There is a lot of talk about fresh whole, unprocessed foods these days. It’s hard to disagree with the premise that fresh is best, but sometimes it isn’t actually the case.
The advent of commercially frozen foods, like its predecessor, canned foods, has changed the way America eats and most cookbooks on the subject of freezing foods are about the management of home freezing. But how many of us ever use our freezers for anything but storing the frozen items we buy in the supermarket?
The frozen food industry really excels in produce and whole foods. It is critical that the frozen food, in order to retain its high quality and nutrition, be wrapped properly and flash frozen. Home freezing sometimes falls short in these critical areas. Knowing which frozen foods to buy for best quality and good economy is imperative.
There are a lot of myths surrounding frozen foods that have gone around and may confuse you. I know that I always worried about re-freezing foods once they had thawed or even partially thawed. As long as the frozen product is still cold to the touch, about 40 degrees, it can be refrozen with perfect safety. Some things lose some quality when re-frozen, particularly seafood and fruit and they should be used after defrosting. The safety of all other refrozen foods is not an issue as long as you follow the above temperature guide.
Another lesser-known fact is that once defrosted, if left in the refrigerator, most frozen foods will last quite awhile. After thawing, frozen foods are no more and probably not less perishable than they would have been before they were frozen; therefore, it is not imperative that you rush home from the grocery store to get all frozen foods in the freezer unless it is 120 degrees in your car.
Finally, did you know that it is not necessary or even desirable to thaw all meats before cooking? You can cook them frozen and taste tests (done at Columbia University and University of Montana) have actually shown that many meats cooked from the frozen state were preferred to those that had been previously thawed. That surprised me! The cooking method is exactly the same as usual except the cooking time is roughly twice as long.
Frozen fish and seafood is my favorite supermarket buy. I love really fresh fish, but here in Red Wing, unless you’re a fisherman, truly fresh fish is hard to come by. Commercially frozen fish is flash frozen immediately after catching and, if done by a reputable company, makes them as fresh as possible. Obviously whole fish would have an advantage over fillets, but all are very, very fresh. Here is an especially good recipe that takes advantage of low-cost and low calorie fish.
De-lite-ful Fillet of Fish
1 pound frozen fish fillets (such as cod, flounder, haddock, Pollack or tilapia)
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
¼ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
¼ tsp. dill weed
1-14 ½ ounce can diced tomatoes.
1 ½ Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. snipped parsley
Thaw fish in refrigerator. Blot dry with a paper towel. Heat oil in large skillet and add onion, mushrooms and minced garlic. Cook over low heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Arrange fillets over mushrooms. Sprinkle fish with salt, lemon rind and dill weed. Add tomatoes. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Remove fillets to platter and keep warm. Blend flour and lemon juice. Stir into tomato mixture in pan. Cook, stirring, until smooth and bubbling. Pour over fish and sprinkle with parsley. 4 servings at 250 calories per serving.
Another of my favorite products purchased frozen is chicken wings or drummettes. Here is a recipe that may make Red Wing as famous as Buffalo.
Red Wing Red Wings
3 pounds frozen chicken wings
1 cup light soy sauce
1 cup water
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 large clove garlic, minced
½-inch chunk ginger root
4 Tbsp. (1/4 cup) Thai Sweet Chile Sauce
2 Tbsp. vinegar
½ cup catsup
1 tsp. red food coloring
Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce to taste
Defrost wings. Bring all remaining ingredients to boil in large saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Meantime, parboil chicken wings in simmering water for 20 minutes. Remove wings and place on shallow baking pan. Pour sauce over wings and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes more or until tender and glazed.
The advent of commercially frozen foods, like its predecessor, canned foods, has changed the way America eats and most cookbooks on the subject of freezing foods are about the management of home freezing. But how many of us ever use our freezers for anything but storing the frozen items we buy in the supermarket?
The frozen food industry really excels in produce and whole foods. It is critical that the frozen food, in order to retain its high quality and nutrition, be wrapped properly and flash frozen. Home freezing sometimes falls short in these critical areas. Knowing which frozen foods to buy for best quality and good economy is imperative.
There are a lot of myths surrounding frozen foods that have gone around and may confuse you. I know that I always worried about re-freezing foods once they had thawed or even partially thawed. As long as the frozen product is still cold to the touch, about 40 degrees, it can be refrozen with perfect safety. Some things lose some quality when re-frozen, particularly seafood and fruit and they should be used after defrosting. The safety of all other refrozen foods is not an issue as long as you follow the above temperature guide.
Another lesser-known fact is that once defrosted, if left in the refrigerator, most frozen foods will last quite awhile. After thawing, frozen foods are no more and probably not less perishable than they would have been before they were frozen; therefore, it is not imperative that you rush home from the grocery store to get all frozen foods in the freezer unless it is 120 degrees in your car.
Finally, did you know that it is not necessary or even desirable to thaw all meats before cooking? You can cook them frozen and taste tests (done at Columbia University and University of Montana) have actually shown that many meats cooked from the frozen state were preferred to those that had been previously thawed. That surprised me! The cooking method is exactly the same as usual except the cooking time is roughly twice as long.
Frozen fish and seafood is my favorite supermarket buy. I love really fresh fish, but here in Red Wing, unless you’re a fisherman, truly fresh fish is hard to come by. Commercially frozen fish is flash frozen immediately after catching and, if done by a reputable company, makes them as fresh as possible. Obviously whole fish would have an advantage over fillets, but all are very, very fresh. Here is an especially good recipe that takes advantage of low-cost and low calorie fish.
De-lite-ful Fillet of Fish
1 pound frozen fish fillets (such as cod, flounder, haddock, Pollack or tilapia)
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
¼ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. grated lemon rind
¼ tsp. dill weed
1-14 ½ ounce can diced tomatoes.
1 ½ Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. snipped parsley
Thaw fish in refrigerator. Blot dry with a paper towel. Heat oil in large skillet and add onion, mushrooms and minced garlic. Cook over low heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Arrange fillets over mushrooms. Sprinkle fish with salt, lemon rind and dill weed. Add tomatoes. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Remove fillets to platter and keep warm. Blend flour and lemon juice. Stir into tomato mixture in pan. Cook, stirring, until smooth and bubbling. Pour over fish and sprinkle with parsley. 4 servings at 250 calories per serving.
Another of my favorite products purchased frozen is chicken wings or drummettes. Here is a recipe that may make Red Wing as famous as Buffalo.
Red Wing Red Wings
3 pounds frozen chicken wings
1 cup light soy sauce
1 cup water
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 large clove garlic, minced
½-inch chunk ginger root
4 Tbsp. (1/4 cup) Thai Sweet Chile Sauce
2 Tbsp. vinegar
½ cup catsup
1 tsp. red food coloring
Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce to taste
Defrost wings. Bring all remaining ingredients to boil in large saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Meantime, parboil chicken wings in simmering water for 20 minutes. Remove wings and place on shallow baking pan. Pour sauce over wings and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes more or until tender and glazed.
No comments:
Post a Comment