Pay careful attention not to
exceed load limit
stated on the side of the
upper section (where applicable).
Thawing
Before being used, deep-frozen and frozen food can
be thawed out either in the refrigerator
compartment or at room temperature, depending
on the time available for this operation.
Small pieces of food – such as hamburgers, cutlets,
chips, and fish fingers, for example – can be cooked
straight from the freezer, without any intermediate
thawing operation. Clearly, cooking time will be
marginally longer than in the case of thawed food.
Ice-cube production
This appliance is equipped with trays for the
production of ice-cubes.
Fill these trays with water to 3/4 of their height,
then put them in the freezer compartment.
The ice-cubes may be shaken out from the trays by
simply twisting; do not use metallic instruments to
remove the trays from the freezer.
