Trivia in the Kitchen, Number Fifty-One!

Freezer tips and tricks . . .

Vacuum sealing zip-top bags: to prevent freezer burn, you must be sure to remove as much of the air from the bag as possible.  While this is easy to do with liquids, it gets a little tricky when dealing with solid foods.  Put the food in the bag, insert a drinking straw into one end of the bag and close the zipper up to the straw.  Pinch the zipper and bag around the straw and suck out the air (yes, use your mouth).  Then quickly remove the straw and finish the zip.  This is almost as good as a vacuum pack and will considerably extend the life of your frozen foods.

Another method involves immersing the open bag of food (up to the top edge) in water .  The water pressure forces all the air out of the bag.  Then zip the bag closed and remove from the water.

Source: Russ Shumaker and Matt Kaspar, in How to Break an Egg by the editors, contributors and readers of Fine Cooking magazine (p. 272-273).

Tags: Food, Freezing, How to Break an Egg, Matt Kaspar, Preservation, Russ Shumaker, Tips, Tricks, Trivia