# What can be done to avoid freezer burn? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390 "2019-04-11T14:49:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/41 "2019-04-13T14:14:37Z")
Your microwave probably has a defrost cycle. I know some people claim you shouldn’t use it, but I don’t have any problem with it. Newer ones can even operate at low power for the defrost cycle without switching the magnetron on and off like the old ones. I do partition things into smaller packages before freezing them. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/42 "2019-04-13T15:24:45Z")
The most obvious answer to the question is: stay out of the freezer. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/43 "2019-04-13T16:59:40Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I don’t trust any plastic wrapping that the food comes in from the supermarket. Since I often divide large quantities into single-serving portions anyway, everything gets re-bagged in ziplock baggies of appropriate size. Seems to work. 2 lbs of bulk Italian sausage becomes 8 patties in individual bags. > > Saran wrap, by itself, is no good. It doesn’t stay together in the freezer. It might be good inside a baggie, but what’s the point? Just use the baggie. > > Many bakery items come in bags that are deliberately perforated (for ventilation?), the worst kind for freezer storage. If I get a bunch of rolls, I re-bag half in ziplocks for the freezer and the rest stay in the original bag on the counter for a few days as they are used. Saran wrap inside a baggie never comes loose, and you have all of one kind of meat together. When I didn’t do this chops or steaks would stick together which increases defrost time. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/44 "2019-04-14T14:00:08Z")
When I freeze pairs of pork chops I put a sheet of baking parchment between them as I drop them into the bag before hitting the vacuum. When it’s their time on the grill a screwdriver into the seam and a twist makes them part easily. After eight minutes on the grill, it’s time to flip them and they’ve thawed to the point where I can stick my remote thermometer probe in and I simply wait until they reach 160-degrees. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/45 "2019-04-14T15:34:29Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > When I freeze pairs of pork chops I put a sheet of baking parchment between them as I drop them into the bag before hitting the vacuum. When it’s their time on the grill a screwdriver into the seam and a twist makes them part easily. After eight minutes on the grill, it’s time to flip them and they’ve thawed to the point where I can stick my remote thermometer probe in and I simply wait until they reach 160-degrees. Non ground pork can be safely cooked to 145 now per USDA guidelines. Unless you can’t stomach it. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/46 "2019-04-15T03:34:58Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Go hang around the meat counter at your grocery store. Its amazing what people will do trying to choose. My next gross out place is the fresh produce. The idea that someone puts a cantaloupe up to their nose makes me pukey. Yeah, I’m bored and a germaphobe. Deadly combo. > > ETA, I’m not too concerned about my own germs getting on MY meat. My own germs are fresh!🙂 I have to sniff the stem end of the cantaloupe. Only way to tell if it’s ready to eat. But i also scrub the outer surface of all melons before i cut them. The idea of transferring the crap from the outside of the melon to the inside via the knife blade gives me the heebjeebies. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/47 "2019-04-15T04:06:35Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Non ground pork can be safely cooked to 145 now per USDA guidelines. Unless you can’t stomach it. I’ve only had it twice, but [Mett (raw minced pork with onion](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett)) is delicious. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/48 "2019-04-15T04:24:43Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve only had it twice, but [Mett (raw minced pork with onion](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett)) is delicious. Two separate issues: E coli and Trichinosis. E coli infects the surface of meat, but cooks away with heat. Therefore ground meat, whether beef, pork, turkey needs to be cooked on all surfaces, so 160 F. Unless it sourced from meat that has been butchered to avoid umm… butthole juices so that you can serve it raw. Trichinosis is a worm parasite that infects omnivores like pig, bear. Needs higher heat to kill. But modern practices avoid it because we don’t feed infected meat to pigs anymore. Once it’s in the meat they can “rest” until heat kills them. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/49 "2019-04-15T10:55:02Z")
I know all of that, but still enjoy Mett, carpaccio, sushi, oysters on the half shell, etc. The times I’ve had Mett I’ve procured the pork from a local source who knew my intent. Anecdotally/coincidentally, the only experiences I’ve had with assumed food poisoning has been with cooked foods. The vast majority of my meals are cooked, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/50 "2019-04-15T12:02:12Z")
> [@bump](#): > > How else are you going to know that it’s ripe? Same with strawberries. Ripeness with those two is best determined by their aroma, in my experience. You usually don’t have to actually touch it to your nose though- a sniff is all it takes. > > That said, that’s one of the many reasons they suggest you wash your produce before you eat it! This. I also smell the peaches and a lot of other produce. I don’t touch my nose to it – that would be gross – but I sniff it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/51 "2019-04-15T12:04:44Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Two separate issues: E coli and Trichinosis. E coli infects the surface of meat, but cooks away with heat. Therefore ground meat, whether beef, pork, turkey needs to be cooked on all surfaces, so 160 F. Unless it sourced from meat that has been butchered to avoid umm… butthole juices so that you can serve it raw. > > Trichinosis is a worm parasite that infects omnivores like pig, bear. Needs higher heat to kill. But modern practices avoid it because we don’t feed infected meat to pigs anymore. Once it’s in the meat they can “rest” until heat kills them. There’s apparently an increase in trichinosis due to pastured pork on the market. The pigs who can get outdoors can get into stuff the farmer didn’t feed them, and in rare cases, pick up trichinosis. But yeah, most cases of trichinosis these days come from wild animals, like bear, because USDA standards require that any meat product fed to hogs be cooked. I confess, I really enjoy raw and other undercooked food. And pork is much tastier if you don’t over cook it. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390/52 "2019-04-15T15:38:00Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Non ground pork can be safely cooked to 145 now per USDA guidelines. Unless you can’t stomach it. I have a roommate who doesn’t like looking at myoglobin or pork with any pink in it (or beef for that matter). I’m just happy that CostCo pork has the added water so they don’t get all dried out. Those steaks I mentioned a few days ago are 1-1/2 inches thick so I can butterfly hers and cook it until the red is gone while mine is still medium-rare, but even the ‘thick’ pork chops are thin enough I can’t reliably slice 'em thinner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-to-avoid-freezer-burn/832390.md?page=2)