What foods can you refreeze? You can safely refreeze
frozen food that has thawed—raw or cooked
, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. To safely refreeze, the thawed product must have been kept cold at 40 degrees or below for no more than 3-4 days.
Can you eat meat that has been defrosted and refrozen?
Meat is often frozen to preserve and keep the product safe when it’s not going to be eaten right away.
As long as the meat has been stored properly and thawed slowly in the refrigerator, it can be refrozen safely multiple times
. If done correctly, refreezing meat does not pose any health risks.
What should I throw out of freezer after power outage?
Throw out
any food with an unusual odor, color, or texture
. If you have an appliance thermometer in your freezer, check to see if it is still at 40 °F or below. You can safely refreeze or cook thawed frozen food that still contains ice crystals or is at 40 °F or below.
Why can’t I refreeze chicken?
When chicken is thawed in the microwave, sections of the protein may begin to warm and cook. As a result, it is unsafe to then refreeze it without the chicken being fully cooked because “
any bacteria present wouldn’t have been destroyed
,” notes the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Can bread be refrozen?
Yes, you can freeze and then also refreeze bread
. It’s perfectly safe to do this, however you may notice the taste has become a little stale. There’s a number of ways to refreeze bread to ensure it tastes its freshest after having been defrosted.
Frozen cheese should be used within six to nine months of freezing.
You should not refreeze cheese that has been previously frozen and thawed
.
When handled properly,
raw chicken can be refrozen within 2 days after thawing, while cooked chicken can be refrozen within 4 days
. For quality purposes, the sooner you refreeze chicken, the better. Only refreeze raw chicken that has been thawed in the refrigerator.
Myth 1: if you’ve defrosted frozen meat or chicken you can’t refreeze it. From a safety point of view,
it is fine to refreeze defrosted meat or chicken or any frozen food as long as it was defrosted in a fridge running at 5°C or below
.
If you froze ground beef and thawed if safely (in the refrigerator), then you can refreeze it
. We do not recommend doing this more than once, as it will cause freezer burn and a loss of taste and texture when you cook the meat.
Most foods previously frozen, thawed and then cooked can be refrozen
as long as they have not been sitting at room temperature for more than two hours
. Remember that freezing does not kill bacteria, only prevents the microbes from multiplying.
Yes, but it is important to follow basic food-safety rules
If you pulled some bacon out of the freezer but never got around to using it, or you only needed a partial package, can you refreeze the rest? The simple answer is
yes, you can refreeze whole or partial packages of uncooked bacon
.
Sausages should never be defrosted at room temperature as this is when bacteria can multiply rapidly. Once you have defrosted your sausages,
do not refreeze them until they have been thoroughly cooked
. Leave until fully defrosted.
While
it is safe to refreeze butter when it’s thawed, its taste will be affected
. Just like any other food product, butter has cells on its surface. When you freeze butter or any food product, these cells rupture. That’s why fresh ingredients are better than frozen.
As long as your tortillas aren’t moldy or soggy, you can safely refreeze them
.
Yes, you can freeze butter
– in fact, unsalted butter can last up to five months; salted butter up to nine with proper storage. To keep it tasting as fresh as possible, keep the frozen butter in its original wrapping. You can also wrap it in foil or plastic and put it in an air-tight container.
Yes, you can freeze potatoes and sweet potatoes, too
! Here’s how to freeze french fries, hash browns, mashed potatoes and more, plus the best recipes for using all those frozen spuds.
Most people worry about the food safety of thawing and refreezing, but as long as it’s done right, it’s perfectly safe. The only risk you’ll take is
ruining the taste and texture of the food
.
Poultry that’s been defrosted in the fridge can be safely kept for an additional one to two days in the refrigerator before cooking
, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture. You also can safely refreeze it within that same timeframe.
The myth that it is not safe to re-freeze chicken meat that has been defrosted is a mix between two issues: quality and safety. While it is safe to put chicken that has been defrosted below 5 degrees, back into the freezer, freezing and re-freezing chicken
may deteriorate the quality of the meat
.
