What is freezer burn and how can you prevent it?

What does freezer burn look like?

There are several ways to spot freezer burn: ice crystals on the inside of your freezer show that moisture has been taken from food, and similarly, when a thin layer of ice crystals cover frozen food, it’s also likely to be freezer burn. When looking at the product itself, freezer burn can show up as one or many areas of the food that’s differently coloured to the rest. Foods that are higher in moisture are more likely to have freezer burn, such as meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, ice creams and sorbets. Freezer burned meat will have one or many areas that are dried out and often greyish in colour. Whereas ice cream or sorbet that’s been freezer burned will be coated in large ice crystals.

Is freezer burn safe to eat?

In short, yes, it is usually safe to still eat food that has freezer burn. In most cases, freezer burned food has simply been partially dehydrated, leaving it dry and texturally changed, but is still safe to eat. You may notice that as well as the texture, the food’s flavour is altered by freezer burn, often for the worse.

When to throw away freezer-burned food

In almost all cases food with freezer burn doesn’t need to be thrown away. However, if the majority of a product is affected with dry, leathery patches, you may decide that it won’t be palatable enough to eat. Eating a small sample of the freezer burned food can help you decide whether it’s salvageable. It’s worth also smelling the food once it’s been defrosted to check whether it’s giving off any foul odours, and if so, then throw it away.

How to remove affected areas

While you can’t reverse the process of freezer burn, you can cut off and discard the affected parts either before or after the product is defrosted. Fruits or vegetables that are covered in ice crystals can be refreshed by rinsing off the ice crystals in cold water, and then leaving in a bowl of water to rehydrate. Scrape off any ice crystals from ice cream or sorbets before eating to avoid crunching down on pieces of ice.

Best cooking methods for freezer burned foods

Poaching and stewing

Reintroducing moisture when cooking will help revive freezer-burned food. Poaching meat, fish, fruit or vegetables in stock, milk, or an aromatic poaching liquor, will allow the transfer of flavour from the liquid to the food. When poaching meat or fish it’s worth adding strong aromatics to your poaching liquor, such as ginger, peppercorn, onion, garlic, chilli, thyme, parsley or coriander. The slow-process of poaching will refresh dry, freezer burned meat leaving you with tender and succulent results. Poaching fruit in acidulated water and adding spices, such as cinnamon, star anise or vanilla, will further benefit the flavour of fruit with freezer burn.

A similar approach is to incorporate freezer burned food in soups or stews to rehydrate the food and add flavour while also cooking it. Slowly stewing or braising meat in liquid will make it tender and easy to shred into soups, salads or sandwiches. Stewed fruit can be made into a compote to be eaten with yoghurt or on its own.

Roasting and toasting

Inversely you can take freezer burn’s dehydration further by cutting up fruit or vegetables into small pieces and roasting them in the oven on a low heat, or using a dehydrator, to remove further moisture for a crispy result. Bread that has been freezer burned can be cut up into croutons or blitzed in a food processor and made into breadcrumbs.

Marinating

Counterbalance any unpleasant flavours left by freezer burn by marinating meat or vegetables. A benefit of marinating freezer burned meat is that the flesh will be tenderised by the acidity of wine or acidulated water, as well as take on any highly flavoured aromatics or spices.

Four ways to prevent freezer burn

While no freezer is immune to freezer burn, there are steps you can take to reduce the risk:

1. Check that your freezer is set to the correct temperature, in most cases this will be -18C or 0F. Keeping the freezer at a constant temperature will help prevent freezer burn, so limit the number of times a freezer is opened, and when opened, try to shut it again as quickly as possible.
2. Packaging often serves as an effective barrier to freezer burn, especially if the packaging is air-tight. Tightly wrap food to go in the freezer to minimise air contact, ensuring there are no gaps and any air bubbles are pushed out.
3. While freezers are invaluable for extending the life of food and reducing food waste, nothing should be frozen forever. Label food before you put it in the freezer detailing the date you put it in and when it needs to be used by. The recommended time period for freezing ranges between one month and one year, depending on the type of food.
4. An overfilled freezer takes longer to reach the needed temperature, and in the process, increases the risk of freezer burn. Keep on top of what’s in your freezer by regularly rotating freezer-friendly food.

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