Frozen food is a staple item for every kitchen. It does not matter if it’s a restaurant, retail store, or your domestic kitchen. Frozen food is a must-have. These days the use of frozen food has become popular. You can buy uncooked, half-cooked, or even fully-cooked frozen food from any store. One more type of frozen food is leftover frozen food. So, know that frozen food has many categories. Most stores usually have a commercial walk in freezer to store their food. But preserving food at home or even at your local retail store is a bit different. When storing frozen food, we all know that temperature is the most crucial factor. The freshness and quality of your food hugely depend on the temperature range. An unsuitable temperature range can even change the texture and flavor of your food. Some people get confused about the right temperature to store their frozen food. To help such people, we present you with a temperature guideline to preserve frozen food.
1. The Right Temperature:
First of all, you have to choose the right temperature. To store frozen products, the temperature range of your freezer should be cold. The most common freezer temperature is 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius). But you can also store food at a lesser temperature than 0 degrees F. It will slow down the bacteria process. If your temperature goes up, your food can spoil. Make sure you have a stable electricity outlet. Invest in a high-quality freezer that can maintain its temperature for a long time without electricity. But temperature guidelines may differ according to the food.
2. Vegetables:
Make sure that whatever you are storing is in an airtight container. Otherwise, your veggies will not stay fresh. Different vegetables have different temperatures at which we should preserve them. The time of freshness of one vegetable varies from the other. And there are some vegetables that you should not freeze, like lettuce and iceberg. If you are storing beans or any greens, then they will stay fresh for up to 8 months in the refrigerator. Carrots, squash, and celery can remain fresh for up to 10 to 12 months. If you are storing tomatoes, then they can only stay fresh for 2-months.
3. Dairy Products:
You can store dairy products in their packaging or even in your airtight containers. You can preserve milk for only 3-months, or otherwise, it will go rancid. Yogurt or Greek yogurt can stay fresh in the freezer for up to 1-2 months. One thing you need to know is that your cottage cheese and commercial mayonnaise will not freeze properly. If you want to store cottage cheese or mayonnaise, then I advise you to refrigerate them.
4. Poultry:
Raw chicken pieces will stay fresh in the freezer for almost 9-months. Meanwhile, you can freeze cooked meat or chicken for only 2-6 months old. Bacon and pork/lamb chops can stay fresh for 6-months. Make sure there is no air or moisture in the container.