Answering another question
I know someone commented the other day, asking about how to prevent freezer burn on the Once a Month Cooking dinners, but I can't remember where or who it was that commented, so I thought I'd post the answer here.
I honestly do nothing but pack it tightly as I can, with freezer plastic, paper, or aluminum foil. I think that it's possible that it's the chest freezer which helps, as opposed to a refrigerator freezer...read this article and you'll see why...
http://housewares.about.com/od/majorappliances/f/freezerburn.htm
I know I'm not much help, but I know very little about how to prevent freezer burn...but I haven't had a problem yet!
By the way, if you ever comment with a question, and I don't reply, chances are I missed it....I try to reply to all the comments I can!
I honestly do nothing but pack it tightly as I can, with freezer plastic, paper, or aluminum foil. I think that it's possible that it's the chest freezer which helps, as opposed to a refrigerator freezer...read this article and you'll see why...
http://housewares.about.com/od/majorappliances/f/freezerburn.htm
I know I'm not much help, but I know very little about how to prevent freezer burn...but I haven't had a problem yet!
By the way, if you ever comment with a question, and I don't reply, chances are I missed it....I try to reply to all the comments I can!
Bethany- I wanted to comment on something you said on Jill's site about love, but I think somethings wrong with her comment page?
I totally agree that love is something you do. Are you familiar with the book called The Five Love languages by Gary Chapman? It is a wonderful read and fast too. It describes that there are five love languages... everyone has a primary love language... (for the love languages check this site out http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/learn.html)
Anyway, the book is hard describe i'd suggest checking it out.
The book is usually meant for persons who are struggling in their marriage, but I think it is a book everyone should read. My boyfriend and I read it about a year ago, we got the book from my parents.
I hope I am making sense, I apologize if I sound like a nut case! lol
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I read this info in a book I got from the library called...Fresh from the freezer by Michael Roberts.
The book stated to place all food in the fridge (uncovered) and allow to become cold before placing in the freezer. Because it will reduce the amount of condensation in the food. The condensation will change the foods taste and when chilled will make the food have less water in it. The water in the meal, when frozen, will expand and cause ice crystals to form. Causeing the fibers in the food to splinter. After it's chilled wrap well with freezer bags/wrap. Making sure to get rid of as much air as possible.
Hope that helped someone.
Sorry it's so long.
Roxanne
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Jm, from what I read in the description, that sounds like a wonderful book! I will have to check that one out. Thank you for posting about it, and feel free to do that anytime. You didn't sound like a nutcase to me.
Roxanne, great tip! Thank you for posting it and helping me out.
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JM I wanted to say something else...thank you!
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I just found out recently that freezer burn is a fungus, it puts things in a whole new perspective for me...yuck ;-B
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Ewwwwww, really???
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thanks so much for all the "freezer burn information". I have a horrible time with it, but I only have a fridge/freezer. I hope to get a chest freezer in the next year. Now it really scares me that I learned it's fungus! Does vacuum sealing it help?... Like with those special sealer bags? Love your site... I told my friend about it too!
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Yeah, that's what I've heard from at least 3 people at the same picnic. I thought it was just ice!
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I've never had a problem with freezer burn on any of my OAMC things (or any other meals I happen to pop in the freezer). How long do they have to be in there before freezer burn sets in? I've had OAMC meals in the freezer for up to 6 months and no problem. I can't say I'm sure what I do differently - I just try to make sure to rotate them out before they go bad! That's where my spreadsheet comes in handy. We may not be planning on having soup, but I know it needs to get eaten or it will go to waste.
Also, I saw JM's comment on the book. The 5 Love Languages is an excellent read - we did that book as couples in our Bible Study! (None of us are having marriage problems.
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Karen, I did a google search, and from what I have read, the vacuum sealer bags do have a good effect on the quality of your foods in the freezer, and are said to prevent freezer burn, although I can't say it for certain since I haven't tried it myself. It makes sense to me that it would though!
JK, that's what I always thought too...but really funny smelling ice. Now I understand why the funny smell!
Vicky, I don't know how long it takes, but here are some more tips I found on preventing freezer burn:
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/05/05apr11a.cfm
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I just wanted to let you know that, because of reading about your once a month cooking, I decided to try it. I cooked all last weekend and wound up with 35 meals to put in my freezer. I used vacuum sealer bags on quite a few of the meals. Even though this was quite a lot of work, spacing it out over 3 days helped. It's so nice to know that I'll always have something good for dinner without having to heat up the kitchen! I did a few posts about this cooking on my blog: http://lynneslittlecorner.blogspot.com if you're interested in reading about it. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
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I've been wrapping my meats and what not in Glad Press n Seal and have yet to get freezer burn!!
Typically we'd see freezer burn on our ground up turkey and chicken breasts just weeks after freezing them. Until I started using the Press n seal!
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