Nutrition Some foods should never be frozen

Not all foods can be frozen well

In Germany, huge amounts of food are being dumped every day. Much of it is actually too bad for the waste. Freezing food can prevent waste. But not all foods are suitable.

Every German throws an average of 82 kilos of food per year

In Germany, eleven million tons of food are thrown away every year. "About 60 percent of this is accounted for by private households, that is an average of 82 kilograms per capita per year. 65 percent of these discarded foods are so-called avoidable wastes, ie foods that are still edible at the time of discarding, "writes the Ministry for Rural Areas and Consumer Protection Baden-Württemberg on its website. Freezing food is one way to avoid waste.

Many foods can be preserved for longer by freezing. But not all foods are suitable for the freezer. (Image: F.Schmidt/fotolia.com)

Avoid waste

If you have bought too many fruits and vegetables or cake from the birthday party is left, you do not have to throw away the food immediately.

Food can often also freeze great. Then you have a few months later and some of the nutrients remain largely intact.

Beans, peas, various types of cabbage, carrots, spinach and herbs can handle the cold. "Likewise, meat, poultry, fish and bread, rolls, cakes and cooked food are in good hands in the freezing temperatures," reports the Information Service of the Ministry.

"It is important that the food is fresh and hygienic before it gets into the freezer," it continues.

Not all foods are suitable for freezing

However, not everything is suitable for storage in freezing temperatures: For example, as leaf salads, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons and grapes contain a lot of water, they are withered or soggy after thawing.

Also, raw potatoes should better not in the freezer, because then they taste sweet.

Dairy products such as yoghurt, sour cream or creme fraiche flake according to the Ministry or become grießig. Homogenized milk and fresh cream, however, can be frozen easily, as well as butter.

And many thawed foods can be frozen again.

Quality received

To keep the quality of the food as good as possible, it should be prepared accordingly. Basically, they are to be washed and, if necessary, peeled or chopped.

Blanching with rapid cooling, for example by immersion in ice water, is recommended in advance for most types of vegetables.

However, you should not season raw and blanched vegetables before freezing and salt. Because salt removes water from the plant cells, with some spices such as pepper, nutmeg, basil or dill, the taste changes. (Ad)