Preventing Freezer Burn

Tips to help you prevent freezer burn. Post your ideas.

Answers:

Cutting Down on Freezer Burn

Save all the thin plastic bags that you bring home with produce in them. Then, when you freeze chicken or meat in ziplock bags, first put them in a produce bag and push out as much air as possible. Insert into your ziplock and seal it. This will serve two purposes. It will cut down on freezer burn, and it keeps the ziplock clean and reusable for additional freezing. Plus, you can put several packages into one ziplock.

By ThriftyFun

Preventing Freezer Burn

I don't think using produce bags is such a good idea unless you wash the bags out first. We are trained to wash the produce before eating etc. There "could" be a residue of anything in those produce bags. Please rethink this answer. And I would hope that the ziploc bags were washed and dried. I like to use plastic bread size containers and use my plastic lids for separators etc. I fast freeze the items overnight and then put items in their containers. I do the same thing with some fruits. Zip lock bags are a waste. You can't recycle them. End product just has to go in garbage. (08/30/2005)

By Eloise

Preventing Freezer Burn

I agree with Harlean. Placing a plastic wrap or a thin plastic bag from the grocery store around the non frozen meat/item and then placing that into another bag, a ziploc bag for example, will create less freezer burn on the item than Eloise's suggestion for fast freezing the items and then later placing them into a container. Her way of doing things will leave the freezer air with the ability to "touch" the item, thereby causing freezer burn a lot sooner.

Eloise's idea of "residue" in the plastic bags is not something that I personally would worry about. The meat that I just froze in the plastic bag will be cooked and eaten later. There is too much to enjoy in this world without worrying about one little piece of "residue" in a reused plastic bag.

Items made with a sauce, soups, chilies, etc. are all items that will last for years in the freezer because air cannot get at the items. You can even put a layer of plastic wrap on the top of the soup/sauce before freezing to make it 100% air tight. (08/30/2005)

By brenda newton

Virtually Freezer Burn Free

We used to buy the regular zip lock bags and use them to freeze everything. Only problem with the regular bags, they are too thin and will only prevent freezer burn for a short time.

Now we buy the zip lock bags specifically made for freezing. They are much thicker and do a better job.

If you are going to freeze items for a very long time, place the item in the freezer zip lock bag, press out all of the air, then place that bag into another freezer zip lock bag, again press out all of the air. We do this with everything and we never have any freezer burned items. (09/15/2005)

By Jim