Millions of Germans lack the time and desire to cook due to professional or private stress: Instead of a freshly prepared meal, a ready-made frozen meal then ends up on the plate. In recent years, per capita consumption of frozen products in Germany has risen sharply. Between 1975 and 2008, it tripled from around 12 kilograms to 39 kilograms. But are frozen products healthy at all? And what do you have to bear in mind when storing, defrosting and preparing the products? We answer the most important questions.
Deep-freezing food
The term frozen food includes food that has been preserved by deep freezing. The important thing in deep freezing is that the process is as fast as possible. This is because then only small ice crystals form in the cells and intercellular spaces, which do not cause any damage. When freezing slowly, on the other hand, larger ice crystals are formed and cells may be destroyed. If cells are damaged during freezing, the taste and consistency of the food will change. However, this is not the case with rapidly frozen foods that are thawed slowly and gently. In addition, vitamins and other nutrients are particularly well preserved here. The nutrients contained in the food can be preserved above all with so-called blast freezing – currently the fastest freezing process. In this process, the food is frozen at below minus 30 degrees. This quickly forms a thin, frozen layer around the food, which prevents liquid or nutrients from escaping.
Quality of frozen food
Freezing food is particularly gentle compared to other preservation methods. The faster the particular food is frozen, the better its quality is preserved. To preserve the quality of frozen products, it is important that the cold chain is not interrupted. That’s why frozen food should only be put in the cart at the end of the shopping trip. In case of a long trip home or high outside temperatures, frozen products should be transported in an insulated bag. If such a bag is not at hand, several frozen products should be stored close together to better preserve the cold. Besides that, you should also pay attention to the following aspects when buying frozen products:
- Do not buy products whose packaging is damaged.
- Check the temperature of the freezer – often it contains a thermometer: The temperature should be at least minus 18 degrees.
- Do not buy products that are stored above the stack mark. Sufficient cooling is then no longer guaranteed.
- Check the cleanliness of the freezer: if ice has formed inside the chest, this can disrupt the cooling.
Healthy frozen vegetables
Frozen vegetables are considered a healthy alternative to fresh vegetables, because the rapid freezing preserves many vitamins and minerals. That’s why the nutritional content of frozen vegetables is much higher than that of vegetables stored in jars or cans. In fact, frozen vegetables often have more nutrients than fresh fruits or vegetables that have been stored at room temperature for a few days. This is because light and heat cause the nutrient content to drop significantly over time. In addition to the nutrients, the taste and consistency of the vegetables are almost completely preserved when the products are frozen quickly. Moreover, no preservatives are needed to preserve the frozen vegetables. To ensure that frozen fruits and vegetables are still valuable foods after thawing, strict quality criteria apply during production. These include a perfect condition of the raw material, harvesting at the right time of ripeness, and quick processing of the food. Before freezing, vegetables are also usually blanched to extend their shelf life and reduce the number of germs. Healthy or unhealthy?
Hands off ready-made frozen meals
So while frozen fruits and vegetables can definitely be considered healthy, ready-made frozen meals are more critical: This is because such ready-made meals are usually created in a laboratory using colorants, flavorings, preservatives, flavor enhancers and binders. However, there are major differences between individual products in ready-made frozen meals.For example, a quality test by Stiftung Warentest found that some ready meals had virtually no additives. That is why it is particularly important to pay close attention to the quality of the product when it comes to ready-made frozen meals. In general, however, individual ingredients for a home-cooked menu may well come from the freezer, but it is better to do without ready-made frozen meals.
Tips for defrosting frozen food:
To best preserve the quality of frozen foods, keep the following tips in mind when defrosting:
- Always thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator. At higher temperatures, the goods may possibly spoil.
- When defrosting, make sure that the food is dry and does not come into contact with the thawing liquid. This is especially important for poultry, as salmonella can collect in the thawing water.
- Process frozen products within 24 hours after thawing, if possible.
- Frozen vegetables should not be thawed, but prepared while still frozen, otherwise there may be a loss of nutrients. To keep this as low as possible, the frozen vegetables should be cooked only briefly, but hot.
- In addition to frozen vegetables, many other frozen products such as pizzas, potato products, snacks or rolls can be prepared in the frozen state.
- Products that are consumed cold – such as smoked fish, fruit or pies – must, on the other hand, be completely thawed.
Frozen food – refreezing possible?
The notice that frozen products should not be refrozen after thawing should not be missing on any frozen product. According to the German Frozen Food Institute, however, refreezing food that has already been thawed once is perfectly possible under certain conditions – especially with cooked or highly heated food. It is important that the defrosted products are refrozen as quickly as possible: This is because microorganisms spread in the thawed state and the food can spoil if stored in the refrigerator for a longer period of time. Before consumption, the refrozen products should therefore be heated thoroughly to kill any possible germs. However, the quality of the product usually suffers as a result of refreezing, since it does not cool down as quickly in its own freezer as it does during blast freezing. In addition, important nutrients are lost. Therefore, the required portion should always be estimated as accurately as possible and re-freezing of the products should be avoided.
Quality of self-frozen food
The storage temperature of industrially produced frozen products must be minus 18 degrees or lower. Ice cream does not count as frozen food for this reason, as it can be stored at higher temperatures. During transfer operations – for example during transport – deviations of up to three degrees are permitted. Even frozen foods are not referred to as frozen foods, but as frozen goods. They have a shorter shelf life because they are stored at higher temperatures. In addition, the quality of self-frozen products is also lower, as they freeze more slowly than frozen products from stores. Before frozen products enter the market, they must be labeled as such, for example, with the words ‘frozen’ or ‘frozen’. In addition, packaging must be able to show the best-before date and recommended storage temperature.
