# Freezing and re-freezing foods



## Beke (Nov 11, 2006)

Hi...I'm curious if it's safe to make foods, freeze to eat some later, then if there's plenty left, freeze it again....repeating until it's gone or ppl get tired of having it. I've always been told that you can only freeze a food once but I have a friend that makes huge pots of chili and freezes and refreezes the stuff until it's gone, sometimes taking a month to finish it all!
No one has ever gotten sick that I know of, but I'm really weird about that sort of thing. If someone says my milk even LOOKS weird I wont drink it lol.


----------



## Half Baked (Nov 11, 2006)

Beke, if you have leftovers to freeze, I do them in 1 serving packages so I can bring as much as I need for that dinner and not worrying about the rest.

If I've thawed a big tupperware of chili, I'll cook it up to an appropriate heat to kill the bad 'stuff' and what we don't eat, I'll refreeze.


----------



## boufa06 (Nov 11, 2006)

You can freeze cooked and uncooked food easily.  But if they are in large quantities, divide into smaller quantities, put them in air-tight bags or plastic containers and freeze them when fresh. Use as required. This way they can last a long time in the freezer.  Do not freeze, thaw and freeze as this may lead to contamination


----------



## Brukky (Nov 11, 2006)

No, it's not safe, raw or cooked foods. The way it's been described to me is that the thawing process on food is actually pretty rough. It has the potential to let a lot of bacteria into the food. By doing this over and over again, you are giving the bacteria an open door do have fun within the food. 

Now, that it's going to kill you. That's just the way it has always been explained to me (could be wrong reason for all I know). What Half Baked said is usually how I go about it, if I'm ever freezing anything. Portoin everything. It's really a good idea. Right now my freezer is filled ice cube trays upon ice cube trays of Demi-Glaze, Veal Stock & Chicken stock (still haven't gotten to Fumet yet... I took the idea from Bourdain (who in turn took it from Julia Child). 

I think one of the best investments could possibly be the Vacuum sealer. I've been meaning to pick one up for god knows how long. Right along with my icecream maker...


----------



## BreezyCooking (Nov 11, 2006)

Definitely NOT advisable.  Bacterial contamination seriously possible, & the texture/quality & flavor would suffer enormously under such treatment.


----------



## Constance (Nov 11, 2006)

I never re-freeze raw meat. If I thaw hamburger to make chili, I do freeze the leftover chili, but I do it in small packages. I wouldn't think of thawing, then refreezing it. You might get away with it 99 times out of 100, but if you've ever seen anyone with food poisoning, you won't want to take even the smallest chance of getting it.
Let me put it this way: If you think you might have food poisoning, you don't have it. FP hits like a tank, and there are no ifs, ands or buts about it...you are down for the count! 
My daughter got food poisoning from a chopped steak at a Bonanza Steakhouse when she was a teenager. She sat on the loo holding a wastebasket in her lap for a week.


----------



## Andy M. (Nov 11, 2006)

If you thaw the frozen food in the fridge, and just take what you need out of the fridge to reheat it and then freeze the remainder, you should be OK.

That being said, the absolute best way to go is to freeze leftovers in individual portions and avoid the issue altogether.


----------



## Beke (Nov 11, 2006)

Thanks for the replies. I know it grows bacteria but this friend of mine says the reheating kills it all off. Great idea of portioning the food, I dont know why I never thought of that!


----------



## Gretchen (Nov 11, 2006)

If there are bacteria growing in the food, this is not a good thing. Properly thawed and ready to serve, food should not have harmful bacteria in it.
If you have a big pot of chili, there is little doubt that it is better to thaw and re-heat close to what you want. But if you have a serving leftover from serving that meal, put it in the freezer for another time. It has been heated again to a proper food keeping temperature and will be all right to freeze.


----------



## Joanxpe (Dec 29, 2013)

*Thaw & refreeze cooked chicken*

I defrosted chicken, cooked it and froze it
Defrosted, and served.  Now I want to refreeze remaining

Think that's safe.


----------



## salt and pepper (Dec 29, 2013)

Joanxpe said:


> I defrosted chicken, cooked it and froze it
> Defrosted, and served. Now I want to refreeze remaining
> 
> Think that's safe.


 

   NO!!!


----------



## Addie (Dec 29, 2013)

Joanxpe said:


> I defrosted chicken, cooked it and froze it
> Defrosted, and served.  Now I want to refreeze remaining
> 
> Think that's safe.



NO, NO!


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Dec 29, 2013)

No, no, no!!!


----------



## Jing (Dec 29, 2013)

A definite no from me too.


----------



## Mad Cook (Dec 29, 2013)

Beke said:


> Hi...I'm curious if it's safe to make foods, freeze to eat some later, then if there's plenty left, freeze it again....repeating until it's gone or ppl get tired of having it. I've always been told that you can only freeze a food once but I have a friend that makes huge pots of chili and freezes and refreezes the stuff until it's gone, sometimes taking a month to finish it all!
> No one has ever gotten sick that I know of, but I'm really weird about that sort of thing. If someone says my milk even LOOKS weird I wont drink it lol.


Personally I wouldn't keep re-heating, freezing, re-heating, freezing, and so on. It may or may not make you sick but it won't be improved by the procedure. It will deteriorate in quality and taste and the food value (eg the vitamin content, etc.,) will decline. 

As someone else said, there's no problem in making a big batch of something and freezing it down in manageable batches for future use. The important thing is to cool it as quickly as possible and don't leave it hanging around in the kitchen before you freeze it, in order that nasty organisms have less time to breed. 

I'll say it again though it's been said many times before - don't freeze rice unless you are very, very careful.

 It's a point of record that most cases of food poisoning originate from within the home and are caused by poor food and cooking hygiene.


----------



## Zagut (Dec 30, 2013)

Quality suffer the most from repeated freezing cycles.

 Safety depends on the care taken while the product is in the unfrozen state.

 Portion size is the way to go with freezing so you don't defrost more then is needed.




 Just thoughts from someone who cooks for 1.


----------



## cave76 (Dec 30, 2013)

Snippets from online sites:

"Freezing does slow down the microbes that cause food to spoil, but it's pretty much useless for killing dangerous bugs."

"But while freezing doesn't defeat pathogens, heat will. Bacteria die if they're heated to 165F."

"microwave ovens are notorious for heating food unevenly. Thus the sometimes-intricate package instructions involving turning, stirring, and waiting."

"With a frozen ready-to-cook food, I would always go with the stove, not the microwave," he says."

But reading at another site:

"Myth #5: Once Thawed, Food Cannot Be Refrozen Without Cooking It First
You can freeze and refreeze to your heart’s content as long as the food has not been left outside the fridge for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour in 90-degree heat). One point to be aware of is that refreezing anything uncooked, especially meat, will degrade the quality due to the loss of moisture in the thawing process. So although it is technically safe to eat, from a culinary standpoint, it’s best to avoid refreezing if at all possible."

Now I'm confused.


----------



## Addie (Dec 30, 2013)

If you make a large pot of stew and you know you can only eat two bowls full at a sitting, then you freeze the balance in that size as individual servings.  You don't freeze the whole of what is left over and over. You are just asking for trouble. Food poisoning is no joke. And the last food you want to fool around with is chicken. Fish is another food that requires special handling. By reheating the whole of it over and over you have destroyed all nutrients. If you are not going to be nourished by what you eat, why bother eating? 

Do not refreeze foods over and over. It is just too dangerous.


----------



## Andy M. (Dec 30, 2013)

cave76 said:


> Snippets from online sites:
> 
> 1. "Freezing does slow down the microbes that cause food to spoil, but it's pretty much useless for killing dangerous bugs."
> 
> ...



1.  True.  Freshly cooked food is a "clean slate".  If you cool and store it properly, bacterial contamination should not be an issue.  So if you freeze contaminated food, it will still be contaminated when you defrost it.

2.  Almost always true.

3.  True.  So follow directions and stir, turn, wait if so directed and you should be fine.

4.  See #3 

5.  False.  The red text is true.  Frozen food thawed in the fridge the immediately refrozen is not dangerous.  You are degrading the texture as freezing damages the cell walls in foods so texture suffers.


----------



## Roll_Bones (Dec 30, 2013)

While the practice of thawing and reheating is not the best for taste and texture, scientifically, I can see no way bacteria can survive the reheat process as long as the desired temperature is achieved and consistent throughout the dish.


----------



## cave76 (Dec 30, 2013)

Roll_Bones said:


> While the practice of thawing and reheating is not the best for taste and texture, scientifically, I can see no way bacteria can survive the reheat process as long as the desired temperature is achieved and consistent throughout the dish.



I think so too-----but for our finger food Christmas Eve I baked some little frozen appetizers that were about 1.5 inch square. I was 'instructed' to bring them to 165 degrees. Each one?

I declined and took a chance.


----------



## Andy M. (Dec 30, 2013)

cave76 said:


> I think so too-----but for our finger food Christmas Eve I baked some little frozen appetizers that were about 1.5 inch square. I was 'instructed' to bring them to 165 degrees. Each one?
> 
> I declined and took a chance.



When I see an instruction like that on a purchased product, I assume it means they are not confident of the product's wholesomeness. Either because of what went on in the factory or what they think you may do at home. I make sure I follow the instruction. Not one at a time but all together on a cookie sheet or something.


----------



## Mad Cook (Dec 30, 2013)

Zagut said:


> Quality suffer the most from repeated freezing cycles.
> 
> Safety depends on the care taken while the product is in the unfrozen state.
> 
> ...


Exactly


----------

