Freezing foods

[Gavin Jones]

Cabrales raised the question on what to bring home from France whether certain Food were freezable?

My initial response was that high water content items might suffer degradation of the cellular structure following freezing - and soft fruits are hard to freeze to retain structure.

On the other hand instanced articles (Poulet de bresse, Foie Gras) sounded to me (muscly, fatty) as though they might freeze well.

Thoughts? Opinions?

[Suzanne F]

Are you asking about bringing back fresh foods, and freezing them at home for later use? Even though I admit to freezing almost everything at home, I would be very wary of trying it with high-quality stuff. Commercially frozen foods are frozen under very different conditions from home-frozen -- much faster, under more protected conditions, at much lower temperatures. This minimizes the cell-wall damage. Freezing almost anything at home will lower its quality, IMO. Even if you wrap the item as air-tight as possible, it can still suffer from air contact.

Besides, you can get the foie gras vacuum-packed, so all you need to do is keep it well-refrigerated. I've seen it frozen, but somehow it doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

All of this is just my opinion, based on working for food manufacturers who sell their products frozen.

[Gavin Jones]

That's very interesting. I have never tried to freeze cheese.

Is the structural transformation due to residual moisture and does it happen in hard cheeses?

How about other freezing techniques - liquid nitrogen springs to mind.

[Wimpy]

Hi guys! Do fresh truffles (black or white) freeze well? Was planning to bring home some from France or Italy.... If not, does anyone know the best way to transport? Is it better to buy truffles in oil or something, if one is traveling long distances?

Thanks!

[KarenS]

I would not freeze truffles. They would end up shattering or crumbling when you thawed them. (like any fungus, they are mostly water). Put them in a good quality mild oil. The bonus is that you will have a lovely flavored oil to use too!

[Huevos del Toro]

I've heard tell that freezing in a water bath will help protect the cellular structure. Is there any truth in this? What foods, in particular, might this apply to?

Sorry, no answers, just more questions!

[Steve Klc]

I'm late to this thread--but has anyone addressed the legality and restrictions of bringing foreign goods back into the country? What you are and what you aren't allowed to bring back--and ways you can possibly circumvent these restrictions?

[Bouland]

Do fresh truffles (black or white) freeze well?  Was planning to bring home some from France or Italy....  If not, does anyone know the best way to transport?  Is it better to buy truffles in oil or something, if one is traveling long distances?

I bring fresh, black truffles back to California in the winter. I just put them in a zip-lock bag for travel and then quick-freeze the excess when I return. There's been no problem using them in cooked dishes once thawed. They don't have the nice varigated appearance when sliced if they have been frozen. But only freeze if you plan to store them for a really long time. They actually last quite a while under refrigeration (without freezing). I wrap each one separately when I refrigerate them so if one grows mold, the others aren't contaminated. If one does start to get moldy, I usally just wash the mold off and use it anyway.

[cabrales]

I bring fresh, black truffles back to California in the winter. I just put them in a zip-lock bag for travel and then *quick-freeze* the excess when I return.

Bouland -- When you have a chance, please consider describing how quick freezing would work, relative to regular freezing.

[Bouland]

I'm late to this thread--but has anyone addressed the legality and restrictions of bringing foreign goods back into the country?  What you are and what you aren't allowed to bring back--and ways you can possibly circumvent these restrictions?

I posted this link to the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service brochure on what can and can't be brought into the U.S. on a different thread recently, but you may have missed it.

[Bouland]

Bouland -- When you have a chance, please consider describing how quick freezing would work, relative to regular freezing. 

My freezer is set to -30°F (-34°C). When I want things to freeze fast, I place them on parchment-covered sheetpans in small portions. For example, meat that will be ground for sausage is cut into strips appropriate for my grinder and arranged on the baking sheets with space between each piece. After 15 to 20 minutes, the meat is firm but not too hard to grind. After 30 minutes the meat is frozen through and can be bagged. The pieces will remain separate in the bag. I do fava beans in a similar method since our season here is so short. The beans are shucked, blanched and peeled. The individual beans freeze in about 10 to 15 minutes. These are stored in one quart plastic containers and they stay loose. This makes it easy to just remove what I need from the container without have to defrost the whole thing.