Food waste is something we detest, so any leftovers and oddities are stored in freezer bags and containers for an unexpected future use. Who doesn’t appreciate coming home to a bowl of homemade beef stew that simply needed to be reheated in the microwave after being frozen? Sometimes those good intentions pay off. According to the USDA, if food is frozen properly (at 0°F or below) it should be safe to eat permanently. However, that does not guarantee that pizza from a year ago will be tasty. A few indicators that your frozen food may be past its best are listed below.
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Signs You Should Not Eat That Frozen Food
Look at the Color
Long-term freezing causes many foods to change colour. Raw chicken may become white or a piece of uncooked beef may change from red to brown. Vegetables can have a light hue. This indicates that the food may not have the flavor you prefer, but it does not imply that it is harmful to consume.
Check for Freezer Burn
When food is improperly stored in the freezer, moisture seeps out and crystallizes into ice, resulting in freezer burn. This layer of ice “burns” the food, making it less flavorful and drier in texture, but the dish is still edible. This layer of ice “burns” the meal, making it less flavorful and drier. When storing food, try to remove as much air as you can to avoid freezer burn. Storage containers don’t do this as well as plastic freezer bags.
Look for Crystals of Ice
Has anyone ever opened a pint of ice cream and discovered a thick coating of ice crystals underneath? Scraping off the ice and eating it is definitely safe, but the ice cream will probably be dry and possibly contain some of the smells from your freezer, so it won’t be particularly tasty. Ice crystals on ice cream or other meals are common and most likely won’t have an impact on the flavor.
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