Freezing foods correctly will help ensure freshness

KENNEWICK -- Do you freeze up at the thought of preserving produce?

Do visions of your mom or grandmother sweating over a hot stove give you chills?

Relax. Put those frigid thoughts to good use. Freezing is one of the easiest -- and safest -- ways to preserve fresh foods.

You already know the basics of preserving foods by freezing. But there are some techniques that will help ensure what you stash away now is something you'll want to eat later.

"When you think of it, we are all food preservers because almost everyone owns a freezer, whether it's a separate appliance or part of your refrigerator," said Shannon Brier of Burbank.

She's one of about a dozen Master Food Preserver volunteers in Benton and Franklin counties who are trained by and work out of the Washington State University Extension offices.

Throughout the summer, Brier and other master preservers will be teaching classes on food preservation, answering questions and helping ensure the public has the latest information on all aspects of food safety.

Earlier this year, Brier taught a class on freezing foods and one of the first myths she busted was that freezing equals forever.

"Freezing does not stop food from continuing its journey from fresh to rotten. It just slows it way, way down. Freezing slows down significantly, but does not stop, aging. High-fat meats like pork and beef will turn rancid over the course of many months," she said.

The two goals you have when freezing are making food that's safe to eat and of a quality you want to eat, she said.

The first thing to do is get a freezer thermometer and check that the freezer is really zero degrees.

"Especially if you're storing lots of food in the freezer. It will save you time and money in the long run," she said.

"There's no sense in putting it in there if it's not something you want to eat when it comes out," Brier said.

The second thing to do is invest in packaging -- heavy duty freezer paper or heavy duty plastic wrap and freezer tape to seal it or plastic freezer containers.

There are also several appliances, like a Food Saver, which have their own packaging systems for food preservation.

"Plastic bags, even freezer grade, are not necessarily adequate for long-term storage unless you overwrap with freezer paper or heavy duty plastic wrap and seal with freezer tape," she said.

If using bags, try to expel as much air as possible before sealing. Some squeeze the bag around the food, others suck air out with a straw others use various machines.

"Your enemies in the freezer are air and moisture. The goal is to remove as much air as possible from whatever container or packaging you're using and then seal it out to prevent freezer burn," Brier said.

Freezer burn is the dried out areas you see on food found in the freezer. It won't hurt you. It's a quality issue, not safety, but it won't taste good.

If you prefer using containers, make sure they're for the freezer. Hard plastic containers, like cottage cheese containers, over time will crack because of the cold.

"And mark them with the contents and date. You'd be surprised to see how one container looks like another in the freezer even though the contents are very different," she said.

"Those rules hold for any food you put in the freezer. If you're putting up produce there's a few steps to follow before you open the freezer door," Brier said.

One is blanching. All vegetables have enzymes in them that will continue to take the veggie from fresh to rotten even in the freezer.

When blanching, bring the water to a rolling boil, add the vegetables, one pound at a time, and set the timer. Stop the cooking by plunging them immediately into ice water.

"Be sure there's a significant amount of ice. If all the ice melts you're not really cooling the food down fast enough," Brier said.

Allow the vegetables to remain in the ice water equal to the time spent in the boiling water.

Stash the packaged vegetables in the fridge until you're ready to go to the freezer. And remember the rule is to only put unfrozen foods one layer deep on the shelf. No stacking until they're frozen solid.

Blanching times vary from vegetable to vegetable and even varies depending on the size of the item.

A pamphlet -- Freezing Fruits and Vegetables -- is available at Extension offices (look in the phone book under county offices). Or go online to the Center for Home Food Preservation's Web site www.homefoodpreservation. com.

The Kennewick office is at 5600-E W. Canal Drive. In Pasco, it's at 404 W. Clark St.

Fruits don't need blanching but they retain their texture and color better if frozen in a light to heavy sugar syrup.

Any cut fruits will begin to darken, oxidize, from contact with air. Prevent it by dipping them in a solution of lemon juice and water or use one of the many other products like Fruit Fresh or powdered vitamin C.

"If you're using plastic freezer containers put a wad of wax paper on the top of the fruit. This will help force the fruit down into the syrup. It tends to float and anything sticking out will turn mushy and lose color," she said.

Seal, be sure to leave room for expansion, and freeze.

"That's it," Brier said.

* Loretto J. Hulse: 509-582-1513; lhulse@tricityherald.com