Meat refreezes slightly while defrosting in a refrigerator

Meat defrosted in cold water leaves a better eating quality

Ter Aar, The Netherlands – July 12^th , 2010 – Beef&Steak, a Dutch online meat retailer, recommends to defrost airtight packed meat in cold water. Thawing meat in a refrigerator, although a safe method, could cause slight refreezing due to fluctuations of temperature.

Many consumers will choose to defrost meat in a refrigerator as this is the widely recommended method. As it turns out, the eating quality of meat decreases due to slight refreezing. Thawing in cold water is faster and without refreezing, providing a better eating quality of the meat.

The difference between the two methods is the carrier of heat. Refrigerators transfer heat in air, as opposed to water. In the food industry, it has been established that water is a much better carrier for heat then air. Food industries, using frozen meat for food processing, use the cold water technique for defrosting. Consulting meat experts, Beef&Steak established that the cold water technique can be beneficial for meat consumers looking to achieve the best eating quality.

The best results in defrosting meat are achieved when the rise of temperature occurs gradually, with as little fluctuation as possible. Water has a much better heat capacity and better thermal conductivity then air. Although thawing in a refrigerator is slow and may seem gradually, in reality defrosting does not proceed gradually. Beef&Steak found that larger pieces (2 pounds and more) slightly refreeze when defrosted in a refrigerator.

Jan Faber, co-founder of beefensteak.nl, concludes: “we do a lot of defrosting with our frozen meats and we found that the texture and taste remain better when thawing in cold water. We tested the difference and the results confirmed our thoughts. Imagine yourself using your home refrigerator. When you plan to defrost meat you will place the meat in the refrigerator. You will then need to access the appliance for milk, juice, fruit , vegetables and so forth. Each time you open the door, warm air travels in and causes a rise of the inside temperature. The thermostat will measure a higher temperature and tells the cooling engine to start cooling. This sequence repeats itself many times a day, proving the fact that there is a constant fluctuation of temperature in a home refrigerator. Temperatures that fluctuate up and down cause the ice in foods to thaw slightly and then refreeze. Each time this happens, smaller ice crystals become larger, damaging the cells of the product.”

Tips for cold water defrosting:

-Use only cold water

-Use the appropriate amount of water for the size of the meat. Use a saucepan for a small steak, a soup pan for a larger steak, a small bucket for a roast, etcetera

-Consider 30 minutes of defrosting for every pound of meat

-After 1/3^rd of the estimated defreezing time, place the container under the tap and let cold water run slowly in order to add fresh cold water, with a water pressure equal to filling a bottle with a small opening. When using a bucket, use water pressure equal to filling a glass of lemonade.

When thawing in cold water, it is necessary that meat is packed air tight. One should never place unpacked meat in water. As bacteria’s on meat multiply when the temperature rises, safe defrosting is important and meat should not be left to thaw on the counter. Thawing in water should only be done in cold water, never in hot water. Once defrosted, meat must not be refrozen and it must be cooked and consumed soon after. Both cold water defrosting and defrosting in a refrigerator are safe methods.