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Everyone knows that freezing food will allow it last longer, but most fail to understand how freezing food works to allow food to be preserved as a result of being frozen. Almost any kind of food can be frozen, however some freeze better, and are thus more suited to be frozen.

Freezing food will keep it safe almost indefinitely - Freezing works by slowing things at a molecular level. This extends the useful life of food by not allowing bacteria, molds, and yeasts that cause food to spoil to grow. When thawed, the natural process resumes, and the food must be treated as you would if it was fresh. Freezing can also destroy trichina and parasites because of sub zero temperatures, however the FDA does not recommend that you rely on freezing to destroy trichina. Cooking food correctly will also destroy parasites. Although many foods can be safe indefinitely when kept frozen, if a rancid or bad odor is associated with the frozen item it should be thrown out.

Storing food at zero or sub zero temperatures - Food that is and remains at (or below) 0 degrees Fahrenheit is safe. Foods should be frozen when they are as fresh as possible. At zero or below, foods will retain their nutritional value as well as flavor and texture. Color can degrade over time; this is not unusual and is the result of air exposure, lack of oxygen or drying. Meats of all kind in their uncooked from are great candidates for freezing because there is little change in value of the vitamins and nutritional content while remaining at are below 0 degrees.

Freezer Burn - Freezer burn is the result of extreme drying. This is caused by exposure to air. It usually shows up as white/brown/grey discoloration on the product. The best way to prevent it is to reduce or eliminate air exposure. Food that has minor freezer burn is not a problem, just cut away a remove the burn and prepare the remaining food as you would normally.

Vacuum Sealing Food for Freezing - You can freeze food in its original packaging from the store, however if you do its best to plan to eat it within a couple months. A better way to prepare food for storing is removing the air from the packaging prior to freezing. This is the best way to prevent freezer burn. A great way to do this is with a vacuum sealer. In many cases you can buy meats already packaged this way. For the items that you cannot find this way a vacuum sealer is a fantastic tool for increasing the quality and extending the life of frozen foods... not to mention its useful role in all kinds of other food storage.

Preparing and defrosting frozen food - Prepare frozen food the same way you would fresh food. The important thing is how you defrost frozen items. We recommend doing slowly by allowing the food to defrost in a refrigerator. You can also safely defrost food in the microwave, or using cold water (running or static). If using static water (sink or bowl of water), you should replace the water about every half hour with cold water again. Of course smaller items will defrost quickly while larger items take longer. A good rule of thumb for frozen meats is to allow one day for every five pounds of meat. Food should be prepared as soon as it is defrosted. Raw or even cooked meat can also be heated directly from the frozen state. This usually takes about 1.5 times the normal cooking time when compared with defrosted meat.