[Sca-cooks] This 'n that

[Anne duBosc]

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All very good points.  Thank you, Nathan.  Sometimes us <ahem> "more experienced" cooks forget to point out what has become habit with us.
By the way, Have I seen your signature before on this list?  Are you a lurking newcomer?  Tell us about yourself, and welcome to the list.
Mordonna
 MSN <clarenburg at msn.com> wrote:This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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I just started reading this list so please forgive me if this
information is so commonplace as to be old hat.

When you add stuff to your freezer it warms your whole freezer until the
freezer's compressor eventually cools it again. When you add a lot of
stuff then the thermal mass becomes large, warming the freezer quite a
lot and requiring a long time to cool back to sub-freezing temperatures.
This has the potential to thaw your other frozen foods which ruins some
(ice cream) and may promote nasty bacterial growth and texture changes
in others.

Moreover, non-commercial freezers do a lousy job of quickly penetrating
more than about two inches into a bag of soup, stew or a heavily sauced
meat dish. They do a little better with unsauced chicken parts and meat
joints, but not much. So when you attempt to freeze several bags of
stuff at the same time, the food in the middle of a thick bag -- or
especially in a bag at the middle of a stack! -- will take a *long* time
to cool to freezing and may have ample time to go bad. Keep in mind that
stacking three 2" bags is equivalent to a single 6" thick thermal mass
and the food in the middle will take hours and hours to freeze.

Also remember that the cooling elements in freezers tend to be in the
walls (also in shelves of some upright freezers). You will want
unfrozen bags to be right next to these elements instead of relying on
other frozen foods to slowly conduct the heat/cold themselves.

But while the freezer is the only way to freeze food, it is not the only
way to quickly cool food. Be creative and prevent your freezer from
blowing a gasket trying to chill gallons of boiling broth. A simple
cold tapwater bath will work wonders to bring bags of hot foods below
room temperature. You can then go further by creating an ice water bath
in a cooler, sink or large pot. Buying a few bags of ice is *much*
cheaper than ruining a freezer full of food. The refrigerator is not
usually a great choice for pre-chilling foods because the same
compressor cools both your fridge and freezer (except if you've got a
Sub-Zero).

Finally, exposure to frigid air is what causes freezer burn. So squeeze
all the air out of your bags before sealing them, and use thicker-walled
bags for longer-term freezing.

Suggestions:
1) Keep bag contents' thickness to 2" or less. Bag lengths do not
matter.
2) Space bags evenly throughout the freezer compartment so they
will not join to create a larger thermal mass. DO NOT STACK
UNFROZEN BAGS.
3) Try to place unfrozen bags next to freezer's cooling elements.
4) Don't add too much to one freezer at one time.
5) Quickly pre-cool bags of food in ice water baths or the
refrigerator.
Never stick a hot bag into the freezer.
6) Squeeze out all the air and use thick-walled freezer bags.

Good luck!!

Nathan Adelaar
(mka Nathan Clarenburg)
clarenburg at msn.com
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Lady Anne du Bosc
Known as Mordonna The Cook
Atenveldt, Atenveldt
mundanely Pat Griffin
Phoenix, AZ


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