Can you freeze plant based meat? In the recent past, homes have adopted plant-based meat as a dietary option.
These are foods that taste and feel exactly like meat, or better still call them artificial meat.
Plant-based meat is derived from various edible plants taken through a series of processes to come out looking and tasting like meat.
They are way healthier and better than animal meat due to the low calories, fats, and oils that pose a great health hazard in regular meat.
But can you freeze plant-based meat? In this article, we have shared more intel on what you are expected to do and many more.
Plant based meat can be frozen. Freezing keeps it safe from micro bacteria that cause rotting and decay. Also, plant-based meat can be kept for much longer in the freezer.
So, Can You Freeze Plant Based Meat?
It is common for most people to be held at crossroads on which foods they can freeze and which ones they cannot.
This subject is so challenging that even the pros in the food industry have convoluted opinions over most of these foods.
It is worse when it gets to plant-based meat.
The option of freezing or not can be confusing. Most people will end up freezing the dish while others may not.
Do you think you can freeze plant-based meat? If you are sitting on the fence concerning this matter, then fret not, we will guide you through.
Are There Limitations?
Truth be told, you can freeze plant-based meats.
However, there is a universal agreement that has been tried, tested, and proven that all plant-based meat purchased while thawed cannot be frozen.
This is because the contents in the can are already frozen and you only need to live by the ‘sell by’ date imprinted on it.
Tip: If it is a must that you put it in the freezer, then the time it lasts in there should not exceed the ‘sell by date’.
Why You May Need To Freeze Plant Based Meat
Freezing plant-based meat pays off well.
There are loads of reasons why you should keep these types of food tucked in the refrigerator before your planned consumption date.
Driven by the fact that they are a healthy substitute for animal meat, frozen plant-based meat can stay in the refrigerator for a considerable long period of time.
Plant-based meats have been made from regular plants.
Like most of all other foods, you are going to have to keep them refrigerated at controlled temperatures until you choose to make a feast out of them.
Below are reasons why you would need to freeze your plant-based meat:
- Freezing keeps it safe from micro bacteria that cause rotting and decay.
- The plant-based meat can be kept for much longer in the freezer.
- Preserves and improves its taste, quality, and texture
- Reduces its waste.
Can You Freeze Plant Based Meat After Cooking?
Can you freeze plant based meat after cooking? Once again, this question gets a bit controversial.
There are mixed opinions and reactions on whether it is okay to freeze plant-based meat after cooking.
The expert advice here is, that there is absolutely nothing worrying and wrong with freezing plant-based meat after cooking.
But as mentioned a while ago, you must always be on the watch out for the expiry date.
Once the expiry date comes, it is worthless keeping it in the freezer since that changes nothing.
Meanwhile, it is vital to note that you can freeze plant based after cooking.
Tip: You can freeze plant based meat after cooking, but that shouldn't go beyond the best by date.
How to Store Plant Based Meat
It is annoying to lose your plant based meat before making it a scrumptious dish.
You won’t suffer the loss if you embrace some of the key ways you can store plant-based meat properly. In this article, we had our eyes on the freezer.
The freezer works by keeping it at low temperatures in which microorganisms and bacteria cannot thrive.
However, that isn’t the only way you can store your plant based meat.
Below, we have outlined some other four tips you can deploy in storing your plant-based meat and still get the best results.
Keep Them In The Commercial Can Or Packet
Once you purchase plant based meat from the shop, you are not to tear the packet or can it has been stored in.
Manufacturers use special ones to store these products so that they do not get spoilt before being used by the consumer.
Therefore, if you do not plan to eat yours once you acquire it, be as gentle as to keep its pack intact without tearing it off.
The packet can be able to keep it safe without necessarily having to be put in the fridge until the ‘best by date’ indicated on it.
Picking
You have probably heard of picking. Vinegar is used to keep products safe in this method.
If you have already torn the packet or dismembered the can, then you are verily going to need to use this method.
In picking, you will have to immerse the plant-based meat before you in vinegar.
This is to stop any types of microorganisms and bacteria from growing on it.
The good news is that all plant-based meat is suitable for the picking method.
Salting
Once the meat is exposed to air, it reacts with the atmosphere and moisture builds upon it.
This moisture is what starts to make it rot and you can tell that by weighing upon a change in flavor and smell.
Note: Salting can keep the plant-based meat going for long without getting spoiled.
All you are required to do is coat it with salt, while fairly distributing it everywhere.
Salt will suck up all the water present in the plant-based meat. Salting has proven to work best in keeping plant-based meat fresh overnight.
Sugar
Sugar can too be used as a preservative for plant based meat. Sugar will act as a bacteria growth inhibitor the same way salt does.
Sugar also forms a protective coating and layer to the meat, but you will need to have the plant-based boiled before rolling it in sugar.
If well attended to, this method can keep it fresh for days to up to a month.
How Long Can You Freeze Plant-Based Meat?
Back home, away from the other methods. How long can you freeze plant-based meat before it spoils?
Guesses? Now, you need to be very careful with this freezing option.
It is undisputedly the best of all methods you can use to preserve your plant-based meat, but there are limitations.
Most plant-based meat products have an imprint on them from the manufacturer communicating the sell-by date.
Provided the manufacturer indicated this date, also known as expiry date, then you are tied.
You will have to use your product before the indicated date. Regardless of whether you have it frozen or not, the sell-by date is the king.
Therefore, you can freeze plant-based meat for as long as the expiry date from the manufacturer lets you.
Tip: Apart from looking up to the expiry date, be keen to observe a change in smell and taste, this may come weeks or days earlier than the expiry date
Read Next: Is Perdue Chicken Halal?
Conclusion
Can you freeze plant based meat? Plant based meat is a real substitute for real meat.
It is sweet, proteinous, and good for your health. But how you store it matters a lot if it is to remain best for consumption.
Freezing has shown up as the best way to do so. This article sought to exhaust any issues and questions you might have about storing it.
It provided other storage options and told you why you may need to freeze plant based meat after cooking to how long you can freeze plant based meat.
Now, the ball is in your court. Go and make the best out of your plant based meat.
Remember to leave a comment.