Hey all, as mentioned at the end of the video, me and some public health researchers are doing a survey about meat washing practices. Whether you wash your meat before you cook it or not, we'd love for you to fill this out, no matter who you are or where you live! forms.gle/e5HM4gbQri2eBrhm6
Very awesome video! Just a super quick nerdy thing about the defrosting in running water, while the water is more thermally conductive, the main contributor to the faster defrosting is because the fluid is not stationary. When in a stationary/static fluid, the layer of fluid around the frozen food will drop in temperature, and since it doesn't move, this layer will actually insulate from the rest of the warmer water. The running water ensures that the fluid moves, and that there is less of a insulating layer around the frozen food.
YEP, this is why air itself is a thermal insulator, but its convection that's responsible for most of the heat transfer. Its why when its not windy at all you can stand outside in 30F in a t-shirt and not feel too cold. Vapor in general is less thermally conductive. In our thermal fluids lab back in college, we had experiments simulating freezing embyros cryogenically using liquid nitrogen vs. a higher temperate slush. It was neat stuff and a basic demonstration of Ladenfrost effect.
Thank you! JUST THANK YOU! I just want to say THANK YOU! I worked in the meat department of a local retail grocer for FOUR YEARS and the ENTIRE TIME I was bombarded, harassed, and nagged on about fresh, never frozen fish, seafood, or meats. Too often I was cold shouldered or treated with hostility over the fact that the vast majority of our line-up was flash frozen or cryo and for some cocked up reason everyone thought it was bad. I am GLAD I am out of that business!
@@olivesantos1840 exactly, meat and animal products are bad for the environment. Even if we just cut our meat consumption by 10%, it would help the environment so much
I cannot put into words just how valuable your content is, Adam. Informative, practical, and realistic without pandering to over-inflated "self important" or stuffy perspectives on culinary culture. There's a very fine balance to be achieved between careless and self-indulgent, and you hit it on the head every single time. Thank you for your efforts man, I really appreciate them.
Problem is the liquid needed to freeze an item is not present in all foods. He uses fish as the prime example, but it is the most watery food on the planet, so the results don’t apply the same to other much more solid foods. - - The nutrients themselves need to be put under the microscope and seen whether or not they can endure the elements. If such a thing is even possible.
#1: CONGRATS ON A MILLION SUBS! :D Enjoy that sweet plaque. #2: How do we know if something we buy has been flash frozen as opposed to slow frozen? Will it say on the packaging, or should we assume that all frozen foods nowadays have been flash frozen?
I kept waiting for him to stab a ziploc filled with water, but I suspect that would have crossed the line from homage to intellectual property theft. ;-)
@@AxxLAfriku No, in fact I quite like those people. I see, and respond to, you alot, so you probably know who I am at this point. I talk about your spamming too much, we need to address your awful content. Your content sucks. You mention your girlfriends alot, and I have to say, they are so hot they can flash freeze beef. Other than them your content is the third worst on the platform. I am ashamed to say there is worse, but not much.
One tip if you don't want to waste water with running the faucet, if you have a sous vide, you can just set the temp to something low like 35 f or whatever (just so it doesn't heat and end up cooking it) so it just runs the water circulator. Tried it out myself and it worked like a charm :3
Dr. Coupland was a professor of mine during undergrad! Incredible educator and really nice man. Knows everything in regards to food history and science
@ungratefulmetalpansy well yeah but some of his past videos involved him going out and talking to people. So I was just complimenting his ability to make good content even when it's more difficult.
@@koolmaaan I was mostly responding to Frequ saying they don't see how the pandemic would change things for Adam. I don't think it's much harder for him, no, but it's not completely inconsequential.
that survey was pretty funny as a vegan, first question "how often do you prepare meat", answer "never", response: "thank you for completing my survey"
Given that you're a vegan ... Didn't you have a problem with Adam talking about meat production so nonchalantly? Or are you a vegan for any other reason than because you care about animals?
When I was an undergrad and doing my research on campus for the summer when mostly no one else was around, the other physics students and I would raid the LN2 faucet to make ice cream almost every week for lunch break ice cream
I recently discovered that for thawing meat my sous vide machine is great. It circulates the water, which I can keep at room temperature, and so it doesn't use much energy. This thaws just as fast as the sink method, and I save even more water, because I very rarely change the water in my sous vide container. Most flash frozen meat is vacuum sealed in thick plastic, so it lasts a long time in the freezer, and it's great to just chuck in there for a quick thaw without worry of my unchanged container water touching my food.
My son has a one pot pressure cooker. His has a setting for sous vide and I may borrow it sometime. ( I have one too, but it don't have this setting. Always have to go better than dad. lol) Now I have a question hopefully you or someone can answer, or give even better advice. Besides salt and pepper should you season your meat before you cook or wait until you are browning the meat after cooking. Anyone can answer this question and I'm sure there can be more than one answer. Thanks.
What I’ve found works well, and what I’ve gotten from watching other you tube channels about it, is that Seasonings/spices and aromatics (e.g. thyme, rosemary, sage, etc.) are all good in the bag before sous vide. And I would definitely recommend seasoning before, as the browning/searing stage is short, time wise. The thing you shouldn’t add to the sous vide bag is fat (like oil or butter). If you want to use oil or butter during the browning/searing part, then that’ll definitely serve you best. Before putting the meat in the sous vide bag, season well and season all sides for larger pieces of meat. You can chuck aromatics in before you seal up the bag, they just need to be in the bag to do their job. You can still add a light amount of finishing salt or pepper once it’s done and on the plate, but taste first, you might not need it.
I never did quite understand why things being frozen was considered bad, also I never quite understood why the texture of ice cream changed so drastically when melted and re-frozen. I guess for most of my life flash freezing has been common so I never dealt with the bad frozen stuff. I didn't quite understand the science behind it but every thing else was very informative!
Who else is constantly refreshing to see if adam already hit 1mil? hes at 999k as of 3:01pm EST edit: around 20 mins later at 3:21pm EST adam hit 1M!!! congratulations!!!
Electrix, “EST” is Eastern Standard Time, just as PST is Pacific Standard Time. But we’re not currently in standard time. We’re still in daylight savings time. So, it was 3:21 Eastern Daylight Time (“EDT”), rather than standard time. Everyone knew what you meant, but, technically, divaD is right.
When I saw “Broiled Chocolate Chip Cookies” in my recommenced, I didn’t think I would end up learning this much about food and food science! Very pleased to see this channel skyrocket like it did! Congrats for 1 Mil!
Stocking up my freezer with frozen veggies and fish has changed my nutrition tremendously. So easy to whip up a soup or stir fry. If only I could get frozen chopped garlic at the store...game changer!
There used to be frozen chopped garlic in grocery stores here in Canada. It came in a thin plastic ice cube tray about ½ a cubic inch. It was in its own small freezer. It worked well. Just pop the number you need and away you go. I haven’t seen it for a few years. A shame.
Gordon in some far away country showing an exotic dish with fresh regionally exclusive ingredients. "This the right way of doing it" Adam Ragusea "Yeah that's nice and all but, nobody's gonna make it if you can only do it "the right way""
The One Above All not me though as someone live in a country that has 2 rivers run spilt entire land and the river is fresh water not salt water like Aus.
The environmental bonus we could find from moving towards flash freezing food of all kind might be unimaginable. The amount of food that is wasted in grocery stores alone because foods stopped being "fresh" because we keep them out in slightly refrigerated conditions for days is honestly disgusting. I don't mean imagine how disgusting it is, I mean I've had to throw out a lot of meat at a store before and it is disgusting. Just thinking about how flash frozen meats would lower waste, lower livestock, just be great for the environment.
But you can't just forget about the environmental impact of freezing everything. It takes a hell of a lot of energy to freeze the food AND to keep it frozen throughout the entire supply chain up until the point in your home. And freezers are damn energy hungry.
@@Minecraftrok999 Electricity is cheap and easy to produce and can be made with renewable and green energy sources. Livestock has a huge carbon footprint and uses a huge amount of water. Really not much we can do to improve it so if this can reduce the amount of livestock we have to raise it's a net positive in the long run.
@@Silmerano Oh I'm totally with you on Livestock. The original comment however wanted to apply this to ALL food, not only livestock (which gets frozen a lot already).
@@Minecraftrok999 Electricity is still cheap and easy to produce and can be made with renewable and green energy sources. Rotting produce releases methane which is 20 times more damaging than CO2. It's something else we should work to reduce.
Historicaly, companies will even throw tons of fresh food out if the prices are too low. While you make a good point, no engineering advancement will help us as long as we live in capitalism. The ultimate goal is profit, not makinds benefit.
I remember when I got his oven fries recipe in my recommended over a year ago and have been obsessed ever since. Mans still has a lot of time to grind. Great RUclipsr.
I saw a german video with an even quicker thawing method that uses less water. It might seem super weird, but I tried it and it works. I tried it with fish. You put a pot face-down on a table, frozen fish on top, another pot face-up on top with water inside. That's it. It thaws insanely fast and requires very little water in the upper pot.
I don’t like to pick favorites but..nearly a year after I first started watching you I think you’re my favorite youtube cook/home kitchen pro/no bs person. Congrats on 1 million, Adam!
A challenge with frozen foods is the time between picking it up at the grocery store and getting it to your home freezer, it can go through a partial thaw and re-freeze which does some damage. Hence why we should take coolers or isolated bags with us when buying frozen food.
This is a really unique channel. Incredibly well-researched food science, paired with equally thorough (and fuckin easy) home cooking recipes. Love what you're doing man, keep up the good work
hey I don't know if you're ever going to read this. my home life isn't great and nobody ever taught me how to cook or fend for myself. these videos all of them makes me feel in a weird way like I'm getting a cooking lesson from the dad I never had. thank you
I just read the thumbnail, "Frozen food is good" and thought back to the nutrition facts on the back of the box pizzas I've been eating during these times
What would make you sick is where I live over 4 million gallons of fresh water is just dumped into the Gulf of Mexico every second. That's over 344 billion gallons a day.
It was recommended to em by the yourube algorythm after eatching too many science videos. It was supposed to be a mistake by google but turns out I want to cook more so its a win
The other week I watched the guy working the seafood counter at my grocery store grab a pack of crab cakes from the seafood freezer, rip it open, and put them straight into the case. I typically bought frozen fish anyway but that definitely sealed the deal.
Man, I thought I could come up with one more cool pun in a flash... But I *froze!* Seriously though, love your videos Adam! You've earned that golden play button you're about to get.
I work in the seafood department at Publix, so I can add a little bit of info on the transportation procedures of seafood. Most of our finfish is never frozen. It's transported at 33 degrees at all time. I can't speak too well on the methods of transport before it reaches the US, but once in publix hands it stays in coolers at 33 degrees, to trucks at 33 degrees, back to coolers at 33 degrees. And if it entered "the red zone" or temperatures at which bacteria can rapidly grow for more than 10 minutes it's garbage. You can tell that the fish wasn't frozen prior to delivery because you still sometimes see those parasites in the fish, particularly cod and catfish. That is why the fish must be cooked and under no circumstances can you eat our fish raw. All of our shellfish comes in frozen though. The shrimp we put in the freezer doors is identical to the shrimp thawed in the case. All we do is open those exact same bags and run them under cold water for 5 to 10 minutes just like he said in the video. We can order fresh shrimp but that's only for local shrimp and is rare for us to bring in. Lobster tails in particular MUST be frozen. Lobster has a highly toxic bacteria that begins growing in the flesh the moment the lobster dies. This is why you cook lobsters alive. Alternatively with our lobster tails they have to be frozen immediately after death to prevent bacteria growth. Most people do think that the fresh fish is better than our frozen fish even though it comes from the same farms and all. I like to tell customers that the difference is indistinguishable and its safer to buy frozen. The only exception is if they plan to refreze. Refrezing a previously frozen product leads to more nucleation sites than freezing a fresh product
Hey Adam, had an issue with the survey: the District of Columbia (where I live) is not available as a choice in the state of residence options for US participants. Can you make it an option?
@@naughtiusmaximus1811 I cannot believe you just referenced chef Mike hahahaha. Ever since I saw that episode I always call my microwave chef Mike and noone knows what I'm talking about.
I’ve grown to love your channel more and more. Excellent recipes that range from easy to more complex, and the videos are always practical and educational. I appreciate the research and included expert opinion on the subject you’re talking about. I also appreciate that many of your recipes keep cost and ease at a practical level for the common person to follow
Just to anyone that find this helpfull: you can frozen yeasts (not the dry one) and it will last months. When you want to use it just put a little bit of hot water (not boiling) and sugar and let it for a while, it will revive. I had forgotten that I had a few cubes on the freezer, and after like 4 months they stayed alive. Hope you find this useful
Had to learn about freezer burn - I had surmised on my own over the years that it's related to exposure to air and apparently wrapping/vacuum packing meat helps prevent "the burn" but I never actually learned what the science behind it was. I gleaned that once ice crystals had started forming on the surface, the snowy looking ice specifically, that the flesh is burned. I went through 3 videos before this one trying to learn information I probably could've googled faster but I'm glad I ended up here because I found a great new channel to subscribe to.
Been buying some of those frozen ready made meals that you only add some water to and heat up in a pan. It’s not what I’d call cooking, but holy crap! They’re so much better than I ever expected and leagues above the hellscape that is microwave ‘food’. Thanks, science.
Why the hell aren’t you on TV? This is like the new improved Alton Brown good eats. Amazing video and amazing channel you’re doing a great job keep it up!
I really appreciate your content, Adam. I've enjoyed watching Alton Brown for years and I like some of the similarities as well as the fresh takes on some interesting topics. Keep up the good work.
Good thing about working with Dry Ice as opposed to say liquid nitrogen is because Dry ice is made of CO2 you will realize that you feel out of breath because its the buildup of carbon dioxide that makes you want to breathe, with nitrogen buildup you could just pass out without ever feeling out of breath
Adam, Great content as always! I think one thing to note is that an immersion circulator (sous vide thingy) could help cut down on water waste compared to the "trickle method" in this video. They are built to circulate water around the food which you mention is essential for defrosting while using the same batch of water. This can be done at a steady temperature from 75 to 90 degrees thanks to the heating element. I rarely use mine anymore for conventional "sous vide cooking" (thanks in part to your steak videos) but I do find it's useful for making quicker "cold brew" coffee and for defrosting food. If you defrost something using this method once a week you'd save over 200 gallons of water a year according to your data, so I think it's worth noting for your environmentally conscious audience!
I thought the reason they suggested cool water is so that it would be below 45 degrees. Since you're defrosting above that temperature, aren't you concerned about bacterial growth? Just wondering not criticizing.
@@dlbstl well you should only be concerned about bacteria growth if you leave it at that temperature for more than a few hours. Since this is a quick method of defrosting that wouldn’t be the case
Finally a video that talks about what I deal with pretty much everyday! I work with IQF fruit and vegetables, which is pretty much everything you'd find in the frozen aisle in your grocery store.
Ayyy you hit 1 million subscribers! This channel is the most unique and real cooking channel on the site. I’m excited what you have in store for the next million subscribers!
When my grandfather came back from WWII a friend of his offered him an opportunity to get in on the "ground floor" of a new Frozen food company. He said no, he'd take a job driving an Exxon truck. That Frozen food company was Banquet Foods,which became a huge brand.
All most at 1 million subscribers I started watching you all the way back when you at 200k you came so far congratulations Adam hope to see you at 10 million one day.
First frozen food at a grocery store (in the US) was up the road from me in Springfield, MA. Birdseye lucked into that one, he wasn't even a good guy, he was a naturalist that went up to Labrador on assignment and was taught by Inuits how to flash freeze fish under ice with super cold surface temps. He noticed how fresh the fish still tasted and began to experiment with flash freezing on vegetables. He modernized food, and I don't think he gets enough praise for it.
YESSSS ADAM HIT 1 MILLION SUBS LETS GOOOOOOO, I've been here for like 2 years man I'm so proud I tell everybody about Adam because he's my favorite RUclipsr cooking person guy idk point I'd I love this man
We use liquid nitrogen to freeze our vegetables from the garden. We vacuum pack and throw them in a cooler and take them to a welding supply store in town and they freeze it. Charge us $20 max
Most, if not all, industrial wielding suppliers carry nitrogen to refill nitrogen bottles. In this case, it helps that I know the guy so he basically handles it for me. But what he does it throw my stuff I want froze in a stainless steel box and fogs it with nitrogen. I've also done it myself where I get a flask of it from him and submerge the vacuum sealed bags in to it in a bowl. Never use plastic. It will break and I learned it the hard way. I don't advise doing it that way or doing yourself since liquid nitrogen is dangerous. But, if you want to get results similar, you can get a good cooler like an orca or similar and pack dry ice 360° of what ever you want frozen. Takes about 15 to 30 minutes to solid freeze things but works just as well.
The thing about crystalline structures is that when they get near their melting point, the crystals start growing in size, smaller ones disappearing into the larger. This lower ice cream quality, and it turns flash frozen into regular frozen. If the storage supply chain isn't cold enough, and often it isn't in food deserts and similar areas, or home freezers that aren't quite cold enough to store this right.
One thing I'll suggest on the thawing note is- I know not everyone has this, but an immersion circulator works great for it. I'll be looking forward to the food-washing video!
5:51 Cell membranes not cell walls for the beef. Does this make any difference in the flash freezing of animals no cell walls vs plants with a cell wall?
Not much, as cell walls are already permeable to water. What can happen with certain vegetables (celeriacs) is that they turn mushy when frozen without blanching them first. In general: blanching your vegetables before freezing preserves structure.
I've been using an immersion circulator set to room temp to thaw everything in my house. I know it's not a tool everyone has, but everyone should have one. It's honestly used more than our microwave and most people have those these days, not to mention the other incredible uses for one.
Thanks for this video. I've long been advocating for more frozen meat. It's factually less wasteful once you consider how much meat people will throw out because it has gone bad, the fact that it arrives frozen in the first place and is simply repackaged, etc. Even without flash freezing, vacuum sealed meat frozen in a typical chest freezer at home is fine, and I can't tell the difference between it and fresh meat. I find that it'll typically be even fresher since you only thaw it an hour before cooking it, rather than cooking it 2-3 days after buying it from the store. Additionally, you only have to thaw the amount you really plan to eat. I bought a 50$ vacuum sealing machine off of amazon and since then I've actually been saving money by buying meat in large quantities and separating, vacuum sealing and freezing it myself. It's a simple process and really satisfying to do.
Interesting, I grew up with my mom cooking with frozen meat and vegetables my whole life (and her cooking is amazing) so I didn't realize many people thought frozen food was less "tasty"
I just did a quick search and it looks like dry ice and liquid nitrogen are roughly on par price wise if you want to use it in an icecream recipe. (Per unit volume liquid nitrogen is cheaper than milk although neither is known for having much of a shelf life)
The only place you'll ever get *real* fresh 鮨(sushi) or 刺身(sashimi) is Japan. When you purchase it at a restaurant there, the fish is literally caught that morning, killed using the 活け締め(ikejime) method to drastically slow decomposition and kept on ice. Also, have you ever done a video on vacuum sealing? I'm curious on the specifics of doing it with both raw and cooked meats, how much longer they'll last, etc.
@@walterw2 no. If you're referring to Ikejime it's where they stick a spike through the fish's brain and flush all the blood out of it's body with water within minutes of the fish dying.
@@Matando no i'm talking about disturbing youtubes of cut slabs of raw tuna where you see white worms emerging from the flesh and waving their heads around
The thing is that killing a fish fast doesn’t mean there won’t be parasites. Sure it will slow down decomposition, but the parasites, that are already in the flesh of the fish even when the fish is alive, will stay alive. Ikejime won’t kill the parasites, but it does slow decomposition and is the more humane option to kill fish. Basically: fresh fish does not mean parasite-free fish
@@guineapiggies9040 right, but certain fish do and certain fish don't. It also depends on location. For example there's no traditional salmon based sushi because pacific salmon has parasites while atlantic salmon does not
What’s the benefit of having the water trickling like that? A comparison of one with and one without would be good. Just because freshwater is not scarce for you doesn’t mean there are no other negative impacts of water wastage.
Frozen spinach is great, especially with a little sesame dressing or salad cream. Frozen peas are a thing of beauty for fried rice, mixed in just before serving. Frozen ribeye slices up real thin for gyudon or shabu shabu. Good frozen dumplings are convenient and maintain a great texture. And if anything, I get more aroma and flavor from frozen Brussels sprouts than from fresh. Keeping my freezer well stocked with these and other staples is a high priority when shopping.
Hey all, as mentioned at the end of the video, me and some public health researchers are doing a survey about meat washing practices. Whether you wash your meat before you cook it or not, we'd love for you to fill this out, no matter who you are or where you live! forms.gle/e5HM4gbQri2eBrhm6
Done. Thank you for the content!
Didn't you already do a video on washing meat?
Finished. LET’S GET THIS MAN TO 1 MILLION!!!!
I took the survey. Thanks for the info Adam!
WE HAVE 1 MILLIONNN
Dissapointed Adam freezes his meat instead of his cutting board.
10/10 would laugh at this joke again
Underrated comment
genious :D
You win the comment section
LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!
I could listen to Dr. Coupland talk about ice for hours, man has got a voice smoother than that ice cream.
Reminds me of jon hammond from jurassic park
U like North England accent. You would enjoy Scottish accent. 😁
He's accent doesn't know where it is now.
Lol I’m in his class: can confirm
This comment intrigues me further to watch the video.
Adam loves the fridge and freezer more than anyone else I know.
Nice Videos btw, Loving POV cooking vids
But which one more, olive oil or freezer
I mean his grandpa was an Iceman
@@mihaelzubak7321 it's because he isn't stupid
What about seasoning his board and not his meat?
Very awesome video! Just a super quick nerdy thing about the defrosting in running water, while the water is more thermally conductive, the main contributor to the faster defrosting is because the fluid is not stationary. When in a stationary/static fluid, the layer of fluid around the frozen food will drop in temperature, and since it doesn't move, this layer will actually insulate from the rest of the warmer water. The running water ensures that the fluid moves, and that there is less of a insulating layer around the frozen food.
Yeah, that is what is done in the video.
I agree with Adam.
convection?
YEP, this is why air itself is a thermal insulator, but its convection that's responsible for most of the heat transfer. Its why when its not windy at all you can stand outside in 30F in a t-shirt and not feel too cold. Vapor in general is less thermally conductive.
In our thermal fluids lab back in college, we had experiments simulating freezing embyros cryogenically using liquid nitrogen vs. a higher temperate slush. It was neat stuff and a basic demonstration of Ladenfrost effect.
In other words a cheap $10 water pump would probably have a similar effect, and spare the four gallons of water?
Thank you! JUST THANK YOU! I just want to say THANK YOU! I worked in the meat department of a local retail grocer for FOUR YEARS and the ENTIRE TIME I was bombarded, harassed, and nagged on about fresh, never frozen fish, seafood, or meats. Too often I was cold shouldered or treated with hostility over the fact that the vast majority of our line-up was flash frozen or cryo and for some cocked up reason everyone thought it was bad. I am GLAD I am out of that business!
Adam’s channel is growing so fast, you’re going to hit 1 million in the next hour at least. Congratulations, you deserve every subscriber.
boutta hit a mil rn
damn I didn't even notice
@SFS Guidance Lol. I can't see what I am, but I was really hoping to be the 1 millionth. This channel is great.
wow i subbed like sub 100k. feels crazy because that was like a year ago
Well that was a lie
Little did we know, his tap isn’t water. It’s white wine.
Ah, so that’s how he’s always so animated in his videos!
I’m pretty sure we already knew that anyways lol
Salty so his poop is...Solid White Wine ?!?!...ew
Why I season my well wine, not my meat.
He bleeds red whine
He’s right about the water waste: households account for only 3.6% water usage whereas agriculture uses 92% of the global water supply
But that's because people consume waaay too much meat
eating meat is fine but we should consume less
Olive Santos i’m vegetarian but like not a pretentious condescending one😎
@@olivesantos1840 exactly, meat and animal products are bad for the environment. Even if we just cut our meat consumption by 10%, it would help the environment so much
@Omer Ahmed It might not affect you, but it'll hurt a lot of people even in our generation, starting with the most vulnerable people.
@@olivesantos1840 plants use a lot of water, especially cash crops like cotton and tobacco.
I cannot put into words just how valuable your content is, Adam. Informative, practical, and realistic without pandering to over-inflated "self important" or stuffy perspectives on culinary culture. There's a very fine balance to be achieved between careless and self-indulgent, and you hit it on the head every single time. Thank you for your efforts man, I really appreciate them.
Problem is the liquid needed to freeze an item is not present in all foods. He uses fish as the prime example, but it is the most watery food on the planet, so the results don’t apply the same to other much more solid foods. - - The nutrients themselves need to be put under the microscope and seen whether or not they can endure the elements. If such a thing is even possible.
#1: CONGRATS ON A MILLION SUBS! :D Enjoy that sweet plaque.
#2: How do we know if something we buy has been flash frozen as opposed to slow frozen? Will it say on the packaging, or should we assume that all frozen foods nowadays have been flash frozen?
First
Oh hi MandJTV! im subscribed to you!
Usually it will say frozen (slow) or deep-frozen (quick).
Huh, I didn't expect to see a comment from MandJTV
hey go use squarespace mikey
You've heard of "vinegar leg is on the right" but now get ready for "slow frozen apple is on the right"
freshly picked squash in the middle
@@mustardcookie864 link?
🧊 🍎👉🏽
Or how about "The Naty Light is on the Table"
Gabriel Felix Wait a damn minute- is that what the thing at the end of his videos means?!
That Good Eats-esque demo with the cotton balls was great
I had the exact same thought
Alton Ragusea
I kept waiting for him to stab a ziploc filled with water, but I suspect that would have crossed the line from homage to intellectual property theft. ;-)
why i season my liquid nitrogen NOT my beef
At work I season my whole walk-in fridge and freezer.
enhance for full flavor
I don't have any friends because they are ashamed of the videos I upload. Are they really that bad, dear mara
@@AxxLAfriku No, in fact I quite like those people. I see, and respond to, you alot, so you probably know who I am at this point. I talk about your spamming too much, we need to address your awful content. Your content sucks. You mention your girlfriends alot, and I have to say, they are so hot they can flash freeze beef. Other than them your content is the third worst on the platform. I am ashamed to say there is worse, but not much.
@@AxxLAfriku you have the best content ive seen in a while...
One tip if you don't want to waste water with running the faucet, if you have a sous vide, you can just set the temp to something low like 35 f or whatever (just so it doesn't heat and end up cooking it) so it just runs the water circulator. Tried it out myself and it worked like a charm :3
Dr. Coupland was a professor of mine during undergrad! Incredible educator and really nice man. Knows everything in regards to food history and science
No one person knows everything about anything.
@@zyeet3243 Have you heard of the concept of hyperbole?
@@zyeet3243 True. There's also a few unfortunate people who don't know anything about anything, as you've just so kindly demonstrated for us.
I love how even when in a pandemic, Adam can keep making quality videos with facts and entertaining content.
@ungratefulmetalpansy well yeah but some of his past videos involved him going out and talking to people. So I was just complimenting his ability to make good content even when it's more difficult.
I don't see how it would change anything
Harder to talk to people or go to interesting locations, hard to find ingredients at the grocery stores.
@@koolmaaan I was mostly responding to Frequ saying they don't see how the pandemic would change things for Adam. I don't think it's much harder for him, no, but it's not completely inconsequential.
that survey was pretty funny as a vegan, first question "how often do you prepare meat", answer "never", response: "thank you for completing my survey"
And it still puts you in the draw. how convenient!
speedrun
Nice LEL
Same
Given that you're a vegan ... Didn't you have a problem with Adam talking about meat production so nonchalantly? Or are you a vegan for any other reason than because you care about animals?
When I was an undergrad and doing my research on campus for the summer when mostly no one else was around, the other physics students and I would raid the LN2 faucet to make ice cream almost every week for lunch break ice cream
Wow that’s so awesome!
I recently discovered that for thawing meat my sous vide machine is great. It circulates the water, which I can keep at room temperature, and so it doesn't use much energy. This thaws just as fast as the sink method, and I save even more water, because I very rarely change the water in my sous vide container. Most flash frozen meat is vacuum sealed in thick plastic, so it lasts a long time in the freezer, and it's great to just chuck in there for a quick thaw without worry of my unchanged container water touching my food.
I was thinking the same thing. I don't have one but I can see how it would be handy for this.
This!!!
I use mine (with the temperature set at room temperature) to speed-defrost large objects like roasts. It’s so fast and reliable!
Ew
My son has a one pot pressure cooker. His has a setting for sous vide and I may borrow it sometime. ( I have one too, but it don't have this setting. Always have to go better than dad. lol) Now I have a question hopefully you or someone can answer, or give even better advice. Besides salt and pepper should you season your meat before you cook or wait until you are browning the meat after cooking. Anyone can answer this question and I'm sure there can be more than one answer. Thanks.
What I’ve found works well, and what I’ve gotten from watching other you tube channels about it, is that Seasonings/spices and aromatics (e.g. thyme, rosemary, sage, etc.) are all good in the bag before sous vide. And I would definitely recommend seasoning before, as the browning/searing stage is short, time wise. The thing you shouldn’t add to the sous vide bag is fat (like oil or butter). If you want to use oil or butter during the browning/searing part, then that’ll definitely serve you best.
Before putting the meat in the sous vide bag, season well and season all sides for larger pieces of meat. You can chuck aromatics in before you seal up the bag, they just need to be in the bag to do their job. You can still add a light amount of finishing salt or pepper once it’s done and on the plate, but taste first, you might not need it.
I never did quite understand why things being frozen was considered bad, also I never quite understood why the texture of ice cream changed so drastically when melted and re-frozen.
I guess for most of my life flash freezing has been common so I never dealt with the bad frozen stuff.
I didn't quite understand the science behind it but every thing else was very informative!
Who else is constantly refreshing to see if adam already hit 1mil? hes at 999k as of 3:01pm EST
edit: around 20 mins later at 3:21pm EST adam hit 1M!!! congratulations!!!
divaD 4 no, EST = Eastern time. Lol
same same
Electrix, “EST” is Eastern Standard Time, just as PST is Pacific Standard Time. But we’re not currently in standard time. We’re still in daylight savings time. So, it was 3:21 Eastern Daylight Time (“EDT”), rather than standard time. Everyone knew what you meant, but, technically, divaD is right.
get a life
*pop* Superfly baby!
When I saw “Broiled Chocolate Chip Cookies” in my recommenced, I didn’t think I would end up learning this much about food and food science! Very pleased to see this channel skyrocket like it did! Congrats for 1 Mil!
Adam's science videos:
Meticulous research, interviews, video footage from factories
Adam's cooking videos:
"Aint nobody got time for that!"
Not complaining, BTW: I love both styles of video.
He’s too busy researching to measure his ingredients.
Stocking up my freezer with frozen veggies and fish has changed my nutrition tremendously. So easy to whip up a soup or stir fry. If only I could get frozen chopped garlic at the store...game changer!
There used to be frozen chopped garlic in grocery stores here in Canada. It came in a thin plastic ice cube tray about ½ a cubic inch. It was in its own small freezer. It worked well. Just pop the number you need and away you go. I haven’t seen it for a few years. A shame.
Gordon: It’s frozen
Adam Ragusea: This is why frozen food is good
Gordon in some far away country showing an exotic dish with fresh regionally exclusive ingredients. "This the right way of doing it"
Adam Ragusea "Yeah that's nice and all but, nobody's gonna make it if you can only do it "the right way""
As an Australian, watching a tap purposely left running leaves me with a deep sense of anxiety.
+
Doesn't everyone?
The One Above All not me though as someone live in a country that has 2 rivers run spilt entire land and the river is fresh water not salt water like Aus.
@@naydsoe27 No, plenty of water where I live.
As someone from Los Angeles... Same. Half of my childhood was learning that I must turn off the water while brushing my teeth.
The environmental bonus we could find from moving towards flash freezing food of all kind might be unimaginable. The amount of food that is wasted in grocery stores alone because foods stopped being "fresh" because we keep them out in slightly refrigerated conditions for days is honestly disgusting. I don't mean imagine how disgusting it is, I mean I've had to throw out a lot of meat at a store before and it is disgusting.
Just thinking about how flash frozen meats would lower waste, lower livestock, just be great for the environment.
But you can't just forget about the environmental impact of freezing everything.
It takes a hell of a lot of energy to freeze the food AND to keep it frozen throughout the entire supply chain up until the point in your home.
And freezers are damn energy hungry.
@@Minecraftrok999 Electricity is cheap and easy to produce and can be made with renewable and green energy sources. Livestock has a huge carbon footprint and uses a huge amount of water. Really not much we can do to improve it so if this can reduce the amount of livestock we have to raise it's a net positive in the long run.
@@Silmerano
Oh I'm totally with you on Livestock.
The original comment however wanted to apply this to ALL food, not only livestock (which gets frozen a lot already).
@@Minecraftrok999 Electricity is still cheap and easy to produce and can be made with renewable and green energy sources. Rotting produce releases methane which is 20 times more damaging than CO2. It's something else we should work to reduce.
Historicaly, companies will even throw tons of fresh food out if the prices are too low. While you make a good point, no engineering advancement will help us as long as we live in capitalism. The ultimate goal is profit, not makinds benefit.
So close to a million Adam! Keep grinding! :)
That's crazy... I remember youtube recommending me his pizza video like it was yesterday
I ran onto him a few weeks ago looking for an icecream recipe. I think he deserves the 1 milly
I remember when I got his oven fries recipe in my recommended over a year ago and have been obsessed ever since. Mans still has a lot of time to grind. Great RUclipsr.
Oof, 999k lmao
The first video I saw was the broiled cookies
I saw a german video with an even quicker thawing method that uses less water. It might seem super weird, but I tried it and it works. I tried it with fish. You put a pot face-down on a table, frozen fish on top, another pot face-up on top with water inside. That's it. It thaws insanely fast and requires very little water in the upper pot.
I don’t like to pick favorites but..nearly a year after I first started watching you I think you’re my favorite youtube cook/home kitchen pro/no bs person. Congrats on 1 million, Adam!
Hey adam! I made your risotto, and despite being 13, I found it super easy, just time consuming! My parents loved it. Thanks for the recipe!
A challenge with frozen foods is the time between picking it up at the grocery store and getting it to your home freezer, it can go through a partial thaw and re-freeze which does some damage. Hence why we should take coolers or isolated bags with us when buying frozen food.
This is a really unique channel. Incredibly well-researched food science, paired with equally thorough (and fuckin easy) home cooking recipes. Love what you're doing man, keep up the good work
In my opinion Adam Ragusia 's Utube channel is one of the best. He explains everything simply and completely.
hey I don't know if you're ever going to read this. my home life isn't great and nobody ever taught me how to cook or fend for myself. these videos all of them makes me feel in a weird way like I'm getting a cooking lesson from the dad I never had. thank you
I just read the thumbnail, "Frozen food is good" and thought back to the nutrition facts on the back of the box pizzas I've been eating during these times
Hope you're alright bro
"Fresh water is not scarce where I live"
-cries in Californian
...I blame Los Angeles
Naughtius Maximus as you should.
What would make you sick is where I live over 4 million gallons of fresh water is just dumped into the Gulf of Mexico every second. That's over 344 billion gallons a day.
@@Silmerano
Why?
@@LuckyDDBH It's called an estuary c:
Never been this quick. We're so close hitting one million subs!!
im starting to forget that this is a cooking channel, it felt like science class during this video lol. keep up the great work Adam!!!
It was recommended to em by the yourube algorythm after eatching too many science videos. It was supposed to be a mistake by google but turns out I want to cook more so its a win
These are true cooking skills.
someone with southern english accent: speaks
American: wow so soothing, I can listen to this for hours.
I might be alone but I thought the framers accent was better.
The other week I watched the guy working the seafood counter at my grocery store grab a pack of crab cakes from the seafood freezer, rip it open, and put them straight into the case. I typically bought frozen fish anyway but that definitely sealed the deal.
Man, I thought I could come up with one more cool pun in a flash...
But I *froze!*
Seriously though, love your videos Adam! You've earned that golden play button you're about to get.
This made me smile
The mixture of co2 and cream intimidates me on a level deeper than any human being has ever known
I work in the seafood department at Publix, so I can add a little bit of info on the transportation procedures of seafood. Most of our finfish is never frozen. It's transported at 33 degrees at all time. I can't speak too well on the methods of transport before it reaches the US, but once in publix hands it stays in coolers at 33 degrees, to trucks at 33 degrees, back to coolers at 33 degrees. And if it entered "the red zone" or temperatures at which bacteria can rapidly grow for more than 10 minutes it's garbage. You can tell that the fish wasn't frozen prior to delivery because you still sometimes see those parasites in the fish, particularly cod and catfish. That is why the fish must be cooked and under no circumstances can you eat our fish raw. All of our shellfish comes in frozen though. The shrimp we put in the freezer doors is identical to the shrimp thawed in the case. All we do is open those exact same bags and run them under cold water for 5 to 10 minutes just like he said in the video. We can order fresh shrimp but that's only for local shrimp and is rare for us to bring in. Lobster tails in particular MUST be frozen. Lobster has a highly toxic bacteria that begins growing in the flesh the moment the lobster dies. This is why you cook lobsters alive. Alternatively with our lobster tails they have to be frozen immediately after death to prevent bacteria growth. Most people do think that the fresh fish is better than our frozen fish even though it comes from the same farms and all. I like to tell customers that the difference is indistinguishable and its safer to buy frozen. The only exception is if they plan to refreze. Refrezing a previously frozen product leads to more nucleation sites than freezing a fresh product
LOOK AT THAT SMOOTH TRANSITION INTO A SQUARESPACE AD
props dude
Adam, you are consistently doing some of the best food journalism anywhere. As a news producer early in my career I learn a lot every video. Thanks!
Hey Adam, had an issue with the survey: the District of Columbia (where I live) is not available as a choice in the state of residence options for US participants. Can you make it an option?
Maryland is the one my family uses. It isnt correct but the closest thing we got
@@mildlyupsetcat7989 Having recently escaped from Dystopia City, I'd say Maryland is more accurate than Virginia.
You don't live in a state so you have to be sad
DC isn't a state friend, sorry :/
Who’s gonna tell him he can’t vote?
Fresh Frozen: Exists
Gordon Ramsay: *incoherent screeching*
**screeching slowly intensifies**
Chef Mike disagrees
@@naughtiusmaximus1811 I cannot believe you just referenced chef Mike hahahaha. Ever since I saw that episode I always call my microwave chef Mike and noone knows what I'm talking about.
I’ve grown to love your channel more and more. Excellent recipes that range from easy to more complex, and the videos are always practical and educational. I appreciate the research and included expert opinion on the subject you’re talking about. I also appreciate that many of your recipes keep cost and ease at a practical level for the common person to follow
Adam I'm constantly amazed by the production quality, it's truly impressive!
11:29
Ah yes, my new favorite novel after "Eat, Pray, Love":
"Thaw, Eat, Pay"
Just to anyone that find this helpfull: you can frozen yeasts (not the dry one) and it will last months. When you want to use it just put a little bit of hot water (not boiling) and sugar and let it for a while, it will revive. I had forgotten that I had a few cubes on the freezer, and after like 4 months they stayed alive. Hope you find this useful
Why I season my refrigerator and not my food.
Why I season the cow before I process it.
this is getting old
This is seriously getting old
@@kinggdom_5960 no
WHAT. I’ve been really enjoying your channel lately and am SO stoked to hear you’re also a Georgia-resident!
Had to learn about freezer burn - I had surmised on my own over the years that it's related to exposure to air and apparently wrapping/vacuum packing meat helps prevent "the burn" but I never actually learned what the science behind it was. I gleaned that once ice crystals had started forming on the surface, the snowy looking ice specifically, that the flesh is burned. I went through 3 videos before this one trying to learn information I probably could've googled faster but I'm glad I ended up here because I found a great new channel to subscribe to.
Congrats on 1 million subs, Adam. What an incredible accomplishment
Hey Adam, congrats on 1 million! You deserve it.
My man Ragusea hit that 1 milli subscribers, been waiting for that since I joined the gang back at 120k
Been buying some of those frozen ready made meals that you only add some water to and heat up in a pan. It’s not what I’d call cooking, but holy crap! They’re so much better than I ever expected and leagues above the hellscape that is microwave ‘food’.
Thanks, science.
Georgia!! You guys rock! Thank you for giving our country back! OK back to food
been here since spring 2019! congrats on hitting one million soon, you earned it
Why the hell aren’t you on TV? This is like the new improved Alton Brown good eats. Amazing video and amazing channel you’re doing a great job keep it up!
Less people would see it on TV. TV is practically dead. Other than when I'm at a hotel room, I haven't watched TV in 15 years.
TV needs braindead sensationalism to survive, this video wouldn't make them enough money
I really appreciate your content, Adam. I've enjoyed watching Alton Brown for years and I like some of the similarities as well as the fresh takes on some interesting topics. Keep up the good work.
You gotta appreciate that Adam talks to experts before teaching us
This was a super useful, I'm gonna look for flash frozen fish from now on. Thank you Adam!
Good thing about working with Dry Ice as opposed to say liquid nitrogen is because Dry ice is made of CO2 you will realize that you feel out of breath because its the buildup of carbon dioxide that makes you want to breathe, with nitrogen buildup you could just pass out without ever feeling out of breath
Our daughter (3 years old) loves her “cold peas.”
Adam,
Great content as always! I think one thing to note is that an immersion circulator (sous vide thingy) could help cut down on water waste compared to the "trickle method" in this video. They are built to circulate water around the food which you mention is essential for defrosting while using the same batch of water. This can be done at a steady temperature from 75 to 90 degrees thanks to the heating element.
I rarely use mine anymore for conventional "sous vide cooking" (thanks in part to your steak videos) but I do find it's useful for making quicker "cold brew" coffee and for defrosting food. If you defrost something using this method once a week you'd save over 200 gallons of water a year according to your data, so I think it's worth noting for your environmentally conscious audience!
I thought the reason they suggested cool water is so that it would be below 45 degrees. Since you're defrosting above that temperature, aren't you concerned about bacterial growth? Just wondering not criticizing.
@@dlbstl well you should only be concerned about bacteria growth if you leave it at that temperature for more than a few hours. Since this is a quick method of defrosting that wouldn’t be the case
I just love how you just introduce an expert on each of these videos
Finally a video that talks about what I deal with pretty much everyday! I work with IQF fruit and vegetables, which is pretty much everything you'd find in the frozen aisle in your grocery store.
"hey can I have some dry ice"
"Only a spoonful"
What spoonful
*C O M E D I C A L L Y L A R G E S P O O N*
Adam: Frozen food is good
Gordon: So you have chosen death?
Adam you should do a video on artificial sweeteners, things like aspartame❤️❤️
Ayyy you hit 1 million subscribers! This channel is the most unique and real cooking channel on the site. I’m excited what you have in store for the next million subscribers!
When my grandfather came back from WWII a friend of his offered him an opportunity to get in on the "ground floor" of a new Frozen food company. He said no, he'd take a job driving an Exxon truck. That Frozen food company was Banquet Foods,which became a huge brand.
7:09 Chiseling out your shrimp?
🎵 Break me off a piece of that big shrimp block!🎵
i hate this.
@@taiiat0 same
For a second there thought Dr. Coupland was going to say "We spared no expense"
All most at 1 million subscribers I started watching you all the way back when you at 200k you came so far congratulations Adam hope to see you at 10 million one day.
You just got to 1 million congratulations
First frozen food at a grocery store (in the US) was up the road from me in Springfield, MA. Birdseye lucked into that one, he wasn't even a good guy, he was a naturalist that went up to Labrador on assignment and was taught by Inuits how to flash freeze fish under ice with super cold surface temps. He noticed how fresh the fish still tasted and began to experiment with flash freezing on vegetables. He modernized food, and I don't think he gets enough praise for it.
YESSSS ADAM HIT 1 MILLION SUBS LETS GOOOOOOO, I've been here for like 2 years man I'm so proud I tell everybody about Adam because he's my favorite RUclipsr cooking person guy idk point I'd I love this man
Gordon Ramsay: “was that fresh or frozen?”
ITS FRESHFROZEN
"You tell me, chef, do you see any farms in the surrounding six blocks?"
@@Huna98 Haldiram!... Frozen Fresh
Only Indians will get this joke!
Fresh.... fresh from the can
@@pmathewizard loool
We use liquid nitrogen to freeze our vegetables from the garden. We vacuum pack and throw them in a cooler and take them to a welding supply store in town and they freeze it. Charge us $20 max
Do you have any more details on the process? I am interested.
I'm totally interested in what's going on here. Please do some further explaining, because in my mind, welding and freezing don't mix well :)
Commenting in case more details are provided. Was it a service they advertised or was it something you were the first to negotiate?
Asummersdaydreamer14 same here
Most, if not all, industrial wielding suppliers carry nitrogen to refill nitrogen bottles. In this case, it helps that I know the guy so he basically handles it for me. But what he does it throw my stuff I want froze in a stainless steel box and fogs it with nitrogen. I've also done it myself where I get a flask of it from him and submerge the vacuum sealed bags in to it in a bowl. Never use plastic. It will break and I learned it the hard way. I don't advise doing it that way or doing yourself since liquid nitrogen is dangerous. But, if you want to get results similar, you can get a good cooler like an orca or similar and pack dry ice 360° of what ever you want frozen. Takes about 15 to 30 minutes to solid freeze things but works just as well.
Adam looks like that guy from that “when you find out you’re 6% Italian” video with that hair
I'm pretty sure he is of Italian descent.
The thing about crystalline structures is that when they get near their melting point, the crystals start growing in size, smaller ones disappearing into the larger. This lower ice cream quality, and it turns flash frozen into regular frozen. If the storage supply chain isn't cold enough, and often it isn't in food deserts and similar areas, or home freezers that aren't quite cold enough to store this right.
One thing I'll suggest on the thawing note is- I know not everyone has this, but an immersion circulator works great for it.
I'll be looking forward to the food-washing video!
5:51 Cell membranes not cell walls for the beef. Does this make any difference in the flash freezing of animals no cell walls vs plants with a cell wall?
Not much, as cell walls are already permeable to water. What can happen with certain vegetables (celeriacs) is that they turn mushy when frozen without blanching them first. In general: blanching your vegetables before freezing preserves structure.
So your saying if I flash freeze my white wine and seasoned cutting board I’ll get the best steak and Short Ribs?
*GORDON RAMSAY WANTS TO KNOW YOUR LOCATION*
Macon
*it's fucking frozen*
I've been using an immersion circulator set to room temp to thaw everything in my house. I know it's not a tool everyone has, but everyone should have one. It's honestly used more than our microwave and most people have those these days, not to mention the other incredible uses for one.
Thanks for this video. I've long been advocating for more frozen meat. It's factually less wasteful once you consider how much meat people will throw out because it has gone bad, the fact that it arrives frozen in the first place and is simply repackaged, etc. Even without flash freezing, vacuum sealed meat frozen in a typical chest freezer at home is fine, and I can't tell the difference between it and fresh meat. I find that it'll typically be even fresher since you only thaw it an hour before cooking it, rather than cooking it 2-3 days after buying it from the store. Additionally, you only have to thaw the amount you really plan to eat. I bought a 50$ vacuum sealing machine off of amazon and since then I've actually been saving money by buying meat in large quantities and separating, vacuum sealing and freezing it myself. It's a simple process and really satisfying to do.
Interesting, I grew up with my mom cooking with frozen meat and vegetables my whole life (and her cooking is amazing) so I didn't realize many people thought frozen food was less "tasty"
They are less tasty
I read the title as "Frozen food is gone" and was thoroughly confused for a moment
😂😂😂😂
🦀 🦀
I think he changed the title
No more frozen food
@@potatoking2687 I think they meant the thumbnail
6:35
"Small fish like shimps"
Ok im fine just a little bit shocked
Great job on 1 Million subscribers, Adam!
I just did a quick search and it looks like dry ice and liquid nitrogen are roughly on par price wise if you want to use it in an icecream recipe. (Per unit volume liquid nitrogen is cheaper than milk although neither is known for having much of a shelf life)
The only place you'll ever get *real* fresh 鮨(sushi) or 刺身(sashimi) is Japan. When you purchase it at a restaurant there, the fish is literally caught that morning, killed using the 活け締め(ikejime) method to drastically slow decomposition and kept on ice.
Also, have you ever done a video on vacuum sealing? I'm curious on the specifics of doing it with both raw and cooked meats, how much longer they'll last, etc.
is that where i see those videos of the little white worms emerging from the fish flesh?
@@walterw2 no. If you're referring to Ikejime it's where they stick a spike through the fish's brain and flush all the blood out of it's body with water within minutes of the fish dying.
@@Matando no i'm talking about disturbing youtubes of cut slabs of raw tuna where you see white worms emerging from the flesh and waving their heads around
The thing is that killing a fish fast doesn’t mean there won’t be parasites.
Sure it will slow down decomposition, but the parasites, that are already in the flesh of the fish even when the fish is alive, will stay alive.
Ikejime won’t kill the parasites, but it does slow decomposition and is the more humane option to kill fish.
Basically: fresh fish does not mean parasite-free fish
@@guineapiggies9040 right, but certain fish do and certain fish don't. It also depends on location. For example there's no traditional salmon based sushi because pacific salmon has parasites while atlantic salmon does not
TLDR : eat frozen stuff, it’s ok.
*good
What’s the benefit of having the water trickling like that?
A comparison of one with and one without would be good.
Just because freshwater is not scarce for you doesn’t mean there are no other negative impacts of water wastage.
Frozen spinach is great, especially with a little sesame dressing or salad cream. Frozen peas are a thing of beauty for fried rice, mixed in just before serving. Frozen ribeye slices up real thin for gyudon or shabu shabu. Good frozen dumplings are convenient and maintain a great texture. And if anything, I get more aroma and flavor from frozen Brussels sprouts than from fresh. Keeping my freezer well stocked with these and other staples is a high priority when shopping.