How does freezer burn happen

Or finding your package of meat discolored with gray spots. This is caused by freezer burn. Freezer burn is a common issue that can lead to wasted food and leave a dent in your grocery bill. It can happen to any frozen food, but what is freezer burn? Freezer burn is what happens when the liquid inside your frozen food begins to evaporate, which dehydrates the food, leaving dry, grayish looking spots or icy crystals behind.

This is when moisture escapes your food leaving it dry, rubbery, and lacking flavor. There are many factors that can cause freezer burn from excess air in packaging to fluctuating freezer temperatures.

When food is placed into the freezer the water inside the food wants to migrate to the coldest places. Once the water moves to the top of the food it can become ice crystals.

Those ice crystals begin to evaporate a process called sublimation where a substance goes directly from the solid to the gas phase without turning to liquid first. When water evaporates it leaves dry, grayish spots on meats, vegetables crusty and tough, and forms that thick frozen slimy film on top of your ice cream. Ewww, right? These evaporated molecules can go into the air of your freezer, combine with other molecules from other foods and sometimes come back into your food again, making foods taste off or unpleasant.

This is why proper packaging is vital for preserving food in your freezer. These ice crystals can evaporate and re-freeze on the insides of packages or containers. This indicates that the food either went in at a warmer than the desired temperature, or moisture has come out of the food causing it to be dehydrated in spots. When you see ice crystals on food, it does generally mean there is freezer burn happening on your food and can be a great warning to use the food up before the flavor can change too much.

The real cause of your freezer burn is often user error. This can be from opening your freezer too often, setting the temperature too low, or packaging your foods with too much air or in packaging that is not airtight. To check if it is your freezer causing freezer burn, check the seals to ensure that your freezer seals all the way around. Get a freezer thermometer to check the temperature of your freezer to be sure that it is reaching the sub-zero temperatures needed.

To prevent freezer burn you want to keep your freezer below zero. This is why deep freezers give food a longer storage period than a freezer attached to your refrigerator unit. Opening the freezer can cause warmer, moist air to enter the freezer. This may also become frost or ice crystals on packages as the air is cooled. Try to limit the number of times the freezer is being opened.

You can use child locks to help remind your family to check that the door is closed when they are done using the freezer. People often ask me how to tell if chicken is freezer burned? Or what about freezer burned vegetables? If you want to eat food that has been affected by freezer burn, you can trim off the affected areas and use the rest. The color also changed, with breasts becoming darker and redder the longer they were frozen 2. Foods affected by freezer burn suffer in quality, particularly in terms of texture, color, and flavor.

However, as long as they have been frozen properly, they will still be safe to eat. Any food stored in a freezer is subject to freezer burn. Meat, poultry, and fish may develop dark brown or grayish-white leathery areas. When cooked, the texture may be dry and tough 2 , 5.

You can easily recognize freezer burn on fruits and vegetables , as they become dry and shriveled. Starchy foods like cooked grains, rice, or pasta, as well as baked goods like bread or cake, will develop a rougher texture. Meanwhile, grains may be coated with ice crystals, and baked goods will be dry and less voluminous 5. While any food kept frozen for long enough can get freezer burnt, products with a higher water content fare worse.

Signs of freezer burn include dark or white dry areas on meats, shriveled produce, or ice crystals on your ice cream. Food freezes faster at this temperature, allowing smaller ice crystals to form.

These are less likely than larger crystals to significantly change the quality of your food 3 , 5 , 6. For example, wrap meat, poultry, or seafood in freezer paper or plastic wrap, then in foil, and then in a freezer bag 3. Remove as much air as possible from the packaging of frozen fruits and vegetables, and use small containers to minimize any empty space when freezing leftovers. You can also cover the top of ice cream with freezer paper or plastic wrap before replacing the lid.

Opening your freezer frequently causes the temperature inside to fluctuate, and more ice crystals form when foods start to thaw. Thus, only open it when necessary. Finally, the best way to avoid freezer burn is to use your frozen food faster.

While this innovation is designed to keep ice from forming along the sides of your freezer, she says it can actually worsen the process of freezer burn.

Uncontrolled freezer burn is never going to make food taste good. However, when this chemical process is controlled and done in a vacuum it transforms entirely into a space-age marvel: freeze-drying. Sarah Wells. Unlike freezer-burned food, freeze-dried food maintains its flavor and texture once rehydrated.