Everyone has told me that once as bag of veggies is freezer-burned that it's no good, and you'll have to throw it out. This is not true! There is one thing you can do with freezer burned veggies and that's make homemade veggie soup.
What you do is run warm water into the bag and let it sit until all the freezer burn and frozen water has melted. Now rinse the veggies off with fresh, clean water several times You can use a colander if you like, but I just poke several holes in the bottom of the bag and run tap water through the bag.
Then just put the veggies in your favorite type of soup stock and use a lot of flavoring; like onion, garlic, soy sauce, Italian seasoning and bouillon. You won't taste the freezer-burn.
By Cyinda from near Seattle
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I also like to do that but take it one step further. I purree the veggies with some water and use if for a soup base.
Here is a tip I learned a long time ago that might help prevent freezer burn all together.
By getting cheap zip lock bags at the Dollar Tree, I double bag the veggies (meat, soup, leftovers, etc.). That way, the one inside can keep the veggies fresh, and the second bag (needs to be the next bigger size), keeps that air out. Then, inside the outer bag, I put a piece of paper (recycled junk mail works perfect!) that tells me the date I put it in. No more lost food!
I sometimes throw mine into a casserole or stir fry too. The sauce, meat, and carb (rice, noodles, etc) seems to hide any off flavor, we get extra veggies, and I don't waste any money.
Actually, the USDA FSIS (food safety and inspection site) states that freezer burned foods of any type are not dangerous. Burn is caused by oxygen reaching the surface of the food (which is why we package it to begin with). They suggest cutting away the freezer burned area on meat to minimize flavor problems. Otherwise, these foods are completely safe to eat.
Great tip, Cyinda! Waste not, want not ;-)
How many people have tried this? My experience is that the veggies have a 'funny' smell, and I'd be concerned this would damage what I was trying to make.
Federal food guidlines say do not use freezer burned foods. We need to be more careful to use the food before it gets burnt.
My frozen veggie bag has a hole. Is it safe to eat my veggie's?
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