Freezing Fresh Foods

Foods to be frozen must be divided into portions according to a size to be consumed, and frozen in separate packages. In this way, all the food should be prevented from being re-frozen by thawing.
In order to protect the nutritional value, the aroma and the colour of the foods as much as possible, vegetables should be boiled for a short period of time before freezing. (Boiling is not necessary for foods such as cucumber, parsley.) Cooking time of the vegetables frozen in this way is shortened by 1/3 than that of the fresh vegetables.
To extend the storage times of frozen foods, boiled vegetables must first be filtered and then hermetically packaged as in the all types of foods.
Foods should not be placed in the freezer compartment without package.
The packaging material of the food to be stored should be air-tight, thick and durable and should not deform with cold and humidity. Otherwise, the food that is hardened by freezing might pierce the package. Sealing the package well is also important in terms of securely storing the food.

The Following Packaging Types Are Suitable to Freeze Food:

Polyethylene bag, aluminium foil, plastic foil, vacuum bags and cold-resistant storage containers with caps.

The Use of Following Types of Packaging Is Not Recommended to Freeze Food:

Packaging paper, parchment paper, cellophane (gelatin paper), garbage bag, used bags and shopping bags.

Hot foods should not be placed in the freezer compartment without cooling.
When placing unfrozen fresh foods in the freezer compartment, please note that it does not contact with frozen foods. Cool-pack (PCM) can be placed to the rack immediately below the quick freezing rack for preventing them from being getting warm.
During the freezing time (24 hours) do not place other food to the freezer.
Place your foods to the freezing shelves or racks by spreading them so that they will not be cramped (it is recommended that the packaging does not come into contact with each other).
Frozen foods must be immediately consumed in a short period of time after defrosting and must never be frozen again.
Do not block the ventilation holes by putting your frozen foods in front of the ventilation holes located on the back surface.
We recommend you to attach a label onto the package and write the name of the foods in the package and the freezing time.

Foods Suitable for Freezing:

Fish and seafood, red and white meat, poultry, vegetables, fruit, herbaceous spices, dairy products (such as cheese, butter and strained yoghurt), pastries, ready or cooked meals, potato dishes, souffle and desserts.

Foods Not Suitable for Freezing:

Yoghurt, sour milk, cream, mayonnaise, leaved salad, red radish, grapes, all fruits (such as apple, pears and peaches).

For foods to be frozen quickly and thoroughly, the following specified amounts per package should not be exceeded.

Fruits and vegetables, 0.5-1 kg
Meat, 1-1.5 kg

A small amount of foods (maximum 2 kg) can also be frozen without the use of the quick freezing function.

To obtain the best result, apply the following instructions:

You can review the Meat and Fish, Vegetables and Fruits, Dairy Products tables for placing and storing your foods in the deep-freezer.

Advice on Storing Frozen Foods

While purchasing your frozen foods, make sure that they are frozen at appropriate temperatures and their packages are not broken.
Put the packages in the freezer compartment as soon as possible after purchasing them.
Make sure that the expiration date indicated on the packaging is not expired before consuming the packaged ready meals that you remove from the freezer compartment.

Defrosting

The ice in the freezer compartments is automatically thawed.

Freezer Details

The EN 62552 standard requires (according to specific measurement conditions) that at least 4.5 kg of food for each 100 litres of freezer compartment volume can be frozen at 25 °C ambient temperature in 24 hours.

Defrosting the Frozen Foods

Depending on the food diversity and the purpose of use, a selection can be made between the following options for defrosting:

At room temperature (it is not very suitable to defrost the food by leaving it at room temperature for a long time in terms of maintaining the food quality)
In the refrigerator
In the electrical oven (in models with or without fan)
In the microwave oven

CAUTION!

Never put acidic beverages in glass bottles and cans into your freezer due to the risk of explosion.
If there is moisture and abnormal swelling in the packaging of frozen foods, it is likely that they were previously stored in an improper storage condition and their contents deteriorated. Do not consume these foods without checking.
Since the taste of some spices in cooked meals may change when exposed to long-term storage conditions, you must add lesser amount of spices to your foods to be frozen or the desired spices should be added to the foods after the thawing process.

Meat and Fish			Preparation	Longest storage time (month)
Meat Products	Veal	Steak	By cutting them 2 cm thick and placing foil between them or wrapping tightly with stretch	6-8
		Roast	By packing the pieces of meat in a refrigerator bag or wrapping them tightly with stretch	6-8
		Cubes	In small pieces	6-8
		Schnitzel, chops	By placing foil between cut slices or wrapping individually with stretch	6-8
	Mutton	Chops	By placing foil between meat pieces or wrapping individually with stretch	4-8
		Roast	By packing the pieces of meat in a refrigerator bag or wrapping them tightly with stretch	4-8
		Cubes	By packing the shredded meats in a refrigerator bag or wrapping them tightly with stretch	4-8
	Beef	Roast	By packing the pieces of meat in a refrigerator bag or wrapping them tightly with stretch	8-12
		Steak	By cutting them 2 cm thick and placing foil between them or wrapping tightly with stretch	8-12
		Cubes	In small pieces	8-12
		Boiled meat	By packaging in small pieces in a refrigerator bag	8-12
	Mince		Without seasoning, in flat bags	1-3
	Offal (piece)		In pieces	1-3
	Fermented sausage - Salami		It should be packaged even if it has casing.	1-3
	Ham		By placing foil between cut slices	2-3
Poultry and hunting animals	Chicken and Turkey		By wrapping in foil	4-6
	Goose		By wrapping in foil (portions should not exceed 2.5 kg)	4-6
	Duck		By wrapping in foil (portions should not exceed 2.5 kg)	4-6
	Deer, Rabbit, Roe Deer		By wrapping in foil (portions should not exceed 2.5 kg, and their bones should be separated)	6-8
Fish and seafood	Freshwater fish (Trout, Carp, Crane, Catfish)		After thoroughly cleaning the inside and scales, it should be washed and dried, and the tail and head parts should be cut when necessary.	2
	Lean fish (Sea bass, Turbot, Sole)			4-6
	Fatty fish (Bonito, Mackerel, Bluefish, Red Mullet, Anchovy)			2-4
	Shellfish		Cleaned and in bags	4-6
	Caviar		In its packaging, in an aluminium or plastic container	2-3

Fruits and Vegetables	Preparation	Longest storage time (month)
String bean and Pole bean	By shock boiling for 3 minutes after washing and cutting into small pieces	10-13
Green pea	By shock boiling for 2 minutes after shelling and washing	10-12
Cabbage	By shock boiling for 1-2 minute(s) after cleaning	6-8
Carrot	By shock boiling for 3-4 minutes after cleaning and cutting into slices	12
Pepper	By boiling for 2-3 minutes after cutting the stem, dividing into two and separating the seeds	8-10
Spinach	By shock boiling for 2 minutes after washing and cleaning	6-9
Leek	By shock boiling for 5 minutes after chopping	6-8
Cauliflower	By shock boiling in a little lemon water for 3-5 minutes after separating the leaves, cutting the core into pieces	10-12
Eggplant	By shock boiling for 4 minutes after washing and cutting into 2cm pieces	10-12
Squash	By shock boiling for 2-3 minutes after washing and cutting into 2cm pieces	8-10
Mushroom	By lightly sauteing in oil and squeezing lemon on it	2-3
Corn	By cleaning and packing in cob or granular	12
Apple and Pear	By shock boiling for 2-3 minutes after peeling and slicing	8-10
Apricot and Peach	Divide in half and extract the seeds	4-6
Strawberry and Raspberry	By washing and shelling	8-12
Baked fruit	By adding 10% sugar in the container	12
Plum, Cherry, Sour Cherry	By washing and shelling the stalks	8-12

Dairy Products	Preparation	Longest Storage Time (Month)	Storage Conditions
Cheese (except feta cheese)	By placing foil therebetween, in slices	6-8	It can be left in its original packaging for short term storage. For long-term storage it should also be wrapped in aluminium or plastic foil.
Butter, margarine	In its own packaging	6	In its own packaging or in plastic containers