Or is it at all? I see these ads all the time talking about how there food is better because it isn’t frozen. (Example: Basically every Wendys ad.) But what’s the science behind all this?
In: 8
Sometimes fresh is better, sometimes the difference is negligible, sometimes frozen is better.
When you freeze foods, you cause ice crystals to form. Ice crystals are sharp and can basically tear up foods on the inside, which can hurt the texture; how much this does is dependent on the food and how quickly the food is frozen (faster freeze, in general, equals smaller ice crystals and less damage). This is why you don’t want to freeze things like uncooked potatoes – the ice will rupture the cell walls, and when you thaw them, they turn to mush.
On the other hand, some things benefit from freezing. Because freezing things stops the ripening process, some fruits and vegetables that can handle freezing well can be picked when they are completely ripe and frozen when they are at their best. Also, if you are going to throw stuff in a blender like berries for smoothies, the structural damage thawing does is generally unimportant – you’re just gonna be pulverizing them anyway, so it’s less of a problem. Finally, without freezing, some foods just aren’t practical to sell. If you live 1000 miles from the nearest ocean, pretty much all the ocean fish in your market will be previously frozen, because it’s simply too perishable even under refrigeration to be practically shipped without freezing it. Things which are out of season may be frozen out of necessity, as well.
As for burgers, it’s not a big deal. Frozen burgers will come out a bit dryer since you need to cook them longer and they’ll lose more fat from what the ice crystals have torn up, but you can compensate for those things by using a fattier blend to begin with. The only real difference is it’s really hard to char frozen patties without turning them inedible, so if you like char then fresh is best.
Latest Answers