Make Frozen Food Taste Better
By: Timothy Gower
- Fresher isn't Always Better
- Fresher isn't Always Healthier
- Frozen Dinners are Too Small
- You Can Eat Steak Forever
- Defrosting isn't Rocket Science
- Keep Your Freezer Full
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Fresher isn't Always Better
Food-processing companies have greatly refined the technique introduced in 1924 by Clarence Birdseye (who was posthumously inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame earlier this year, along with the inventors of Valium and the electric guitar). Birdseye's brainstorm, which he copied from Eskimos he observed while working in Labrador, was that quickly freezing food prevents the formation of the large ice crystals that damage the cells in fruits and vegetables.
The ideal temperature for storing food is 0 degrees F. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) figured that out more than half a century ago. Now we know that peas freeze best when lowered from room temp to 0 degrees in 3 or 4 minutes, while diced carrots take 6 minutes and french fries require up to 12 minutes. So-called time-temperature tolerance studies have helped transform frozen foods from barely palatable mush to convincing stand-ins for fresh foods.
One big reason: Food processors pick fruits and vegetables at their peak of ripeness, because the produce doesn't have to be shipped across the country and then sit in a supermarket. After picking, the produce is briefly blanched in hot water, which destroys bacteria and enzymes that cause food to discolor and lose texture. Then foods are quickly frozen, which locks them in a state of suspended animation, kind of like Ted Williams. The packaged food may also be blasted with frigid air while being passed through a tunnel on a conveyor belt, or may be bathed in a liquid refrigerant, such as a halocarbon.