Are there any rules to freezing? Do not worry if it is unknown to you. As you are following Freezing FAQ, you shall get clarity about your doubts. In fact, you shall learn much further than that in this useful guide.
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Questions about freezing
As the topic of freezing arises, there are multiple questions that surface in your mind with regard to it. there are indeed methods to freezing. As you are looking forward to clarifying your doubts you shall certainly get the answers. Not only about freezing but you shall know something more as well, while you keep following.
Is it dangerous to refreeze food?
In almost every article you are certain to find the warning that it is a strict NO to refreezing food. It shall tell you that you shall never freeze again the food that has been frozen and thawed. If you happen to do so then, you run the risk of having food poisoning. Now the question arises, is refreezing really as dangerous as it sounds to be?
You shall be relieved to know that The Washington State Department of Health, disagrees with it. In an article linked to it, it reads something that shall give you some relief. You shall certainly be able to refreeze raw foods such as meat poultry etc. But this can only be done as long as you have thawed the food in the refrigerator. If you have thawed the food on the counter then in that case you must cook it immediately. To refreeze thawed food is certainly not safe by any standards. You can even find this same thing being told on the website of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. So, if we go by these resources then refreezing food is surely safe. But you must ensure at first, to thaw it properly in the fridge. This same information can also be found in an article in New York Times, debunking this myth.
So, by now, you are in a position to safely reach to a conclusion. The warning about not refreezing thawed food is truly a myth. If you have defrosted food in the fridge then, it is surely safe to refreeze the unused portion of it. Although, we are not always able to let the food thaw in the refrigerator due to lack of time. This is the reason why in the articles we try to highlight the other options for thawing. There is a simple solution in which you shall not have to refreeze food. If you freeze the food in portion-sized packages, it makes the process less complex. In this way, you can certainly be able to thaw as per what you need. Not only shall this process be simple but also you shall be maintaining safety parameters as well.
It has been a practice that people also partially thaw frozen food. The reason for doing so is due to the delays in bringing them to the freezer such as a change in the plan or power outage as well. You certainly can be able to refreeze frozen food if they have been thawed either cooked or raw. Though there may be a chance of having a difference in the quality. Thawing extracts moisture away from the food.
Safety measures of the food always depend on the fact whether the raw product was properly handled or not before being frozen. There is also a check that needs to be made if it was refrozen very soon after it was thawed. The other fact that is dependent on is if it has been cooked using a safe temperature. Although thawed meat can be refrozen but there are certain conditions too that must be kept in the mind. Through the process of freezing and thawing, the quality of the meat does get affected. There is indeed a change in color, odor, and the content of moisture that takes place as well. The Food Safety and Inspection Service also stresses on the fact to refrigerate the products such as poultry and meat properly. They say to label and pack it properly before putting it into the freezer.
Is it bad for you to microwave food?
While the topic above focuses on freezing the food for a longer period of time but now, let us discuss something further. Health is always a major concern for all, isn’t it? then why not go ahead and discuss a few tips for healthy living as well? You shall surely benefit in a great way from this topic too.
It is indeed a topic of an ongoing debate with regard to the safety of microwaving food. There are many who are of the view that microwaving food is harmful. There are others who say that it is just as ok. There are people who are against it say, microwaving food kills the nutrients present in it. They even go to the extent of elaborating it further that microwaving turns the food toxic. Some even hold the opinion that as you microwave food, you increase the risk of having certain cancers. But it shall relieve you to read that there are certain health experts who dispute these claims. They say there is no clear evidence of it. So, what is the truth then? Does microwaving food really bring health hazards?
Thankfully there is good news for all the microwave oven users. All these theories against the consumption of microwaved food have no evidence in them. So, these fears seem to be baseless and there remains nothing substantial to these debates. Furthermore, if you are interested to learn more you can surely take a chance. In a great article at Legion Athletics, it has elaborately been explained. The article speaks about how the concept of microwaving food is done as per the standards of Physics. Here below, you can read a couple of key features from that same article which is as follows.
- The radiation that the microwave generates in order to warm the food up is safe. It certainly does not do much harm to the food. It is only as harmful as the other methods of cooking.
- If you happen to repeatedly microwave the plastic containers then in that case it may turn out to be harmful. During such a case, the plastic chemicals leech into the food that is been microwaved. But there surely is a fix to this issue as well. You can instead use glass containers to microwave food. Or else you can also change the worn-out plastic container and replace it with a new one.
The best way to reduce the risk is surely by using any other materials apart from plastic in the microwave. Ceramic containers in that case can be a good option. But if you insist on using plastic containers, surely avoid those that are losing out their shape.
If we look at the radiation of the microwave, we can remain certain that it is absolutely harmless. Low-frequency electromagnetic radiation is used for microwaves. The is the same level of radiation that is found in lightbulbs and radios. As you put the food inside the microwave, it tends to absorb these sets of microwaves. This is exactly what that makes the water molecules in the foods to vibrate. This friction that causes, heats the food up. Humans too absorb these electromagnetic waves. But here in this case, the electromagnetic waves that are produced by microwave are of low frequency. Even if that was not the case, still the waves are completely harmless. If you are able to eat the crops grown in the sunlight, you can easily the food heated in the microwave.
But yes, when the question about cooking the food using a microwave occurs, there are a lot of things to consider. Even though for a long time now microwaves have been considered to be safe kitchen appliances, but it comes having the caveats. There can be rising concerns that if cooking with microwaves takes away its nutritional values of it. If we look at the case of vegetables then yes, when you cook vegetables with water, it does steal away their value of nutrients.
The method of cooking that retains its value the best happens to be the one that gets cooked quickly. Along with that, even in the cooking methods where the food gets heated in the shortest time and uses very little liquid too. Thankfully these criteria are met by the microwave. So, the value of nutrition in the food remains intact. When you use the microwave with a little quantity of water, all it does is basically steams the food inside out. This actually keeps the vitamins and minerals intact more than the other cooking methods. This indeed solidifies the fact that cooking food with a microwave can be healthy indeed.
