Items in freezer, including ice cubes, taste freezer burnt. Possible causes?

Question

Items placed in my freezer take on an awful flavor that tastes a lot like freezer burn, even ice cubes. If I put items in the freezer over-night and it isn't tightly covered, this problem occurs.

With the ice cubes I can rinse them off to eliminate the bad flavor, but I'd prefer to find the root cause and fix it.

Any ideas/suggestions are quite welcome.

Answer

Freezer burn occurs when water molecules in food gather in a colder location in your freezer—whether that be the sides of your freezer or even other foods.

Tips to prevent freezer burn:

• Don't put hot food directly into your freezer, let it cool first
• Put your food in air-tight containers
• The longer food is in the freezer the greater your chance of freezer burn

I'm going to go out on a limb though and guess that—at least with your ice cubes may just be acquiring a "freezer smell" from the other foods in your freezer. If I don't use the cubes in my freezer fast enough they end up tasting really unpleasant. Give your freezer a good cleaning and cover your ice cubes with saran wrap and this should help stop the funny smells/tastes.

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