56
votes
Accepted
Can I thaw salmon directly in water?
The salmon will get water logged and mushy (and consequently release a lot of water during the cooking process) if you omit the bag. It's not unsafe, but it will decrease the quality of the salmon.
- 10.6k
20
votes
Can I thaw salmon directly in water?
Osmotic Pressure
If you boil vegetables in water, some of the compounds from within the cells will leach out of the vegetables into the water. The reason is because vegetables are bags of water with ...
- 331
15
votes
Accepted
Am I thawing this London Broil safely?
Safely? Yes.
Cold water thaws are fine. It's hot or warm water thawing that's bad.
Cold running water will thaw faster than cold still water, but cold still water is okay as you basically have a ...
- 79.3k
15
votes
Accepted
What is it in frozen food that makes chefs so mad?
I like chef Ramsay, he can be snobbish and course at times but he knows food and he's a straight shooter and tells it like it is.
Sometimes he's just saying the food isn't hot or even warm in the ...
- 6,324
11
votes
Can I thaw salmon directly in water?
Yes, if you use brine!
(And keep an eye on it to make sure you don't leave it in too long after thawing.)
It's interesting that Lawnmower Man brings up osmotic pressure. Though he makes some very ...
- 375
10
votes
Why does my meat never thaw in the fridge?
The difference between cold and frozen where a refrigerator is concerned is actually only a few Kelvin (or "degrees").
The standard refrigerator will have warmer and colder zones, typically the top ...
- 57.8k
7
votes
Does freezing food reset the amount of time you can put it in the fridge?
Freezing doesn’t reset the clock, it’s more like “stopping the time” - or at least slowing it down very, very much.
Like putting perishable food in the fridge and slowing down bacterial growth, ...
- 57.8k
6
votes
What is it in frozen food that makes chefs so mad?
There are a few more problems with frozen ingredients that might not be obvious at first:
The cut of the ingredients is usually already defined by how the factory did it, and might or might not be as ...
- 15.3k
5
votes
Accepted
I have two days to thaw a 16 pound turkey; Can I start thawing it in cold water, and do the rest in the fridge?
It's fine to thaw for a few (or several) hours under cold water and then put it in the refrigerator. Just keep the water cold and refrigerate immediately upon removing the turkey from the water. The ...
- 58.4k
4
votes
When thawing meat in cold water, why must one change the water regularly?
The second one.
If you tried it, you'd see ... it becomes ice water
- 79.3k
4
votes
Can you cook a digorno's pizza after its been thawed for 1 day
Yes, it should be.
That is - if it has been thawed, and safely stored (refrigerated, or in safe temperatures in whatever way), then it should still be safe to eat. If it has been left out on a ...
- 11.7k
4
votes
Why would IQF shrimp say "do not force thaw under running water"?
The biggest loser when IQF shrimp are "force defrosted" is diminished flavor profile and loss of texture (or mouth feel - they should have a certain resistance to the bite). There is no danger of any ...
4
votes
Accepted
How does repeatetly moving food from freezer to fridge and back every day affect it?
I assume you have no food that needs to be kept frozen. If you do that's your greatest concern.
If, as suggested by your measurements, the fresh food never gets above the recommended maximum fridge ...
- 43.1k
4
votes
Can pork and beef be thawed in water together?
This can be safe; mixing isn't fundamentally dangerous. The things to keep in mind are:
The overall thawing method needs to be safe. Ideally that means running water, but the key is that it's fast ...
- 58.1k
4
votes
Is rapid cooling and thawing worth it?
This sounds like a lot of time and effort, that, for home use, might not be worth it. Freezing as quickly as possible is generally recommended, but even with an ice bath first, you are not going to ...
- 73.2k
4
votes
Am I thawing this London Broil safely?
I'll agree with other Joe on the safety side of things: as long as the water didn't get much above 40° Fahrenheit, which it won't until after it's thawed, you're fine.
As far as the water getting in ...
- 5,673
4
votes
Can I thaw salmon directly in water?
My opinion is to go ahead and do it, without the bag. The points of the other answers, about a bit of stuff leaching into the water, are generally true, but I think the effect will be quite small. ...
- 135k
4
votes
I have some slow-cooked pork in the freezer and just need to warm it up
Hair of the dog?
You got a slow cooker. And this meat has been in there before. Putting it back in the slow cooker will do it no harm and will get some good juice back in.
- 6,596
3
votes
Is the miracle thaw safe?
It's certainly safe in terms of food contact. See How does a Miracle Thaw work? - it's really just a sheet of metal. It's not very much different from just putting your food on a baking sheet. Just be ...
- 58.1k
3
votes
Do defrosting plates work in reverse?
Does heat transfer go both ways? Generally yes, the conductivity of a material is the same if you reverse it and you could use a defrosting plate to cool hot food. The plate would require good ...
- 341
3
votes
Why does my meat never thaw in the fridge?
If your fridge has a meat compartment, that often runs at very slightly above freezing - so slight it would take several days to thaw. In the rest of the fridge, meat frozen to -18C (typical) will ...
- 43.1k
3
votes
How to quickly thaw frozen goose?
Set it into the largest pot you own (that it will fit in) and fill the pot with cold tap water. Set it in your sink or set the pot on top of towels on the counter (to collect the condensation from the ...
- 1,391
2
votes
I have two days to thaw a 16 pound turkey; Can I start thawing it in cold water, and do the rest in the fridge?
My gut feel is you could go 1/2 way in water (4 hours) then finish in the fridge.
Or go the whole 8 hours in water and refrigerate.
According to a link in the first comment should cook immediately ...
- 6,400
2
votes
How long can uncooked brisket be refrigerated after defrosting?
I believe 3-5 days is the basic guidance for keeping raw, defrosted whole cuts of meat in the refrigerator (See FoodSafety.gov). Packaging has nothing to do with this. Temperature is critical (below ...
- 73.2k
2
votes
Is my thawed chicken still good 4 days later in the fridge?
It's impossible to answer this for sure, it depends on how fresh they were when they were frozen and other factors. If they were frozen quickly after you bought them and they were well within their ...
- 74.2k
2
votes
Accepted
Can you thaw frozen cookies in a tin without them getting soggy as a result?
The more airflow you have, the less likely is for them to get soggy. The original container is especially bad, since it will likely condense moisture on its surface while coming to room temperature. ...
- 135k
2
votes
How can you tell if if a meal is thawed?
Aside from simply feeling the package, a thermometer would be the most accurate way to tell.
- 73.2k
2
votes
How does repeatetly moving food from freezer to fridge and back every day affect it?
Is it the fan ?
You are stating that the freezer is at about 3-4 C that is within the safe zone for refrigerated food. And the actual food having been colder and warming up may actually be slightly ...
- 331
2
votes
Why does vacuum-sealed fish caution against thawing in the package, but vacuum-sealed meat doesn't?
Packaged fish is commonly known to contain Clostridium botulinum, either because its habitat generates the bacteria, or because of exposure somewhere between where the animal dies and your dinner ...
- 661
1
vote
Why worry about "danger zone" when thawing meat if I'm going to be cooking the meat immediately after?
If I am defrosting meat in order to cook it, and I am cooking at safe temperatures, then why should I worry about how I defrost my meat?
If this were true, wouldn't it then follow that it would be ...
- 345
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