Why Freeze?

Introduction

Freezing food is quick, easy, and convenient. Frozen, unprocessed fruits and vegetables keep much of the original food value for a long time, often having more nutritional content than produce stored in your fridge. This makes it possible to have a great variety of seasonal foods, all year long.

How Freezing Preserves Foods

  • Freezing greatly reduces the growth of yeasts, bacteria and molds that can grow on food surfaces.  Growth is almost stopped at -18°C or lower; however, most microorganisms continue to grow again as temperatures rise (ie. thawing).
  • Freezing slows respiration and the activity of the enzymes that cause ripening in fruit and vegetables.

Minimizing Quality Loss in Frozen Foods

For long term quality, both fruits and vegetables have different needs. Some general guidelines are:

  • Control enzyme activity (blanch or add natural preservatives)
  • Control oxidation (store in airtight containers)
  • Control ice crystal size (keep your freezer's temperature constant, ideally -18°C or lower)
  • Control freezer burn (package in proper containers)

Pro-tip: Vaccuum sealers are a great way to ensure there is little to no oxygen or moisture inside the package, greatly minimizing oxidation damage and freezer burn. 

Steps to Successful Freezing

  1. Select fresh, high-quality foods.
  2. Prepare foods quickly and carefully. Cut into appropriately-sized pieces. Remember to blanch (if required).
  3. Package in odorless, tasteless, airtight, packaging to prevent dehydration and/or absorbtion of off-flavours.
  4. Freeze and store at -18°C or lower, with as little temperature fluctuation as possible.
  5. Thaw and use as needed, the sooner the better. Fruit and vegetables can also be utilized frozen, such as being blended into a smoothie. 

Fruits and vegetables have different needs. Almost all vegetables require blanching before freezing, with a few exceptions. Blanching is a process where food is plunged first into hot boiling water and then cooled rapidly in ice water to stop the cooking process.

Some fruits can turn brown during frozen storage (e.g., apples, peaches, apricots). This can be avoided by adding natural preservatives such as salt, sugar, or lemon juice/ascorbic acid. Fruit can also be packed in sugar syrup to prevent browning.

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Types of Packaging

  • Plastic freezer bags – Press out as much air as possible, twist top several times and fold over in a loop. Secure with metal closure.
  • Freezer wrappings (aluminum foil, freezer paper, plastic film) – Fold over edges forming a tight seal and leaving as little air space as possible. Seal with masking tape.
  • Freezer containers (plastic, aluminum foil, cardboard) – Square/rectangle containers store more compactly then round.  Select either flexible or rigid plastic with tight-fitting lids or cardboard with thick plastic coating or lined with plastic to prevent drying out.  When packing liquids leave 1-2cm headspace.
  • Vacuum Sealer bags - Pack material inside, leaving a small amount of headspace. Use vacuum sealer to remove air and seal package. Requires a vacuum sealer to remove air from packaging/heat seal.  

Recipes

We've included recipes to get you started. In the next tab, we've come up with some Alternative ways to use common produce and ice cubes are a great way to add pizzaz to any iced drink. Use these as ideas and get creative!

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