[Sca-cooks] Freezing food

[Nick Sasso]

I completed my food safety certification this summer (and it was a
hoot), so I I want to add a few documentable cents' worth.  Please be
sure that you are handling the food properly according to food agencies'
guidelines to be sure you are serving safe food.  The general guideline
of thawing before cooking is safe, but not required according to the
June 2002 materials provided by Serv-Safe, the industry standard in
Restaurant Food Safety training.

According to the manual and the standards for the training, thawing of
a food product can be performed as a step in the cooking process, and
the previously cooked food needs to be brought up to 160F in order to be
ensured safe by their guidelines (I can provide chapters and verses if
requested).  You should bring the food through the 40F to 140F zone as
quickly as possible, and stir or agitate often.  Boil in bag will be a
challenge if large quantities are brought to heat at once . . . . gotta
ensure even heat distribution for safe reheating.

The key will be to follow safe freezing and storage techniques at the
front end to increase convenience and safety at the back end.  Cool you
food in flat containers, no more than 2 to 3 inches deep, depending on
food item.  If you were to put your food into the bag and then lat flat
to cool then freeze, you will have a much safer reheat on the back end.

Melting is but one issue for plastics.  remember that there is chemical
leeching that can occur before melting.  This could lead to anything
from nothing at all to off flavors to your wonderful meal to adverse
physical reactions in diners sensitive to plastics or their degraded
by-products.  There are products on the market designed for reheating,
and often can be re-used for economy sake.  So, you get to make the
choice yourself (testing might be good here) as to what products you
wish to store and heat in.

pacem et bonum,
fra niccolo difrancesco

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gorgeous Muiredach" <muiredach at bmee.net>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 1:04 PM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Freezing food


>I've done this with most of my feasts. Pre-cook and bag them.
>Then, at the feast site either boil-in-bag, microwave or defrost
>and reheat. It depends on the dish and kitchen facilities

Hate to be the one to raise attention to this again, but...

Ya got to be careful how you do it.  It works fine, and I've used that
technique before.  Just make sure that
a)your contents are defrosted before you re-warm them
and
b)you use actual boiling water, not just lukewarm water...

BTW, saranwrap and other wraps don't melt in boiling water, so just
about
any ziplock bag should handle boiling water without flinching.  It's
always
a good idea to *under* bag though.  If you fill the poor thing to the
brim,
it'll just want to explode ;-)


Gorgeous Muiredach the Odd
Clan of Odds
Shire of Forthcastle, Meridies
mka Nicolas Steenhout
"You must deal with me as I think of myself" - J. Hockenberry