Although freezing food is a very old way of preserving it, the modern version of frozen foods did not appear until the 1950s. In fact, Clarence Birdseye, the founder of modern frozen foods got his ideas from the way that Native American tribes would use freezing to store fish. But with the advent of the modern refrigerator and freezer, this economical way to store any kind of food has grown even more in popularity.
For anyone considering long term food storage however, there are some definite rules you need to know to keep that food fresh tasting and safe to eat.
Vacuum sealers for frozen foods will extend their shelf life because air and moisture are the two things that destroy the quality of frozen foods. But just because it is safe to eat doesn’t mean you will want to, freezing does affect the texture of meat that is frozen for longer than a year. So although you can probably keep that leftover chicken in the fridge for several years without it becoming unsafe to eat, it probably wouldn’t taste too good by the time you thawed it.
For those looking to learn about freezing food with the thought of long term storage, it is a good idea to find out first about the right and wrong way to plan for this. There are definitely things you cannot freeze, like lettuce (which just disintegrates), or don’t want to because of how it affects it, like dark coffee beans where the oils will turn brittle.
There are two reasons to learn about food freezing and the first is generally when your power goes off and you need to find a way to take care of all that frozen food. That is where A Quick Guide to Preserving Meat and What To Do if the Freezer Stops Working will come in handy. For those looking for a guide on the best approach to freezing fruits or vegetables in their freezer for the long term, our Guide to Freezing Fruits and Vegetables will have all the information you need.
Our guides can give you answers to many questions about freezing food including:
- What are the best containers for freezing foods?
- What is the freezer storage life for what I am freezing?
- How do I prepare fruit for freezing?
- What vegetables need to be blanched before freezing?
- How do I prevent fruits and vegetables from discoloring when I freeze them?
This guide will help you to enjoy bright crisp garden green beans all year long, as well as ripe juicy raspberries. The 15 page booklet with illustrations is an easy to follow guide that will lead you through all the steps you need to know for successfully freezing fruits and vegetables.
Whether it is a short delay until the power comes back during a storm or a long time emergency situation, this little guide will tell you what you need to know about preserving meat to make sure your meat doesn’t spoil in the case of an emergency when the power fails.
This clearly written 8 page document with illustrations will walk you through the basics of knowing how to freeze fresh fruit that anyone can follow. If you follow the directions in this guide you will find that you can safely and easily freeze fresh fruit to ensure a good quantity of it in the future.
This is a printable freezer inventory that takes the guesswork out of ensuring that your freezer is packed with foods that can help you in an emergency. You can treat this inventory as a checklist.
This six page University of Georgia booklet is the perfect easy to use guide for anyone who wants to know the basics of freezing fruit. The illustrations and clear table of directions make this the perfect guide for anyone to learn the skill the art of freezing fruit.
This authoritative six page guide from the University of Georgia will give anyone the definitive guide to freezing any variety of vegetable. The instructions, illustrations and table will walk a person through the freezing process with ease.
This simple step by step two page guide will walk you through what you need to know if your freezer stops working to be sure the food you have carefully preserved in your freezer will survive.
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Survival Library
