29
GB
28
GB
be up to 2.5 kg. Smaller portions freeze
through more quickly and the quality is
thereby maintained better when defrosting
and preparing the food.
It is important to seal food airtight before
freezing to prevent it from losing its taste
or dehydrating.
Suitable wrapping materials:
plastic foil, polyethylene tubular film,
aluminium foil and freezing containers.
These items are available from any dealer.
Unsuitable wrapping materials:
wrapping paper, greaseproof paper, cello-
phane, bin bags or used carrier bags.
Place food in the wrapping, press out any
air and seal it airtight.
Suitable sealing materials:
rubber bands, plastic clips, string, freezer
tape or similar. Polyethylene tubular film and
bags may be heat-sealed using a special
sealing iron or press.
Before placing in the freezer, each
package should be clearly labelled
with the contents and date of freezing.
Maximum freezing
capacity
Foodstuffs should be frozen right through
as quickly as possible. Only in this way it
is possible to retain vitamins, nutrients,
appearance and taste. You should therefore
never exceed your appliance's maximum
freezing capacity.
Within 24 h a max 12 kg of food for 70 cm
and 9 kg for 60 cm width appliances, can
be
frozen at once in the upper compartments.
Food that is already frozen should never
come into contact with fresh food about
to be frozen.
Allow hot food and drinks to cool down
to room temperature before placing in the
freezer.
Freezing and storingFreezing and storing
Note the following when
buying frozen food
l Inspect packaging: it should not be
damaged in any way.
l Make sure the “Best before ...” date has
not expired.
l Check thermometer of the vendor's
freezer. It should read –18 °C or colder.
l Ensure that the frozen foods are the last
items to be bought. Wrap in several layers
of newspaper or place in a thermo-
insulated bag and take home at once.
Store frozen products in the freezer with-
out delay.
Freezing at home
If freezing at home, use only foodstuffs which
are absolutely fresh and in perfect condition.
Foodstuffs that freeze well
Meat, cold slices and sausage, poultry and
game, fish, vegetables, aromatic herbs, fruit,
bread and pastries, pizza, precooked meals,
leftovers, egg yolks and whites.
Foodstuffs not suitable for freezing
Whole eggs in their shells, soured cream
and mayonnaise, lettuces, radishes,
horseradish and onions.
Blanching vegetables and fruit
It is advisable to blanch vegetables and fruit
before freezing in order to preserve colour,
flavour, aroma and vitamin C.
(To blanch, bring a large saucepan of water
to a fast boil and completely immerse fruit or
vegetables briefly. Most book stores offer a
wide selection of literature on freezing which
will also deal with blanching.)
Wrapping food
Pack the food in portions suitable for your
household.
Vegetable and fruit portions should be no
heavier than 1 kg, while meat portions can
Fast freezing
If frozen food is already being stored in the
freezer, you should switch on fast freeze
several hours before putting in fresh food
to freeze.
Normally, it will suffice to switch on fast
freeze 4–6 hours ahead. If you are planning
to make full use of maximum freezing
capacity, switch on 24 hours in advance.
Smaller quantities of food (up to 2 kg) can
be frozen without the fast freeze facility. To
switch on "super" freeze, simply press the
"super" freeze button, (Fig.
2
/3).
The "super" indicator lights up to show that
the fast freeze function is operating.
After switching on, a very low temperature is
achieved in the freezer compartment. Fast-
freezing switches off automatically
approximately 52 hours after being
switched on.
Storage of food
Make sure that all the frozen goods
containers are pushed in as far as they will go.
This is important so that the air inside the
freezer can circulate properly.
* Freezer tray
Fig.
D
The freezer tray is suitable for storing ice
cube trays and for freezing individual berries,
pieces of fruit, herbs and vegetables.
To freeze individual items of food, distribute
the produce uniformly on the freezer tray
and leave to freeze for approx. 10–12 hours.
Then transfer the produce into freezer bags
or containers.
To thaw, spread out the individual items of
food.
Thawing frozen food
Depending on the nature of the food and
the preparation or cooking method you are
going to employ, you may choose one of
the following thawing methods:
at room temperature,
in the refrigerator,
in an electric oven,
fan-assisted or not,
in the microwave oven.
Food that has been partially or completely
defrosted can be refrozen provided that
these items are stored at temperatures
below +3 °C and for no longer than one day
where meat and fish is involved, or no longer
than 3 days for other items.
Otherwise, provided that taste, smell and
appearance remain unchanged, you can
boil, fry or process the food further into
a ready-made dish and then refreeze.
Observe that in this case the admissible
shelf-life will be shorter than normal.
Making ice-cubes
Fill the ice-cube tray three-quarters full with
water and place it in the freezer.
Twist the tray slightly to remove the ice-cubes.
* not on all models
