Are You Defrosting Your Meat Correctly?
- Publish date
- Wednesday, 14 Sep 2016, 10:13AM

Photo: iStock
You know when you've been doing something one way basically your whole life and then you find out you're doing it wrong and you're like...'well...sh*t'.
Yeah, this is one of those moments.
According to science most of us have been defrosting our food wrong since like forever.
A lot of people defrost food over night. You know, take it out of the freezer, put it in the fridge and when you get home from work you're good to go.
Well, that's wrong.
According to food scientists, we've been majorly screwing up.
Susanne Ekstedt, who is a researcher at the at the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden in Gothenburg, says the best way to do it is to use water.
All you need to do is make sure that the food is sealed properly and run it under cold water straight from the tap.
And if you were ever thinking about whacking it in the microwave. DO NOT.
Apparently this damages the meat as it warms up.
Ekstedt says, "This is something food scientists have known to be true for a long time now. But this knowledge is mostly confined to the food industry. Most people don’t seem to be aware of this."
Bjørg Egelandsdal who is a professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Ås also said, “There has never been any good scientific evidence behind the advice that food should be thawed in the refrigerator.
Maybe the idea behind this advice is that refrigerator thawing is most hygienic. It is true that meat and other foodstuffs should be stored in the refrigerator if they are thawed, but it is definitely better to thaw food quickly in water if you are going to use it right away.”
Well there you go… who knew? Not us.