Freezing fresh food
Freeze only fresh and undamaged food.
To retain the best possible nutritional value, flavor and
color, vegetables should be blanched before freezing.
Eggplants, peppers, zucchini and asparagus do not
require blanching.
Literature on freezing and blanching can be found in
bookstores.
Note:
Keep food which is to be frozen away from food which is
already frozen.
The following foods are suitable for freezing:
■
Baked goods, fish and seafood, meat, game, poultry,
vegetables, fruit, herbs, eggs without shells, dairy
products such as cheese and butter, ready meals and
leftovers such as soups, stews, cooked meat and fish,
potato dishes, soufflés and desserts.
The following foods are not suitable for freezing:
■
Vegetables that are usually consumed raw, such as
lettuce or radishes, eggs in shells, grapes, whole
apples, pears and peaches, hard-boiled eggs,
yoghurt, soured milk, sour cream, crème fraîche and
mayonnaise.
Packing frozen food
To prevent food from losing its flavor or drying out, place
in airtight containers.
1. Place food in packaging.
2. Remove air.
3. Seal the packaging.
4. Label packaging with contents and date of freezing.
Suitable packaging:
Cling wrap, tubular film made of polyethylene, aluminum
foil, freezer containers.
These products are available from specialist outlets.
Unsuitable packaging:
Wrapping paper, greaseproof paper, cellophane, bin
liners and used shopping bags.
Items suitable for sealing packaged food:
Rubber bands, plastic clips, string, cold-resistant
adhesive tape, etc.
Bags and tubular film made of polyethylene (PE) can be
sealed with a film heat sealer.
Shelf life of frozen food
Shelf life depends on the type of food.
At a temperature of 0° F (–18° C):
Fish, sausage, ready meals, cakes and pastries:
■
up to 6 months
Cheese, poultry and meat:
■
up to 8 months
Vegetables, fruit:
■
up to 12 months
Super freezing
Food should be frozen solid as quickly as possible in
order to retain vitamins, nutritional value, appearance
and flavor.
Several hours before placing fresh food in the freezer
compartment, switch on super freezing to prevent an
unwanted temperature rise.
As a rule, 4–6 hours is adequate.
This appliance runs constantly, and the freezer
compartment drops to a very low temperature.
You can place smaller quantities of food (up to 2 kg) in
the top compartment without super freezing.
Note:
When super freezing is switched on, increased operating
noises may occur.
Switching on and off
Press freezer compartment super button 2.
The button is lit when super freezing is switched on.
Super freezing automatically switches off after approx.
2½ days.
Thawing frozen food
Depending on the type and application, you can select
one of the following options:
at room temperature
■
in the refrigerator
■
in an electric oven with/without a hot air fan
■
in a microwave.
■
,
CAUTION:
Do not refreeze partly or completely thawed food.
Only food that has then been cooked (boiled or
fried) may be refrozen.
Do not store the frozen produce for the max.
storage period.
en-us
17