The UK’s second-largest supermarket chain intends to prove that freezing is an effective way to reduce food waste. And the retailer might well be on to something…

From eggs and minced meat to cooked dishes, fruit, vegetables, bread and onions, all the food that will be stocked on the shelves of the new Sainsfreeze concept store in Shoreditch will be frozen.

However, the foodstuffs have not been chosen at random. Everything that British consumers most commonly throw away has been chosen to fill the freezers of this pop-up store, open only on Sept 27 and 28.

The British retailer is seeking to educate its customers by showing them that instead of throwing away food, they should freeze it. For example, fresh herbs can be mixed with water or oil to make ice cubes for use in cooking.

This operation is part of the supermarket chain’s commitment to reducing food waste. Indeed, Sainsbury’s has already chosen to remove “best before” dates from 276 products.

There’s more to frozen food than ready-meals

While freezing may be essential to some of the world’s top pastry chefs, who rely on the technique to successfully frost or ice their creations, frozen food suffers from an image problem, often wrongly associated with junk food. And that can be deeply rooted.

According to the health insurer MGC Prévention, the cold temperature of a freezer, set to -18°C, causes water contained in food to turn into ice crystals.

The cold limits the development of micro-organisms and the activity of enzymes. Thus, the nutritional quality of food can largely be preserved.

Note that vegetables should be washed, peeled and blanched before freezing, to destroy enzymes and yeasts that could continue to degrade them, even at very low temperatures. This also explains why you should never refreeze food that has already been thawed.

Contrary to popular belief, fresh produce is not necessarily better, from a quality point of view, than the same foods in frozen form.

MGC Prévention points out that food is often frozen at its place of origin, which ensures the preservation of its nutrients, unlike a crate of fresh vegetables, which can take several days to arrive on supermarket shelves. And there are many more foods that can be frozen than you might think, such as wine, egg whites and butter.

In terms of taste, some foodstuffs have a hard time with the cold.

When defrosting (which should never be done at room temperature, unless the dish is going to be heated immediately), fruit and vegetables that are high in water just end up flaccid and tasteless. This is the case with tomatoes as well as cucumbers and lettuce.

Finally, as inflation bites, freezing can be a good way to save money and reduce food waste. But remember, for hygiene reasons, you should always make sure you defrost and clean the inside of the freezer completely at least once a year.