The next time the power goes out in your house, don't give up the contents of your freezer; Nor if you have taken meat or fish from it because you were planning to have dinner at home but a last minute plan has come up to eat out with some friends. Because, although the idea that it is dangerous to re-freeze food once thawed is widespread, it is just an urban legend with no scientific basis .
The reality is that food can be subjected to very low temperatures again without its subsequent consumption threatening our health … but, be careful, as long as we have kept it cold enough .
On the contrary, if the frozen food spends more than two hours out of the refrigerator, or more than an hour above 32 ºC of temperature, it is better not to return to the freezer , according to the recommendations made by the Department of Agriculture of the United States (USDA).
When it comes to defrosting food, we also often make a mistake regarding the best method to carry it out. Food technologists – and professional cooks too – know that you shouldn't defrost meat or fish slowly in the refrigerator. But how should we do it then? They recommend wrapping it in plastic and then placing it in cold water . As water conducts heat better than air, food thus defrosts faster and loses less properties.
