Safe handling of chicken not only ensures flavor and texture, but prevents food poisoning. The Food Engineer and scientific communicator, Marián Zapién, explains that The key to efficient freezing of chicken and maintaining its culinary quality is planning small portions before freezing.
Zapién points out that the most practical option is to individually divide and seal the pieces to reduce cellular damage caused by ice crystals and, most importantly, to ensure food safety by eliminating the need for risky refreezing of the raw product.
This simple habit maximizes both the quality of the flavor and the safety of the preparations. The expert details that: “When you freeze chicken in large pieces or in a single package, you end up defrosting more than necessary. The direct consequence is that you often freeze it again.”
This means that “each freezing and thawing cycle forms ice crystals inside the meat. These crystals break the muscle fibers, which causes the chicken to release more water when defrosted and, therefore, lose juiciness and flavor.. Therefore, when cooked, the meat is drier and has a lower texture.”
That’s why he recommends dividing chicken into individual portions before freezing to defrost only what you’ll use. Besides, It is vital to keep it at a constant temperature and use airtight containers.
If you have already thawed all the chicken, the recommendation is to cook it completely. “If you have leftovers, you can freeze it again, but already cooked and also in portions. This way, you avoid waste, preserve its flavor, and your food turns out much better.”
What not to do
The common mistake is to freeze chicken in large pieces or in a single package, which leads to thawing more than is needed and the dangerous practice of refreezing. The associated biochemical problem is that refreezing repeatedly creates ice crystals in the meat, which break down the chicken’s muscle fibers. This has the consequence in the kitchen that this breakdown causes the chicken to release more water when defrosting, resulting in loss of juiciness, deterioration of flavor, and a dry and inferior final texture when cooked.
What should be done
The solution is to divide raw chicken into individual portions before freezing, use airtight containers, and maintain a constant temperature for selective thawing. For full defrost handling, if all of the chicken is thawed, it should be cooked completely; which can be re-frozen, but already cooked and also in individual portions. The ultimate benefit of following these guidelines is to avoid waste, preserve flavor, and achieve superior, safer food quality.
Keep reading:
The post Freezing Chicken Safely: An Expert’s Guide appeared first on Veritas News.
