Foods are one of the main things that do break down as time goes on. Without the proper use of food preservation, many of these foods spoil within a couple of days. The storage of foods in the freezer does extend the life of the food, but there is a drawback to this: freezer burns.
How can you prevent this? Well, one way for you to prevent this is by reducing the exposure of air. Vacuum packaging is one way to get rid of air, eliminating freezer burn in a lot of cases. While it’s not harmful, it ruins the quality of the food. This is caused by the lost moisture that happens when you leave something in the freezer too long, and then, it’s frozen on the product surface, and is easily seen when it happens.
The vacuum packaging is a type of modified sort of space for this packaging. Oxygen is something that’s vacuumed from this package, and it moves the air that’s within these. Once the oxygen gets taken out, a seal that’s airtight is made so that it prevents the air from coming in. This reduction of your oxygen and the amount that there is what keeps the food storage longer and keeps the taste nice and preserved.
The storage of this without your vacuum packaging will still keep it long, but the vacuum packaging actually prevents microorganisms from growing, so it takes out the spoilage aspects in most cases. When it’s below 40 degrees in storage, the bacteria growth slows, so it’s much easier for you to keep this going.
Vacuum packaging that works with the storage of items in the freezer also will keep the food for years in some cases, or at least a lot of months. These frozen aspects also do provide protection from the different microorganisms that are there, while still being sealed so much that you don’t have to worry about quality being ruined.
Here is a list of products that you can do vacuum packaging in the freezer with:
- Poultry: done with a film that’s thicker in order to provide a lot of protection
- Pork: if you have cuts that are greater than six mils, these larger cuts also are better with a vacuum seal with heavier film in order to protect these edges that are sharp.
- Red meats: done in order to prevent inert gas from getting in, reducing discoloration
- Fish: cut into 3 mil bags mostly
- Deli meats: the bulk is usually vacuum sealed with form fitting seal machines
- Pasta: yes, you can take pasta that’s dried out, and also take out the rest of the moisture that might be there, and it prevents the leftovers from getting freezer burn.
- Baked items: some baked items are great for vacuum packaging and storage in the freezer. Anything that does need to breathe however shouldn’t use this
- Spices and dried seasonings: this is good for taking out the rest of the moisture that’s sitting in there, similar to how pasta is. It’s great for long term storage of items in the freezer
- Stews and soups: ideal for the packaging of liquids, and using this chamber also prevents the freezer burn from setting in.
- Powdered items: this can be done with vacuum chambers, and it is lodged directly into nozzle types of sealers, unless you use a filter
The only items that really can’t be done with vacuum storage are those that do need to “breathe” so most veggies and fruit might not work, as they may need testing before you do it.
