There is nothing as disappointing as going into the freezer for that ice cream you have been saving just to discover that it has formed ice crystals. Or finding your package of meat discolored with gray spots. This is caused by freezer burn.
Freezer burn is a common issue that can lead to wasted food and leave a dent in your grocery bill. It can happen to any frozen food, but what is freezer burn?
WHAT IS FREEZER BURN?
Freezer burn is what happens when the liquid inside your frozen food begins to evaporate, which dehydrates the food, leaving dry, grayish looking spots or icy crystals behind. This is when moisture escapes your food leaving it dry, rubbery, and lacking flavor.
There are many factors that can cause freezer burn from excess air in packaging to fluctuating freezer temperatures.
THE SCIENCE OF HOW FREEZER BURN HAPPENS
Just like our human bodies are made up of 60% water, your food also has a lot of water in it. When food is placed into the freezer the water inside the food wants to migrate to the coldest places.
Once the water moves to the top of the food it can become ice crystals. Those ice crystals begin to evaporate (a process called sublimation where a substance goes directly from the solid to the gas phase without turning to liquid first).
When water evaporates it leaves dry, grayish spots on meats, vegetables crusty and tough, and forms that thick frozen slimy film on top of your ice cream. Ewww, right?
These evaporated molecules can go into the air of your freezer, combine with other molecules from other foods and sometimes come back into your food again, making foods taste off or unpleasant. This is why proper packaging is vital for preserving food in your freezer.
DO ICE CRYSTALS MEAN FREEZER BURN?
When moisture from the food moves to the top of the food it changes into ice crystals.
These ice crystals can evaporate and re-freeze on the insides of packages or containers. This indicates that the food either went in at a warmer than the desired temperature, or moisture has come out of the food causing it to be dehydrated in spots.
When you see ice crystals on food, it does generally mean there is freezer burn happening on your food and can be a great warning to use the food up before the flavor can change too much.
WHY IS MY FREEZER CAUSING FREEZER BURN?
Unless your freezer is broken it generally is not the cause of freezer burn.
The real cause of your freezer burn is often user error. This can be from opening your freezer too often, setting the temperature too low, or packaging your foods with too much air or in packaging that is not airtight.
To check if it is your freezer causing freezer burn, check the seals to ensure that your freezer seals all the way around.
Get a freezer thermometer to check the temperature of your freezer to be sure that it is reaching the sub-zero temperatures needed.
To prevent freezer burn you want to keep your freezer below zero. This is why deep freezers give food a longer storage period than a freezer attached to your refrigerator unit.
Opening the freezer can cause warmer, moist air to enter the freezer. This may also become frost or ice crystals on packages as the air is cooled. Try to limit the number of times the freezer is being opened. You can use child locks to help remind your family to check that the door is closed when they are done using the freezer.
WHAT DOES FREEZER BURN LOOK LIKE?
People often ask me how to tell if chicken is freezer burned? Or what about freezer burned vegetables? Freezer burn can look different for different kinds of foods.
Sometimes it will appear as gray or white colored dry spots and can have a collection of ice crystals around it. Sometimes it can also look slimy or create a shiny film, like what you see on freezer-burned ice cream.
Here are some different images of freezer-burned foods.
Freezer Burn Meat: Meats like steak, ground beef, and pork often get grey spots where freezer burn has taken hold. This will have a less than pleasant taste and rubbery texture.
Freezer Burn on Chicken: Freezer burnt chicken can take on an old leathery texture and turn a dull off white or even fully white color. Look for dry spots that can happen and ice crystal spots.
Freezer Burn on Vegetables: Freezer burnt vegetables turn into a solid block from the moisture causing everything to melt together. You will also see plenty of ice crystals formed in and around freezer burnt produce.
Freezer Burn on Ice Cream: Freezer burn ice cream can take on a thick rubbery slime-like texture with ice crystals on top. This is common on the edges of your ice cream from when the temperature fluctuates in your freezer.
HOW TO TELL IF FOOD YOU BUY AT THE STORE IS FREEZER BURNED?
When you pick up a bag of frozen vegetables, if the inside feels all clumped together in one big lump, it’s probably got freezer burn. In this case, skip that bag and grab another one.
Look for grayish dry spots or ice crystals on food with see-through packaging to avoid freezer burn steak, chicken or other meats. Skip over these selections in favor of fresher food with no discoloration or ice crystals.
IS IT SAFE TO EAT FOOD WITH FREEZER BURN ON IT?
Is it safe to eat freezer-burned food? Yes, actually, it is safe to eat food that’s been freezer burned. Freezer burn is basically food that is simply getting dehydrated. However, the texture can be dry, rubbery and chewy and you might notice an unpleasant flavor when you taste it.
CAN YOU GET SICK FROM FREEZER BURN FOOD?
No, you can’t get sick from eating properly prepared food that has freezer burn on it. Food that’s frozen at 0 degrees or less doesn’t grow bacteria, so it can’t spoil or begin to rot. Freezer burn is food that is simply getting dehydrated, not growing bacteria.
HOW TO GET RID OF FREEZER BURNED TASTE?
If you are going to be eating freezer-burned food, make sure and cut off any freezer burned dry spots or sections first, especially on meat. Rinse off the ice crystals, and thaw as usual. Then you can cook & eat the food as directed.
For freezer-burned ice cream, simply cut off the top film or area that is freezer burned.
Sometimes by removing the freezer burn areas, you won’t notice a difference at all. However sometimes, depending on how long something has been freezer burned, it may still have an unpleasant taste or slight flavor changes still.
Meats can often be saved from issues after falling prey to freezer burn by being cooked in a slow cooker for 8+ hours or ran through the Instant Pot to rehydrate, tenderize, and flavor the meat with herbs and spices deep into the affected meat.
HOW TO PREVENT FREEZER BURN?
There are several ways to prevent freezer burn from using food sealing machines to just freezing food quickly. To read them all check out my in-depth guide 13 Simple Tips to Prevent Freezer Burn.
Two of the biggest mistakes I see people make when freezing food are not removing the air from the bags or containers before freezing and putting hot food into the freezer. Let’s talk about how doing these two things correctly will help you prevent freezer burn.
1. GETTING THE AIR OUT
Air is the enemy to freezing food. If you remove the opportunity for moisture to evaporate you will not get freezer burn.
Using a vacuum sealing machine will give you the best results, but those can be rather pricy. Instead, if you are using freezer-safe bags, just press all the air out of the bag before freezing.
Also be careful not to get dings or holes on your frozen food bags or air will get in and create it like in the ground beef picture above.
If you are freezing items in baking pans or containers, use a piece of plastic wrap to cover the food first, pressing down to remove the air. Then finish off by wrapping the pan in aluminum foil or adding the container lid.
2. FREEZING MEALS QUICKLY
To avoid having extra moisture evaporation make sure you don’t add food that is hot to the freezer. The steam will evaporate and turn into ice crystals.
For best results cool your food completely to room temperature or place in the fridge until cool then place in the freezer. Ideally, you want your food to freeze solid within 2 hours to avoid it.
See more tips on how to prevent freezer burn here.
DOES VACUUM SEALING PREVENT FREEZER BURN?
You bet it does! The vacuum sealer machine bags are made specifically to keep air from coming in and out of the bags. This makes it so moisture cannot leave the food or evaporate out, thus preventing freezer burn.
Note: Regular store-bought plastic freezer bags are made from polyethylene, which moisture and other gases can get through. That being said, I still freeze my meals often in freezer-safe bags, getting as much air as is possible out and have gotten little if any freezer burn this way.
I hope these tips help!
Interested in freezer meals? Here is my post on 15 Actually EASY freezer meal recipes you will LOVE! Also my post here of how to make 50 freezer meals in a day.
LEARN MORE FREEZER MEALS TIPS
- The 5 BEST Reusable Freezer Bags of 2020
- 13 Simple Tips to Prevent Freezer Burn
- Freezer Meal Tips for Beginners
- 10 Awesome Ideas for Organizing Your Freezer Meals
- The Best Food Freezer Containers for Freezer Meals
- My Favorite & Must Have Freezer Meal Supplies
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Dan says
This article is Sooooo overly Long I didn’t even finish it.
Karrie says
But I had to get allllll the information in here, haha! Better too much than not enough in this kind of situation. Noone likes freezer burn.
Julie says
I found the info given pertinent and not overly long. I enjoyed the article, thanks for making it available.
Katie says
I can’t live without my vacuum packer. After 2 expensive ones died too fast, I bought a cheap Seal-A-Meal one that I love. Headed for surgery in a couple weeks, so making meals ahead (came here to see how you freeze your stuffed shells). Right now I have 5 each of several different soups, individual chicken tenders (cooked/fried and raw), American chop suey ready for pasta, chicken pot pie ready for a crust, beef stew (I add frozen or canned carrots and canned potatoes and let simmer), fish filets, etc. These along with individual packages of hamburger, pork chops, bulk purchased walnuts and almonds, blueberries and peaches. To reheat meals you can prick a hole and microwave, throw in boiling water or empty right into a pot or oven dish.
Herinda says
Thank you for the great ideas!
Gayle says
I froze some soup and when I was ready to use it was frozen to the ziplock and I could not get it out. I ended up throwing it away. Any suggestions?
Karrie says
Thaw in fridge first then pour into your pot to reheat.
LeeAnn Gibbs says
I use Mason jars to freeze broth, soups…any thing liquid. Works like a charm.
Shonell says
Thank you so much. I am excited to try these new points
janice says
thanks for sharing this recipe I hope after the make I will enjoy,
Tee says
Whats the best way to prevent freezer burn when using glass containers
Karrie says
To get as much air out of dish as possible. I sometimes place plastic wrap over food, press down lightly and then cover with foil or lid from package.
Veronica says
Enjoy this site very much!!!……. learning heaps and heaps. Thanks all!!.
Veronica
Marcelo says
I use freezer bags. Not ziplock. With a handheld vacuum. I suck the air out. Holding tight at bag top. I have an extra clean vacuum long tip for that. When bag clings food, while V. still on, I twists several turns the food part to seal the bag. Now hold that bag neck. Take from V. continue twisting and give a not. Long freezer bags are better. Vacuumed at cheap.
Alcia Clark says
I’m terrible about freezing meat or meals and forgetting to label. I did not know about the 75% freezer rule either. It’s tough when you live with people who tend to pack the refrigerator and freezer full of junk…I’m working on that! Love this post!
Vicki H. says
I absolutely love your site. You have terrific ideas and recipes. Keep it coming for those of us out here who benefit from your experience and efforts. Thank you!!
Jeff says
Thanks for the website.
Your second bullet above doesn’t make sense to me, at least not completely. You say “Keep temperatures below freezing. Freezer burn only occurs if the temperatures fluctuate above 0 degrees F.” Do you mean “temperatures fluctuate above 0 degree C”, perhaps? 0 degrees F is still well below freezing…
Stephen says
0 F is only well below freezing for water. Remember that the water in meat is not pure water, it has a lot of stuff dissolved and suspended in it. In most, if not all, cases, dissolving something into water raises its boiling point and lowers its freezing point. That’s why water in the ocean can be well below 32 F and still be liquid. 0 F is a pretty good estimate of the freezing point of most meats, so 0 C is actually way too warm to freeze them.
Jen says
A tip I learned from my mom: to keep your freezer full at all times, freeze water in milk jugs to fill the empty space. Your freezer will run less and keep a more constant temp.
jennifer says
for casserole type of meals like chill you mention can you place it in the freezer in a glass casserole dish or is there the problem with the glass cracking when the food expands?
Happy.MoneySaver says
You can use glass dishes in the freezer but make sure it is completely cool before you freeze it and then let it thaw before you cook it! 🙂
Marsha Copple says
I caught your site out of the corner of my eye and thought….wow I have to go see what this site is all about and I am so glad I did. I love your site. I sit for hours looking through people’s sites…at ALL of their beautiful pictures, knowledge, recipes, quick fixes, DIY’s and Quotes. It doesn’t matter if you are from North, South, East,West, or the other side of the World, I just like looking….kind of like window shopping when you are broke. I love the Knowledge people have about anything and everything. I have learned a few things since I have stopped by, so Thank You Very Much for Sharing your knowledge, Beauty, and Friendship. I’ll be back, I signed up for your newsletter. And see you soon!!!
Cindy says
Hi,
First time member here. my hubby and I got one of those food saver vacuum systems, it works great. We got 25lbs of hamburger and divided it up in hamburger patties two per bag, 10lbs of hamburger for meatballs, and 9lbs for meat sauce. I usually wait till London broil goes on sale, like by one get one or a new thing our local store started 50% off all roasts and London broil. Then we usually go nutso on the roasts and get like 12 London broil. We packed the roasts in the bigger freezer bags and had to cut the London broil in half to fit them into the gallon size bags Then we got 40lbs of chicken thighs and boneless breast. We divided up the thighs to 4/bag and the breast to 2/bag. Then came the pork chops and pork roasts. the pork chops were buy one get one so u can imagine I went crazy on them. The pork roasts we aren’t too keen on so we only got 2 of them.
The only thing I had a problem with was freezing the celery, fresh carrots, and fresh mushrooms. they all got mushy. I called Food Saver and I was told that I should NOT freeze the mushrooms together with other veggies because the fresh mushrooms give off a gas and it’s not good and to pare cook them before freezing them. I love using fresh veggies in my soups and I want to freeze a lot of veggies so it’ll save time when making my soups. How would I cook off onions to freeze, boil them or what, how about the mushrooms and celery boil them, too??
Karrie says
Hello Cindy – the only way I usually freeze celery is in my beef barley stew – so it’s mixed in with the tomato sauce. Seems to protect it somewhat. I wouldnt advise just freezing it alone and expecting it to be great tasting. As for carrots you have to blanche them first or they won’t turn out great. In fact most of the time I prefer to add in my carrots fresh to my recipes so I avoid adding them to recipes. Good luck!
Alysa Fleisher says
I have never had a problem with this. I cut up tons and tons of veggies and put them in freezer baggies in my freezer in the door which gets a lot more ‘air action’. I cook with them all the time and never have had any issues at all. But I only do this with things really that I am cutting up small. I essentially make mirapoix but I do lots of other veggies also. This way I can add extra veggies into all sorts of dishes quickly and easily. For instance my son is sure he hates zucchini. I make zucchini muffins and the spaghetti sauce always gets zucchini. The bigger veggies like broccoli and cauliflower my husband complains if I have ever tried to freeze it. If I am making the cauliflower into rice he doesn’t complain though.
Take care,
Alysa
Jess J says
I freeze veggies (sliced or diced bell pepper, diced onions, whole green beans, whole snow peas and sliced mushrooms) raw with no problem. The trick is to cut up everything you want to freeze and place it in the portion you would use in one recipe (I use 1 cup portions in sandwich bags). Then place all your sandwich bags inside of a gallon freezer bag. The veggies are great for cooking but not good for using raw in salads after they have been frozen. Use them right from the freezer into your soup/ casserole/ stir fry or if you need them thawed out place a folded up paper towel in the sandwich bag and place in the refrigerator to thaw. For the mushrooms- do not clean them under running water because it will ruin them. Same thing about blanching them, they take on water and turn to mush. Just slice the mushrooms and try to get out all the air like Karrie says 🙂
Neat says
Place the sandwich bag portions into the freezer bag then freeze. Genius. This is what ill try!
Rachel says
I blanch my potatoes, carrots and celery before freezing them. They turned out just fine for soups and such! Hope this helps 🙂
Brittany Bentley says
I have a little chest freezer that is used for the “overflow” items, so it isn’t full all the time. I like to stick a few bags of block ice in the bottom and it helps control the freezer burn. 🙂 You have awesome tips, thanks!!!
Karrie says
Oh great idea with the ice blocks! It would also help retain the frozen foods if there was a power outage.
Karen says
I have three or four (reused from distilled water) jugs filled with tap water that stay in my chest freezer all the time. They do help with freezer burn. I use one of them in my cooler on shopping day. Also, I fill empty rubbing alcohol containers two thirds with water and let them freeze flat for ice packs for my smaller coolers. They fit nicely since they are less full and flatter. Another added benefit is, if I need tap water I can let one of them thaw out! I came across your site yesterday and I am already finding some of my favorites. I appreciate your hard work and your willingness to share it with us.
Happy.MoneySaver says
Great tips! Thanks!
Valerie says
We also have a small chest freezer. I never thought we would use it as much as we do. I love this thing!
We store our large bags of flour in the bottom. This keeps the flour bug free (we had a problem in the past with weevils that completely took over our pantry — ick). When we buy bulk pancake mixes etc. they also go straight into the freezer. No more bugs ’round here.
Irene says
I keep my cake flour in the freezer but for the rest of my flour, sugar, pasta, etc. I add bay leaves on top. Apparently bugs are not fond of bay leaves. They leave no taste on the food and – no bugs…
Joann Woolley says
Fab tips – didn’t know the one about keeping to 75% full or less – makes sense though!
Barbara says
75% OR MORE !!!!!!!!
Erin says
Rinse the ice crystals off before defrosting and there is no freezer burn taste.
Michelle says
My grandmother did this to keep her meat from getting freezer burn – it always worked. She cleaned and saved the waxed cardboard milk cartons they used to have, and then opened it all the way so the opening was square. She put her chicken or other meat in it, filled it almost to the top with water, sealed the top and stuck it in the freezer! I’m not sure what you could use now a days.
Ann says
You can get OJ in that type of carton.
Barbara says
Can use zip lock bags and fill almost full freeze standing the bag on end.
mary says
When I buy bread from the store, on sale, I will put old bread wrappers over the original (I try to use the same kind as the original). Usually I have 3 layers of plastic bags-the open end of one stuck in the closed end of the one on top. This allows the bread to freeze without as much freezer burn. I have had some loaves for 6 months or more in the freezer that come out as good as the day I put it in.
jerry says
Thanks.