cheryl
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‘Freezer burn’ is a serious problem – preventing ice recrystallization may alleviate it - The Conversation
Open the freezer door and there, way in the back, may be an old carton of ice cream growing spikes of ice. Or a forgotten frozen lasagna covered in icy crystals. Or drying of meat surfaces if not well covered.
People sometimes call this phenomenon “freezer burn,” and it happens when tiny ice crystals on the food’s surface evaporate directly into vapor without first going through the liquid water phase – a process scientifically termed sublimation. This moisture loss can leave the food’s surface layers dried out and discolored.
As a food scientist, I call the initial surface ice formation “ice recrystallization” and study ways to slow it down.
Ice recrystallization damages and destroys organic cells – the smallest living units found in animals and plants. It is just as much a problem when storing harvested food crops or biomedical research materials – like cell cultures – as it is for storing frozen pizza or peas, and can lead to a lot of waste.
Open the freezer door and there, way in the back, may be an old carton of ice cream growing spikes of ice. Or a forgotten frozen lasagna covered in icy crystals. Or drying of meat surfaces if not well covered.
People sometimes call this phenomenon “freezer burn,” and it happens when tiny ice crystals on the food’s surface evaporate directly into vapor without first going through the liquid water phase – a process scientifically termed sublimation. This moisture loss can leave the food’s surface layers dried out and discolored.
As a food scientist, I call the initial surface ice formation “ice recrystallization” and study ways to slow it down.
Ice recrystallization damages and destroys organic cells – the smallest living units found in animals and plants. It is just as much a problem when storing harvested food crops or biomedical research materials – like cell cultures – as it is for storing frozen pizza or peas, and can lead to a lot of waste.