Identify freezer burn?

"Chuck" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

With store packaged meats.. What does freezer burn look like? Does the
meat have a off color to it? or just having a slight amount of ice
crystals around edge mean it's got freezer burn?

With freezer burn.. will there be a off taste and texture?

Thanks
Chuck (in SC)

The meat will look dried out. It may or may not have ice crystals. Instead
of a nice red color, beef will be a brownish gray and look sort of sponge
like. It will affect the texture and have a bland taste.

What you need is a vacuum sealer. I use a Foodsaver and I've kept meat for 3
years with no adverse affects.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Chuck said:

With store packaged meats.. What does freezer burn look like? Does the
meat have a off color to it? or just having a slight amount of ice
crystals around edge mean it's got freezer burn?

With freezer burn.. will there be a off taste and texture?

Thanks
Chuck (in SC)

There will be an off colour as well as taste and texture. Beef that has
freezer burn will look greyish, not red. Freezer burned poultry will look
white, not pinkish. With fish it's hard to tell, especially if it's white
fish. I think it gets a little bit brownish where the edges are freezer
burned. I don't keep fish long enough to tell 🙂

The best way to avoid freezer burn is to package whatever it is well with as
little air in the packaging as possible.

Jill

Chuck said:

With store packaged meats.. What does freezer burn look like? Does the
meat have a off color to it? or just having a slight amount of ice
crystals around edge mean it's got freezer burn?

With freezer burn.. will there be a off taste and texture?

The meat will be paler and dried out. It won't taste "off" as in a rotten
taste but it's not great, and it will have an odd texture. My dog's don't
seem to mind freezer burned meat.

Chuck said:

With store packaged meats.. What does freezer burn look like? Does the
meat have a off color to it? or just having a slight amount of ice
crystals around edge mean it's got freezer burn?

With freezer burn.. will there be a off taste and texture?

Thanks
Chuck (in SC)

Thanks all... just wasn't sure.. (in other words.. had no clue!)
Chuck (in SC)

Dave Smith said:

Chuck said:

With store packaged meats.. What does freezer burn look like? Does the
meat have a off color to it? or just having a slight amount of ice
crystals around edge mean it's got freezer burn?

With freezer burn.. will there be a off taste and texture?

The meat will be paler and dried out. It won't taste "off" as in a rotten
taste but it's not great, and it will have an odd texture. My dog's don't
seem to mind freezer burned meat.

I have to disagree about the taste. For me, it has a very distinct awful
taste. I can't eat it and I can't use the meat in anything, like soup or
beans, etc. The awful flavor permeates everything. boo, hiss. I feed it
too the dog, too.

Elaine, too

In article <[email hidden]>,

Chuck said:

With store packaged meats.. What does freezer burn look like? Does the
meat have a off color to it? or just having a slight amount of ice
crystals around edge mean it's got freezer burn?

With freezer burn.. will there be a off taste and texture?

Thanks
Chuck (in SC)

Frankly, Chuck, I'd be surprised to find freezer burn on store-packaged
meats.

Freezer burn is dry and white on the surface of the meat. Up here (MN),
I could tell you that it looks the way dried salt-spray melt-off looks
on a concrete garage floor. :-)

AFAIC, it there's not a lot of it, I just trim it off and proceed as
usual.
--
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 1-3-2006, Sam I Am! and Hello!

jmcquown said:

Freezer burned poultry will look
white, not pinkish.

Yup. And in desperate moments, I will admit to having sawed/scraped
the whitish parts off frozen chicken breasts (if it's limited damage)
and then cooked them anyway. I've attempted the same with
over-the-hill steaks, too -- thaw them partially, then start sawing.
Which worked, although it didn't make for a gorgeous dish. Not that
I'm usually cooking for the most discriminating of palates, anyway...
😉

Karen MacInerney
Kitchen experimenter, family chauffeur, and culinary mystery author
www.karenmacinerney.com

"Karen MacInerney" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

Freezer burned poultry will look
white, not pinkish.

Yup. And in desperate moments, I will admit to having sawed/scraped
the whitish parts off frozen chicken breasts (if it's limited damage)
and then cooked them anyway. I've attempted the same with
over-the-hill steaks, too -- thaw them partially, then start sawing.
Which worked, although it didn't make for a gorgeous dish. Not that
I'm usually cooking for the most discriminating of palates, anyway...
😉

Freezer burn is *the* major reason I bought my Tilia. I guess
I'm just fussy, but I don't eat freezer burned meat. Perhaps that
sounds bad, but really, rather than eat it, I'll just have some
vegetables for dinner and the meat goes in the trash.

I don't throw out meat any more unless I take it out and don't
use it within a reasonable time. Boy do I get annoyed when I
do that, but no one to blame but myself.

nancy

In article [email hidden], Nancy Young at
[email hidden] wrote on 1/10/06 12:09:

Quoted message said:

"Karen MacInerney" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

Freezer burned poultry will look
white, not pinkish.

Yup. And in desperate moments, I will admit to having sawed/scraped
the whitish parts off frozen chicken breasts (if it's limited damage)
and then cooked them anyway. I've attempted the same with
over-the-hill steaks, too -- thaw them partially, then start sawing.
Which worked, although it didn't make for a gorgeous dish. Not that
I'm usually cooking for the most discriminating of palates, anyway...
😉

Freezer burn is *the* major reason I bought my Tilia. I guess
I'm just fussy, but I don't eat freezer burned meat. Perhaps that
sounds bad, but really, rather than eat it, I'll just have some
vegetables for dinner and the meat goes in the trash.

I don't throw out meat any more unless I take it out and don't
use it within a reasonable time. Boy do I get annoyed when I
do that, but no one to blame but myself.

nancy

Speaking of freezer burn...

I know this is a bit OT, but I thought I'd share.

My sister once worked in a local lab, and one day, she and a coworker were
in the lab's freezer doing inventory. (Mind you, this is during the summer.)
When they emerged, her coworker noticed my sister got freezer burn on her
face.

Dieter Zakas
--
Good, better, best; never let it rest, until your good is better and your
better is best. (Billy Cox)

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Chuck said:

With store packaged meats.. What does freezer burn look like? Does the
meat have a off color to it? or just having a slight amount of ice
crystals around edge mean it's got freezer burn?

With freezer burn.. will there be a off taste and texture?

Thanks
Chuck (in SC)

Frankly, Chuck, I'd be surprised to find freezer burn on store-packaged
meats.

Freezer burn is dry and white on the surface of the meat. Up here (MN),
I could tell you that it looks the way dried salt-spray melt-off looks
on a concrete garage floor. :-)

AFAIC, it there's not a lot of it, I just trim it off and proceed as
usual.

Thanks folks..
I was just starting to use some store packaged meats frozen 6 to 7
months ago.. and was concerned... All appears well!
Chuck (in SC)