Thaw and Re-freeze?

[Yassmeena]

Is it ok to thaw (leave in fridge overnight) and refreeze BH?

I want to add a couple more ingredients to my already frozen mix...
:confused:

Yasmin

[DiscusKev]

Its not advised to do so, but if you plan to add some powder form ingredient you could sprinkle some onto the BH and as it thaw it will absorb the powder.

[Yassmeena]

Its not advised to do so, but if you plan to add some powder form ingredient you could sprinkle some onto the BH and as it thaw it will absorb the powder.

I was planning on mixing in cod liver oil + garlic xtreme...

?

[DiscusKev]

I was planning on mixing in cod liver oil + garlic xtreme...

?

What you could do is thaw it whilst the BH is still cold, as this reduces the risk of baterial build up. If its thawed in room temperature then it could cause a problem, hope this helps.

[Yassmeena]

What you could do is thaw it whilst the BH is still cold, as this reduces the risk of baterial build up. If its thawed in room temperature then it could cause a problem, hope this helps.

I was planning on thawing it out in the fridge, so the only time it would be out of the fridge would be while I was adding the ingredients.

To me it sounds like it should be ok, but has anyone had bad experiences trying this?

Thnx,

Yasmin

[rich815]

I googled "refreezing meat" and this came up over and over:

"The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises, "Meat and poultry defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen before or after cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook before refreezing." (Basics for Handling Food Safely, September 8, 2006). "

[Yassmeena]

I googled "refreezing meat" and this came up over and over:

"The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises, "Meat and poultry defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen before or after cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook before refreezing." (Basics for Handling Food Safely, September 8, 2006). "

Thanks Rich... once again I underestimate the power of google! :p

Yasmin

[kaceyo]

I have thawed BH in the fridg overnight to add meds, then refrozen it. I don't let it thaw completely, only to the point it's workable but still has ice crystals in it.

Kacey

[rich815]

Sure thing.

I think the concept is that if thawed to room temp somewhere that bacteria has time and the environment to grow, then re-freeze, you can have issues. If all you want to do is add an ingredient I think thawing in the fridge just until workable, mixing the addition quickly and then into the freezer you'd be fine. Heck, maybe just a light microwaving to slightly defrost to the workable stage then mix and re-freeze. Hardly ANY time for bacteria to start growing I'd think....

[Chad Hughes]

It's absolutely fine to thaw then refreeze foods to add additional ingredients. The thing you don't want to do is allow it to come to room temperature or higher then attempt to refreeze. Foods that are not cooked, such as beefheart feed, must remain cold (refrigerated).

Some folks that go through TONS of beefheart mix don't freeze their food at all. It's simply refirgerated and then fed by the spoonful. Fresh mixes are made every few days.

Hope that helps!

[fishorama]

I thawed plain ground BH to add shrimp etc. I only partly thawed it to break off a piece & put the still frozen BH back. I made it very thin so I could break it with little thawing, I only have 8 discus so any makes a lot for me. Then I froze the shrimp mix.

[Yassmeena]

Thanks for all the responses - gives me some reassurance!

Into the fridge it goes then!!! :D

Yasmin

[korbi_doc]

Yasmin, many many yrs ago, a Boston radio commentator (who I just so admired) used to give advice to listeners 'bout things like this...& he stated that "as long as the "meat" is cold with some ice crystals in the center, it is ok to refreeze"....I've always adhered to this advice & never a problem...& our posters seem to agree also, lol....do you believe we used to listen to a radio??? lol, lol....gee, it was so long ago, lol.......showing my age, lol......

Dottie

[Yassmeena]

Yasmin, many many yrs ago, a Boston radio commentator (who I just so admired) used to give advice to listeners 'bout things like this...& he stated that "as long as the "meat" is cold with some ice crystals in the center, it is ok to refreeze"....I've always adhered to this advice & never a problem...& our posters seem to agree also, lol....do you believe we used to listen to a radio??? lol, lol....gee, it was so long ago, lol.......showing my age, lol......

Dottie

Hi Dottie,

Yesterday it was radio,today it's google! But those commentators must have loved their work because it was so meaningful to listners. Today radio is just "blah blah blah - blah blah blah..."

:)

Thanks for your comments.

Yasmin