Freezer Burn?

[Jdsixtyone]

What exactly is freezer burn and what causes it?

Cheers,

Jordy

 

[spanna_spamload]

One cause is when the moister leaves whatever your freezing, this will happen when you pack something to loosely and leave too much air in the packaging, because the water that is in your rodent or food wants to find the coolest spot in your freezer and that is in the back where the coils are and will leave your food over time and condensate (as ice) in your packaging rtying to get to the back of the freezer. that is why there is always a build-up of ice on the coils of your freezer.

 

[Jdsixtyone]

Would they be ok if i packed the Rodents into a air tight container?

 

[spanna_spamload]

No doesnt matter if its airtight, if there is heaps of air in the packaging then the water will still try and leave the food. you will notice that there is a build up of ice in containers in the freezer. best bet is to put them in freezer bags and get as much air out as possible.

 

[AM Pythons]

zip lock bags are best, you can squeeze the air out..

 

[evozz]

Out of curiosity, does it affect the quality of the food? Say on a pinkie rat, if it had freezer burns, could you still feed your snake with it?

 

[spanna_spamload]

Yes it does, depends on how bad the freezer burn is, if it is bad then when you thaw out the rodent it will break apart very easy. This is from when the ice crystals leave the cells, causing damage. minor burn is alright to feed.

 

[evozz]

Thanks

 

[wokka]

You tend to get freezer burn after long periods of storage and after storage in inconsistant temperatures. Reducing air in packaging will reduce freezer burn. It is only cosmetic and does not effect the food value of the food. Over time meat in a freezer will slowly dehydrate.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

As Wokka says. Freezer burn is caused by the evaporation of water from the item, directly as ice to vapour, without going through the liquid (water) stage. The vapour then recondenses as ice on something cooler in the freezer. Many human foods are 'freeze dried' - placed under vacuum and kept frozen until most of the water has been removed - they can then be packed in airtight containers and stored without freezing, for long periods of time. Because freeze-dried food is lightweight (no water) and easily stored, it is used by astronauts and other travellers who might need food for long periods of time but can't have much weight. Surprise Peas, coffee powder, and other foods in the supermarket are prepared this way. If your freezer is operating at a suitably low temperature, it won't affect the food value of the item, but as has been pointed out, the item may become dryish and brittle. Domestic vacuum packing devices greatly reduce the incidence of freezer burn - I've used pink mice that have been frozen for 2 1/2 years in a vac bag, and they have been just as good as fresh ones.

 

[snakelady-viper]

Get a vacuum sealer of ebay that sems to stop the problem can also use normal freezer bags with it

 

[Pythoninfinite]

The vac sealers work well, you can also get them from Good Guys, HN etc... if freezing small stuff like pink rats & mice, lay them out in the freezer first to solidify them, then vac seal them, otherwise they can get squished to little blobs if you try when they're soft.

J.