At the beginning of the last century, the traditional methods of harvesting fruits, vegetables, meat and berries were salting, boiling, drying and smoking. Today the refrigeration industry has made its own adjustments. All food can be frozen. And in order not to spoil the food during the freezing process, this should be done according to all the rules.
To freeze berries, fruits, mushrooms and vegetables, choose only whole foods with no visible damage. Process trimmed vegetables and fruits in a different way. It is advisable to freeze only ripe food.
Before the freezing procedure, vegetables, fruits and berries should be rinsed under running water and spread out on a dry towel. When they are dry, you can start processing them.
Remove all inedible parts from food, cut off the ponytails. Too large specimens can be cut into several pieces so that they freeze at the same time. You can blanch food to save space in the freezer.
Place fruits or mushrooms on a tray or distribute in plastic bags, in each of which you can put no more than 600-800 g. It is optimal to freeze berries on a tray and after hardening, pour them into a bag. The freezer should be set to the highest temperature setting. With a low power of the freezer, the products will freeze unevenly, and they can be stored for no more than 2 months (at a high power of -18 degrees - up to 12 months).
On the contrary, it is not worth washing meat, fish or chicken before freezing. For even freezing, divide the fish and meat into packages weighing 500-600 g, the whole bird is well frozen. The fish need not be gutted before freezing, but it is advisable to clean it from the scales.
Remember, cold only preserves, but does not improve the taste and quality of products, and sometimes reduces it (with the exception of persimmons and ice cream). For example, a slightly weathered piece of meat or cut fruit tastes better and will not get better in the freezer.
And most importantly, you need to freeze quickly. With slow exposure to cold, large ice crystals form in the structure of the product, they tear the tissue, making it watery. This means that after defrosting, the product will lose all its juice, and its gastronomic properties will decrease.
