| Don't you just hate when you open the freezer door, | | | | bags before freezing it. When you put the meat in the |
| pull out the steaks or chicken or whatever yummy | | | | freezer bag, be sure to push out all of the excess air |
| thing you've been looking forward to having for dinner | | | | before sealing it up. |
| only to find that it's turned gray and dried out or maybe | | | | When you're freezing leftovers, never use plastic |
| it's encased in ice crystals? This is freezer burn and it's | | | | containers. They may be air tight, but there is a lot of |
| ruined many meals. | | | | empty space in them so there is a lot of air. If your |
| Freezer burn happens because there's air and | | | | food isn't too wet (a piece of cooked meat or a piece |
| moisture around the food while it's in the freezer. The | | | | of bread, for example), wrap it the same way you |
| best way to avoid freezer burn is to wrap food so | | | | would wrap meat from the grocery store. Just put it in |
| that it's as close to air tight and air free as possible | | | | a freezer bag and push out all of the air as you seal it. |
| before freezing it. | | | | If your leftovers are wet (like soup or chili), you can |
| If you buy meat at the grocery store, the flat | | | | freeze it in a plastic container. Later you can take it |
| packages it comes in are air tight, but they aren't free | | | | back out and wrap the frozen chunk in a freezer bag, |
| of air. They're full of it. Just look and you'll see all the | | | | again making sure you push out all of the air. |
| empty space in the package. You should always take | | | | If you follow these few simple techniques, you food |
| the meat out of the package in comes in from the | | | | should stay fresh and tasty much longer. |
| grocery store and put it in your own sealable freezer | | | | |