First aid for ice crystals

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the foodies of online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our chefs serve you: first aid for ice crystals.

If you prefer to freeze everything you have left, you probably recognize it: ice crystals on your frozen soup, pasta sauce, or beef. What on earth is it and how do you prevent it?

Small ice crystals
Small ice crystals on your pasta sauce or chili con carne? That is freezer burn. It occurs when air comes into contact with your frozen food. Your food then loses moisture and that turns into ice. Due to the lost moisture, your food is also a lot drier. Meat can even take on a brown-gray color. It may not look very appetizing, but you can still eat it. Because the food dries out, it also loses flavor, so it is a lot less tasty than food that has been properly frozen. Fortunately, it is easy to prevent.

Airtight
How do you prevent it? Make sure that everything you freeze is completely airtight packaged. For example, use a tightly sealed freezer bag, which does not allow any water vapor to pass through. In such a bag, your food loses almost no moisture and therefore no ice crystals form. This way, your food remains almost as juicy as when you froze it.