Let’s stop the believers and stop those frozen food myths. Frozen food is perfectly acceptable and healthy. It is perfect for batch cookers and stopping food waste.
For far too long some people have been overlooking the freezer aisle, treating it like a compromise or downgrade rather than a place meant to make things easier and stop food waste. Some people believe it’s less nutritious or not the same quality as fresh food. The worse thing I see is “Mummy shame” where mothers believe it’s bad to feed their children freezer food. But many of these beliefs are terrible myths. It’s time we all embraced the frozen food aisle and unlocked a whole new world of healthy, affordable, and convenient meals. In this post I will talk about the benefits of frozen food and stop the frozen food shame by stomping all over those frozen food myths.
Related Post: 9 Freeze-Ahead Batch Cook Meals
1. FRESH FOOD IS MORE NUTRITIOUS THAN FROZEN FOOD
Right let’s bust this myth straight away because in all honesty it’s the worse one!
Some people assume that fresh is best, and frozen produce is more for convienance rather than nutrition. But guess what? Freezing food actually helps to retain vitamins and minerals that would otherwise have been lost if stored at room temperature or in the fridge.
A 2017 study compared the concentrations of select nutrients in fresh and frozen produce, including broccoli, cauliflower, corn, green beans, green peas, spinach, blueberries, and strawberries. The findings show no significant differences between vitamin contents in fresh and frozen produce. In fact, frozen produce actually outperformed fresh produce that had been stored for five days in the refrigerator, because fresh produce loses nutrients over time. Taken from sciencedirect.com
2. FREEZING FOOD KILLS BACTERIA
I am sorry to burst your bubble, but freezing food does not kill bacteria. What actually happens is freezing food below 0 degrees inactivates any microbes and bacteria present in the food. But once you thaw the frozen food again, that same bacteria your food went into the freezer with will become active again. It can even multiply under the right conditions too! So please do not freeze food thinking it will kill any bacteria.. this is not the case at all! If you think food is no longer acceptable to eat, please dispose of it.
3. YOU CAN’T FREEZE EGGS
It is correct that you cannot freeze eggs in their shells. But they can still be frozen using the following technique.
Crack each egg into a separate muffin tin hole and add 1/2 tsp salt to each one. Using a fork scramble each egg. Pop in the freezer, once they are frozen push them out of their containers and into a labelled freezer bag.
You can then keep them in the freezer for up to 1 year.
To thaw eggs, always use a closed container in the fridge for 6-8 hours or overnight and use immediately. Never re-freeze the eggs.
4. FROZEN FOOD EXPIRES
Well actually this it not true! Food can be stored in the freezer indefinitely as long as it is stored at 0°C or below the entire time. So if you have found a bag of veg at the bottom of your chest freezer that has been shoved there for 5 years.. they are still fine, crack on!
Frozen food will still display a use by date and the concern is not much food safety, but rather taste and quality control. A Piece of chicken which has been stored in the freezer for 1 month will be as fresh as the day you froze it. But 1 year later it will not be as fresh, could be chewy.. but definitely not unsafe as long as it was frozen correctly.
5. YOU CAN FREEZE ANYTHING
Most foods can be frozen and still retain their original flavour and texture. Some however do not respond well to the freezing process and will soon lose their flavour.
Sauces that are cream-based will separate when frozen and fruit and veg with a very high water content or certain textures don’t freeze well, such as lettuce or banana.
Here is a list of foods you may be shocked to hear you can actually freeze…
- Butter
- Cheese
- Cottage Cheese
- Milk
- Bell Peppers
- Mushrooms
- Bread
- Cakes
- Crumpets
- Muffins
- Wine (Freeze in ice cube trays for cooking)
- Pesto Sauce
- Chopped/grated Garlic
- Chopped/grated Ginger
- Diced Onion
- Chopped Avocado
- Breast Milk