How much and at what temperature can meat be stored in the freezer, shelf life
Protein products are necessary for a person to maintain muscle mass and body temperature. Meat products are among the most demanded in the diet. Regular consumption of meat dishes requires that the household has a stock of meat in stock. How long can meat be stored in the freezer to preserve its nutritional value and taste?
Requirements for GOST and SanPin
State standards and sanitary-epidemiological rules determine storage conditions, shelf life of products, hygienic requirements. They are intended for manufacturers and traders of food products to ensure that they are safe for human consumption.Meat and all types of its processing are perishable products that must be kept cold, at a certain level of humidity and air exchange.
According to regulatory requirements, the label of perishable products must include information on the date of manufacture, rules and storage conditions. An ordinary consumer should consider this information when storing meat at home, because even under cold processing conditions, meat and meat products have a limited shelf life.
How to properly freeze raw
Depending on muscle mass temperature and shelf life, meat is divided into 4 categories:
- pair;
- ice;
- slightly frozen;
- frozen.
Fresh meat is the meat of an animal, after the slaughter of which no more than one and a half hours have passed. The temperature inside the muscle mass exceeds +20 degrees. In a fresh carcass, the fermentation process continues, affecting the taste and nutritional qualities of the product. To ripen at a positive temperature, pork will take 7 days, beef carcass - a month, poultry - 2 days.
This meat is prepared using progressive cooling methods.
Cooling methods:
- The carcass is placed in a freezer at a temperature of 0 degrees for a period of 24 hours or more. Advantages: the meat cools gradually, without internal stress, becoming covered with a crust. Disadvantage: More than 2% weight loss due to evaporation of moisture from the muscles.
- Pork carcasses are blown with a stream of icy air (6-12 degrees below zero) for 2 hours, beef carcasses - 5 hours (temperature - 3-5 degrees below zero). The next step is to maintain at a temperature of 0 degrees for 24 hours. Advantages: reduced weight loss, long term storage.
Chilled meat is characterized by an intramuscular temperature not exceeding +4, an elastic structure and a thin crust through which oxygen enters the meat fibers. Frozen meat is a product in which the upper muscle layer is frozen to a depth of 6 centimeters.
For long-term storage, chilled and slightly frozen meat is transferred to the category of frozen meat, when the temperature of the inner layers does not reach -8 degrees. A product with such characteristics is obtained using refrigeration chambers.
Freezing cooked meat
Before placing the semi-finished meat product in the freezer, it must be prepared so that it does not lose its taste. The first condition is that it should not be washed off before that. The water that penetrates the fibers, when the temperature drops below 0 degrees, will break them, which will facilitate the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the meat and alter the taste of cooked dishes.
Sealing of the packaging
If you wrap a semi-finished product in a film, freezing without evaporating water will lead to the fact that the meat "suffocates" and acquires an unpleasant smell and taste. If the product is placed in a chamber without a shell, then it will roll up: a thick crust forms on the surface, the pulp becomes hard due to a large loss of moisture. For the freezer, it is better to use metal or ceramic dishes with a lid.
Temperature regime
The storage temperature of perishables depends on their category and determines the shelf life.
Temperature options:
- fresh meat - from 0 to +5;
- chilled - from 0 to +2;
- slightly frozen - from 2 to 3 frosts;
- frozen - 12, 18, 30 degrees below zero.
Each meat product and semi-finished product has its own shelf life.
Portioning
Meat cut into pieces will cool more quickly to the desired temperature. But it should be taken into account that freezing small pieces will lead to hardening of the structure due to evaporation. The size of the room should depend on the size of the freezer and the temperature limit of the refrigeration appliance: from 2 kilograms to 300-500 grams.
Progressive freezing
At home, you can apply the technological method of processing companies. A frozen piece in a solid state is taken out of the freezer and poured over it with cold water. Then he is placed back in the room. The ice crust will serve as an additional barrier to product safety.
Storage periods
Each type of meat has its own fiber structure, biochemical composition, which affects the shelf life.
Cattle
Chilled pork is edible in 1-3 days. When stored in the freezer at -12 degrees, the shelf life is 3 months, at -18 degrees - 6 months, at -30 degrees - 15 months. Beef at similar temperature conditions is stored in the freezer: 1-3 days; 8 months; year; two years.
Bird
The suitability of the product is indicated by the chicken:
- from 0 to +2 degrees - up to 3 days;
- 0 to -2 degrees - 4 days;
- at -12 degrees - 5 months;
- -18 degrees - 8 months;
- -30 degrees - a year.
The shelf life of a turkey in the freezer decreases proportionally to its weight compared to chicken.
Poultry, chopped into pieces
Semi-finished poultry products are consumed without prolonged freezing. Stored at +4 to -2 degrees, the shelf life is 48 hours.
Ground meat and offal
Minced meat and offal are kept cool and consumed:
- ground pork and beef - after 24 hours;
- tongue, liver, lungs - after 24 hours;
- minced chicken - after 12 hours;
- chicken liver, heart - 24 hours.
Low temperatures will affect the taste of finished foods.
Storage Features
The meat is subjected to various types of processing, after which the shelf life changes.
Marine
Food ingredients are used as a marinade:
- the vinegar;
- citric acid;
- onion;
- pepper;
- Mayonnaise;
- kefir;
- salt.
Preparation for pork skewer at a temperature of -5 degrees has a shelf life of 3 days. Kefir-mayonnaise filling at the same temperature keeps the product for 1 day. Marinated chicken is stored for 72 hours at temperatures from 0 to +4 degrees, 96 hours - from 0 to -2 degrees. Marinated beef withstands a shelf life of 2 days at a temperature of 0 to +3, 1 day - from 0 to +5.
Smoke
Smoked meat products are stored in freezers at temperature conditions:
- Smoked sausage:
- 4 months (3-6 degrees below zero);
- 6 months (7-9 degrees below zero)
- Boiled-smoked:
- 2 months (3-6 with a minus sign);
- 3 months (7-9 with a minus sign);
- Semi-smoked sausage:
- 2 months - from -3 to -6;
- 1 month - from -7 to -9.
- Raw smoked products:
- 3 months to 3-6 frosts;
- 4 months at 7-9 frost.
For everyday consumption, smoked meats can be stored on the upper shelf, under the freezer, at temperatures from 0 to +4 degrees for 30 days.
Jerky
Ham and prosciutto are kept dry. Freezing will spoil the flavor of the jerky. The maximum allowable temperature for storing the cut, but not used product is +5 degrees, the shelf life is one day.
Thawed
Thawed meat should be used within 24 hours.
Boiled
Boiled meat is not frozen, eaten within 2 days if stored up to +2 degrees.
The effect of low temperatures on meat products
Muscle tissue consists of fibers, contains proteins, amino acids, salts, water. Under the influence of low temperatures, physical, biochemical, histological and biological changes occur in it. During freezing, crystals form in the thickness of the meat, the size and quantity of which determine the quality of the product. During slow freezing, small and large crystals form in the interfiber space. They press the fibers, evacuate the water and accelerate its evaporation and freezing.
With intensive cooling, water begins to turn into ice where it is, without having time to evaporate. In such meat there are a lot of small crystals that break down fibers. The number of pieces of ice is directly proportional to the lowering of the temperature. In terms of cut resistance, unfrozen meat is softer than frozen meat. When comparing frozen species, the sweetest is the one with the lowest cooling temperature.
Biochemical abnormalities are linked to changes in meat juice. Meat juice is a colloidal solution. When water freezes, the concentration of salts in it increases. There is a limit to the amount of frozen moisture, which disrupts fiber structure. After thawing, these tissues cannot absorb the same amount of water and lose meat juice.
The greatest loss of meat juice when freezing 4-9 degrees. In the same temperature range, the greatest destruction of proteins occurs.
Freezing at lower temperatures does not have the same damaging effects on muscle tissue. The high crystallization rate forms small crystals that do not damage the fibers, retains moisture in the fibers. The biological effect of cold is the ability to sterilize meat parasites.
For example, in pork they die:
- trichinella, at 18 degrees - in 2 days;
- at 33 - in 6 hours;
- pork tapeworm larvae, at 18 degrees - 3 days.
Bacteria sleep in frozen meat. Improper thawing can lead to contamination of food before it is cooked.
Actions in the event of a power failure
Power outages can be planned and sudden. If the time of the power outage is known in advance, steps should be taken to store perishable foods. Set the freezer to the highest possible temperature. Frozen food is placed in the chamber to fill its volume.
The missing amount of food is replaced by containers of water placed in the freezer compartment. The close contact of the cooled surfaces keeps the temperature below zero in the refrigerator longer.
In the event of a sudden stop, the only way to prolong freezing is to open the refrigerator doors as infrequently as possible. Thermal insulation of refrigerators and freezers allows you to keep frozen food for up to 48 hours. Cotton wrap soaked in vinegar will keep the meat at room temperature for 24 hours. The same effect will be if a piece of meat is poured with chilled milk.
Common Mistakes
There are several common misconceptions about storing meat in the freezer. First mistake. The frozen product retains its properties for an unlimited period. Indeed, there are periods of limiting the storage of all types of frozen foods, after which they lose their taste and nutritional properties.
Second mistake. Frozen meat is safe.Pathogenic microflora is found in any meat and is able to withstand low temperatures for a long time. Thawing in water will promote bacterial insemination. Gradual thawing in air at room temperature or on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator will reduce the risk of infection. Third mistake. Meat should not be refrozen. If the product has not been taken out of the freezer for more than 2 hours, it can be put back there.
Additional tips and tricks
The cuts of meat to be frozen must be sized according to the thermal conditions of the freezer. Before placing meat products in the chamber, set the maximum temperature. After their complete freezing and acquisition of hardness, the temperature is reduced to 10-12 degrees. Frozen pieces of meat are tightly wrapped and placed next to each other.