Preventing Freezer Burn

The vast majority of households have a freezer. It is pretty much impossible to imagine a home without one. Why so? Well, due to the simple fact that a freezer helps in lowering the cost of food shopping. In addition, it allows you to store plenty of food for the future and it is incredibly convenient, especially if you have several people to feed. One way or another, having a freezer is pretty great. Nevertheless, just like anything else that is made by people, freezers also have some issues and quite annoying ones too. For example, too many people these days are witnessing freezer burn. You know that you’ve got a freezer burn if:

• All the food is brittle on one spot and dry as well 
• A part of the food is discolored 
• The food smells awful in the discolored area 
• The food does not have the right taste – furthermore, it is downright rotten! 

Despite the fact that the very name of the problem is most suggestive, freezer burn does not have anything to do with actual burning – it is just a mere term that is meant to describe the deterioration of the food in the freezer. As you are probably aware, all food has water molecules inside of it, especially if we are talking about meat. Once the food is frozen, those molecules are going to surface and turn into a thin layer of ice, which you will have seen a number of times. So, if the water is constantly drained from within the food, that food is going to become dehydrated. Consequently, the surface of the food, particularly the coldest part of it, will become discolored. Even though freezer burn is not a threat to your health or well being, it may easily ruin your food – that much is certain. However, thankfully, there are ways to prevent freezer burn from happening to begin with. Here are some tips which could prove to be quite useful indeed.

Typically, freezer burn is very easy to notice. It appears in form of ice crystals that appear on your food, especially on the coldest part of the food. Freezer burn often appears in patches, particularly if your freezer is filled with all kinds of food. This is because temperature in the freezer will vary and water will be literally drained from the food on the surface, turning into the freezer burn. It is especially obvious when you look at the meat that was affected by freezer burn – it becomes completely discolored, grey even. And while it may look dangerous, it is not – it will, however, affect the flavor of the food in a very negative way and may easily ruin your meal altogether.

Thankfully though, there are plenty of ways to prevent freezer burn from occurring to begin with. Even if your freezer is constantly “surprising” you with freezer burn, it does not necessarily imply that you need to repair or even replace it. Below we describe several common ways of dealing with the issue and preventing freezer burn from happening:

• First of all, remember to keep the freezer door closed all the time or at least as often as possible. The temperature inside the freezer needs to be constant, otherwise there is a risk that freezer burn will appear. 
• It is very important to keep temperature inside the freezer as constant as it is possible. See, if there are constant changes in temperature, freezer burn is more likely to occur. Hence, if you wish to maintain constant temperature, try placing containers of water inside. Furthermore, never put hot food in the freezer for obvious reasons. Finally, do not leave the freezer open for a long time!
• Make sure that your food is packaged tightly. Since it is all about the air and it is draining all the water from the food, resulting in those ice molecules, it is only natural that you will need to seal all the food in special foliage or containers. That way you will be able to protect it from freezer burn. 

However, if the issue is constantly reappearing and nothing helps, perhaps it is time to seek help from a qualified and well-experienced Los Angeles appliance repair technician.