Thaw in Water Beef How Long
Thawing food may seem simple, but if done incorrectly, it can brand you just as sick as undercooking nutrient.
How is this possible? Let's start by talking about temperature and bacteria.
The temperature danger zone for nutrient
Leaner need certain temperatures to abound. Temperatures below 41°F slow down bacterial growth and keep the bacteria from multiplying on your food. Temperatures higher up 135°F are too hot for most bacteria to survive.
The temperature range between these two numbers (41°F and 135°F) is the temperature danger zone. It'due south called the danger zone considering bacteria can multiply rapidly betwixt these temperatures. One of the reasons nosotros air-condition and freeze perishable food items like meat is to go on the bacteria that naturally occurs on it from multiplying to dangerous levels.
Why y'all should never thaw nutrient on the counter
Information technology'due south important to know that the freezing process doesn't really impale any of the leaner in food. In temperatures below 0°F, pathogens like leaner, yeast, and mold can't multiply to brand food go bad. However, when whatsoever part of the nutrient warms up to temperatures above 41°F, the bacteria will exist warm enough to multiply again.
This is why thawing foods on the kitchen counter is then unsafe. When you thaw food this way, its surface will thaw faster than the middle. Once the surface has thawed, and continues to sit in temperatures above 41°F, leaner will start growing. While you waited for the rest of the nutrient to thaw out, the leaner could have multiplied on its surface so many times that even cooking won't make information technology safe to eat!
To go along bacteria from growing out of manus, it'due south important to thaw frozen foods in ways that keep it out of the temperature danger zone as much as possible. Hither are 4 alternative methods for thawing food that will keep your food safe, in order from fastest to slowest.
Method #one: thawing by cooking
This commencement method is one of the fastest ways to thaw food. Information technology's exactly what it sounds like, thawing your food by cooking information technology. This method typically works best when you're working with small pieces of food, similar footing or chopped meat. The smaller the cooking area, the ameliorate.
Essentially, the purpose behind this method is to move nutrient through the temperature danger zone chop-chop plenty that the bacteria doesn't have time to multiply to dangerous levels. That's why it works so well with minor pieces of nutrient or footing meat — the food is able to split up into smaller pieces as it cooks, assuasive yous to cook it faster.
Depending on your cooking method, you can besides use this method with whole meats. For example, you could employ a slow cooker or a force per unit area cooker to melt a frozen chicken. Information technology might have a while , but it could exist done. Be careful with thawing whole meats during cooking, however. The interior heats up last, and so you could burn the outside of the meat while the inside is still thawing.
Method #ii: thawing in the microwave
Using the microwave is another fast way to thaw food. On average, defrosting in the microwave takes well-nigh 7-8 minutes per pound of food. But like the cooking method, microwaves heat up nutrient rapidly, which gives bacteria less time to multiply.
Ane potential downside to this method is that microwaved food sometimes heats unevenly. Even on the defrost setting, parts of your food can be cooking while other parts are still frozen. You can combat this by mixing the food periodically during defrosting.
This is one reason why microwaving whole nutrient items is not recommended. If it heats unevenly, the exterior of the food could be cooking while the inside is growing bacteria.
Microwaving is ideal for small amounts of nutrient, or food that will be added into a larger dish later. This lowers the likelihood of getting one-half-thawed food. For case, if you were making shrimp gumbo, y'all could thaw shrimp in the microwave and then add together it to the rest of the soup. This way, the shrimp can continue to melt in the stew and information technology's not a problem if some portions of shrimp didn't fully thaw.
Method #3: thawing in cold water
This method typically takes 20-30 minutes per pound of food and requires some planning and grooming. Cold water thawing is meant to keep the surface of your food cool enough that bacterial growth stays tedious, assuasive the food to slowly, safely thaw all the way through.
Unlike the first 2 methods, you will not be cooking the food every bit you thaw it, and then information technology's important that you proceed the temperature of the h2o consistently at or below 70°F. Y'all should refresh the cold water every xxx minutes or so.
One way to keep the h2o common cold without having to continuously lookout over it is to fill a basin with cold water and leave the tap running over the nutrient as it thaws. This does require a lot of water, just it volition keep the surface temperature of your food from growing bacteria likewise rapidly.
If you can, keep your nutrient in its original container or in a plastic, resealable pocketbook to protect your kitchen sink and counter from germs.
Method #four: thawing in the refrigerator
This is by far the safest method for thawing, especially when thawing whole food items. It also takes the longest amount of fourth dimension. Depending on the blazon of food you are thawing, five pounds of food can take 24 hours to thaw.
While this method definitely takes some planning ahead, there are many upsides to thawing your food this way:
- The refrigerator keeps the nutrient safety from bacterial growth the unabridged fourth dimension it thaws.
- You won't demand to keep watch over the food.
- If you decide to change the meal you had planned, you can put the food directly back into the freezer without needing to melt it offset. This point is explained in more item below.
Can you refreeze food after it's been thawed?
As yous've already read, germs similar yeast and fungus tin't grow at 0°F or below. This means that food kept at or below zero technically stays safe to eat indefinitely, but the quality of your food decreases the longer it remains frozen.
When h2o freezes, information technology expands. When the water molecules in food freeze, they also expand, rupturing the cell walls they are housed in. Each time that happens, flavor gets lost.
On height of that, when your food thaws in the temperature danger zone (41°F to 135°F), bacteria can multiply on your nutrient to the point of being unsafe, even if you refreeze the food. This is the biggest reward to thawing nutrient in the refrigerator — the food can thaw without ever inbound the temperature danger zone.
Yous can still refreeze food if y'all utilize 1 of the other three thawing methods, merely you should cook the nutrient to proper temperatures before sticking them back into your freezer. This actress step will kill any bacteria that might have started growing while y'all were thawing the nutrient.
How long does food last in the freezer?
Call back, food stored at 0°F is technically safe to eat indefinitely. But considering food quality decreases the longer information technology stays frozen, the flavor of frozen nutrient is a dissimilar story. For that reason, most freezer guidelines y'all see are based on when food will be at its meridian quality, not when it will go bad.
If yous have any questions on how long to keep nutrient in your freezer, the USDA has a list of foods and their recommended freezer times . For case, the USDA recommends throwing out frozen chicken after half-dozen-12 months in the freezer. The chicken is still safe to swallow at 13 months, simply it will likely take picayune to no season.
Be aware that fish and other seafood don't refreeze too as other mutual meats. If possible, try to only melt them one time.
You can also bank check out our leftovers article for recommendations on how long to keep food in the freezer.
What nigh freezer burn?
When food gets freezer burned, it means its quality has been compromised. Fifty-fifty though it's technically even so safe to eat, it probably won't taste very good.
If a food item has extensive freezer burn, you may just desire to throw it away. If only a portion of the food is burned, you tin can cut abroad those portions and use the rest.
You tin can also follow these tips to help avoid freezer burn in the first identify:
- Use packaging designed for use in a freezer. These bags and containers are ordinarily thicker and are designed to protect the integrity of the nutrient yous put in the freezer.
- Remove excess air from within the packaging before freezing. Freezer burn happens when the food comes into contact with oxygen.
- Let food cool before freezing it. Non simply will this help forbid freezer burn, it'll help continue foodborne bacteria from growing to dangerous levels while information technology cools in the freezer.
Every bit a final note, food that has been in the freezer for a long time, specially if it has signs of freezer burn, is not likely to taste good on its ain. Merely that doesn't hateful it'southward just fit for the garbage can! Try using it in other recipes like stews, casseroles, chilis, etc. The other foods will help make up for less flavorful ingredients.
— Hailey Kate Chatlin
Source: https://www.statefoodsafety.com/Resources/Resources/how-to-thaw-food-safely
0 Response to "Thaw in Water Beef How Long"
Post a Comment