What’s Freezer Burn, and How Do You Prevent It?

As you rummage via your freezer, you may come across a frost-covered, half-eaten carton of ice cream that will need to have been hidden away for months. Excited, you attempt to take a chunk solely to find that it’s misplaced its creamy consistency and now has an odd, barely off style—you’ve simply skilled freezer burn! However what’s freezer burn, and how will you stop it from taking place to your valuable ice cream or different freezer-stored objects? Learn on to be taught extra about this frequent subject.

The Science Behind Freezer Burn

To grasp freezer burn, you first must know what’s taking place on a molecular degree. Once you retailer meals within the freezer, the principle purpose is to protect its freshness in order that it stays palatable and fit for human consumption at a later date. However over time, a number of the moisture within the meals can escape and switch into frost on the meals’s floor and inside its packaging.

That brings us to the principle query—why does frost kind in your fridge and freezer? This frost is definitely the results of a course of known as sublimation. Sublimation can happen for quite a lot of causes, together with defective door seals and temperature fluctuations inside your fridge. Throughout sublimation, the water within the meals modifications from a strong state (ice) to a gaseous state (water vapor) with out turning right into a liquid first. Because the moisture escapes from the meals, it leaves behind “dry” or “burned” areas. The end result? Freezer burn.

Recognizing Freezer Burn

So, how are you aware if one thing in your freezer has skilled freezer burn? Listed here are some tell-tale indicators to be careful for:

Dry or Leathery Patches

Freezer-burned meals will typically have noticeably dry or leathery areas the place the moisture has escaped. That is particularly frequent in frozen meats.

Ice Crystals

For those who see ice crystals each inside and outdoors the meals’s packaging, it’s a powerful indicator of freezer burn.

Discoloration

Freezer-burned meals may grow to be discolored, displaying grayish-brown and even white spots on the floor.

How To Stop Freezer Burn

Now that you recognize what freezer burn is, let’s transfer on to crucial half—how one can stop it. Listed here are some ideas that will help you maintain your frozen goodies protected from the burn:

Bundle Correctly

Be sure that your meals is securely wrapped in freezer-safe baggage, cling wrap, or aluminum foil. This can create a barrier that retains the moisture from escaping too simply.

Take away Extra Air

You should definitely take away as a lot air as doable out of your meals’s packaging earlier than sealing it. This will reduce the area for moisture to flee and kind ice crystals.

Retailer at a Constant Temperature

Keep away from temperature fluctuations in your freezer by conserving it evenly packed and never overcrowding it. This helps preserve a constant temperature, which may scale back the opportunity of freezer burn.

No person desires to chunk right into a frosty chunk of freezer burn, so it’s vital to take the mandatory steps to guard your meals from this icy destiny. By following our ideas and methods, you possibly can scale back the probabilities of your loved one ice cream or different frozen objects succumbing to the dreaded freezer burn.