In the perception of many consumers fresh meat and fish is preferred over frozen. But why is that? Probably because in our own kitchens ‘left over’ products usually end up in our freezer. So why is Thefoodshop.vn selling all these frozen products then? Let us explain you how a professional freezing process works and why we feel that we are not offering you anything less then awesome!
How are the products frozen?
Our products are already frozen at the source, directly after production. They are often blast frozen (also known as Shock Freezing), which means a product is frozen to the core within 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on size. The idea is to bring the temperature of the products down very rapidly to stop bacterial growth and preserve quality and flavor. (When you freeze food the water inside the product crystallizes into ice. The longer the freezing process takes the larger the ice crystals the more it affects the quality and flavor). Because this freezing process goes so rapidly the product is not suffering from this process but actually is being kept as original as possible.
How long can you keep these frozen products?
As long as a product remains in a freezer environment from the day it is professionally frozen until the day you decide to defrost and consume it this can be up to 2 years. All frozen products that we import come with a fixed expiration date which is always mentioned on the packaging. If you freeze products at home or decide to freeze fresh products yourself, we recommend you to follow the below guidelines.
Please note that the below images only contains guidelines and does not offer any guarantee.
How to defrost a product properly to keep quality and safety?
The defrosting method you choose also impacts the quality and safety of the product. We have listed several ways of defrosting your products here:
- The safest method is to place the frozen products in their packaging on a plate in your fridge. The defrosting process can take a while (depending on size, regular portioned cuts should be overnight), but the quality and flavor are best kept. So plan ahead!
- Forgot to plan ahead and are looking into your freezer in the afternoon…. A fast way to defrost your products is to place them in a waterproof bag. Place the bag in a bowl of cold water and change the water every 30 minutes as the meat continues to defrost.
- The quickest way is to place your frozen products in a microwave and use the ‘defrosting’ option. It is important to note that some products already start to cook on the outside during the process. After defrosting in a microwave the products should be cooked immediately. For flavor and quality using the microwave is not a good option.
 How well should you cook defrosted products?
Products that have been frozen, stored and defrosted in a professional way can be consumed the same as fresh products. Eating your steak rare should not be a problem and in some cases, you can even still use the fish for raw sashimi.
