Is It Safe to Refreeze Food? And Other Food Safety Questions, Answered
"Shuttling dishes and ingredients from fridge to freezer and back again can be totally fine, as long as you follow some guidelines.
For every thrill in the kitchen — an egg rippling through hot oil, a perfect pancake flip — there comes blank-faced pondering at the fridge: “That salmon I thawed on Monday — can’t I just slip it back into the freezer?" “Those beans are on their second reheat. What happens if I make it three?”
Thankfully, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirms such gray areas can all be safe if you’ve respected a few basic food safety rules, which are essentially the same for fresh foods as for those thawed from frozen. “If you do it properly, only food quality will suffer,” said Donald W. Schaffner, a food microbiology professor at Rutgers University and a host of the podcast “Risky or Not?”
To get a better sense of how to confront these kitchen conundrums, here are the answers to common questions about what happens to food as it boomerangs from freezer to fridge to table and back (and how to make the best of it).
Is it safe to thaw and refreeze foods?
Refreezing is perfectly safe, according to the U.S.D.A., so long as the food was thawed in the refrigerator — the most foolproof method to keep pathogens at bay, Dr. Schaffner said. (A quick thaw in the microwave or in a cold water bath is fine if you’re cooking the food right away, but it isn’t the safest for refreezing.)
The most perishable raw meats (ground meat, stew meat, poultry or seafood) should be refrozen within two days, and bigger cuts of red meat (beef, pork or lamb roasts, chops or steaks) within five. Previously cooked and then frozen foods (like the remainder of a big frozen lasagna or a pan of enchiladas) can be refrozen up to four days after thawing.
Easy Recipes to Freeze (and Refreeze) From NYT Cooking
To be safe, Ashley Christensen, chef and proprietor of AC Restaurants and an author of the cookbook “It’s Always Freezer Season,” recommends cooking refrozen raw proteins thoroughly (like braising or simmering in a soup instead of searing medium-rare). She also suggests labeling containers with reminders like “Cook within one day of thawing,” since any foods chucked back into the freezer will probably have reached the end of the line in the fridge, and it’s easy forget what they’ve been through when thawing anew.
What are the best foods to refreeze?
Foods that freeze well also refreeze well. Raw meat and poultry bounce back nicely: Their protein fibers are resilient, and fat creates a protective barrier to slow ice crystals from forming. Baked goods like breads and cakes are usually unfazed too, thanks to their stable starch matrix and air pocket buffers, said Donna Garren, executive vice president of science and policy at the American Frozen Food Institute. Other great candidates for refreezing: soups, stews and purées that don’t have much textural variation to lose, or ingredients that will be whizzed into a new form (say, bananas for banana bread).
Can you refreeze cheese and milk?
“Both cheese and milk become increasingly degraded in texture, flavor and appearance with each freeze-thaw cycle,” Dr. Garren said. “Cheese becomes drier, crumblier and less flavorful, whereas milk becomes grainy, watery and less smooth.” Ms. Christensen’s workaround: Freeze dairy cooked into a complete dish like breakfast burritos or a custard-based mac and cheese.
Is it safe to reheat food, then put it back in the refrigerator?
“It’s only unsafe to reheat and refrigerate repeatedly if you are allowing the foods to spend extended periods of time at room temperature,” Dr. Schaffner said. There’s also a curious loophole: Every time we reheat leftovers thoroughly to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, the U.S.D.A. gives us another three to four days to eat it, like wishing for more wishes. But there is a catch: With every reheat, more moisture is lost: Noodles and rice stiffen, and formerly firm vegetables meld into a slack, amorphous stew.
What are the best ways to perk up reheated food?
Food that’s done extra turns in the freezer or microwave will have lost some structure, flavor and personality. Noor Murad, chef and an author of “Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love,” recommends reheating dishes gently with a splash of water or stock if needed, then doing a simple taste test. She’ll stir in a spoonful of white miso or a grating of Parmesan for depth, fresh herbs or lemon for lift, or a sprinkling of toasted and crushed cumin or coriander seeds for oomph. She also quick-pickles thinly sliced chiles, red onions or cucumbers with apple cider vinegar and a pinch each of salt and sugar to add texture, acidity and verve to dishes in need of reviving.
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