We all know that a freezer does wonders for keeping our food – and more importantly, our ice cream – cold. But is it safe to put glass in the freezer?
There are chances you might end up with a broken bottle if you forget that you have placed a glass bottle in the fridge for too long.
But what’s the science behind all this?
Glass can be placed in the freezer as long as you take precautionary measures to prevent thermal shock. But you should avoid rapidly heating or cooling the glass. Therefore, before putting the glass in the freezer, give it time to come to room temperature and then put it in the freezer.
In contrast to airtight freezer bags, however, food kept in a glass container is somewhat more susceptible to freezer burn.
Is this result due to the glass itself or perhaps the method you are choosing to place the glass in the freezer?
Let’s check out more about it.
How To Put Safely Glass In The Freezer?
When placing glass in the freezer, there are a few things to consider.
Thermal or heating shock is the first, and the container type you are using is the second.
1. Heating Shock
Before placing a glass in the freezer, you must first and foremost be mindful of heat shock. A sudden and abrupt change in the temperature known as thermal shock can crack or break your glass.
Therefore, slowly cooling or heating glass is the most straightforward technique to avoid heat shock.
For instance, if your glass is still warm when placing it in the freezer, you should wait a bit and not place it in the freezer until after it has cooled down.
The glass must reach room temperature before being placed in the freezer for it to not crack.
Also, before freezing your glass, be careful to inspect it for any cracks or other damage. The glass may break or shatter much more easily as a result of thermal shock.
2. Glass Jars That Are Freezer Safe
The second thing you must be aware of before putting the glass in the freezer is the sort of glass you are going to use.
For example, if a glass container can be used in the oven, it may also be used in the freezer as long as thermal stress is taken into account.
What Are Some Recommended Methods To Put Glass In The Freezer?
When you place glass in the freezer, it might break despite your best attempts.
Here is a list of our recommended methods to put a glass in the freezer after making it come to room temperature to help avoid glass from shattering when it freezes.
1. Slowly Cool And Warm Your Glass
No matter the type of container you are going to use, you must cool and warm food carefully when storing it in glass containers.
As a result, there will be less possibility of thermal shock and glass breaking.
However, there are two methods for this.
Make sure the items you intend to store have cooled before adding them to the container if you are storing leftovers. Alternately, put it in the container first, and then let it cool before placing the food into it.
Similarly, before attempting to defrost a container with any heat after taking it out of the freezer, let it come to room temperature. By doing this, the likelihood of glass breaking will be considerably reduced.
2. Separate Containers From One Another
If glass containers bump into each other, that can also result in glass breaking.
The sound of the glass clinking can make the frozen container significantly more brittle.
Therefore, you should keep a considerable distance between containers when you are freezing them to avoid any misfortunes.
The pyrex or rubber lids, or any other similar containers act as a kind of barrier for your glass.
However, glass containers will break less frequently if there is room between them.
3. Leave Room At The Top
Food usually expands when frozen, and this is particularly true about liquid food items.
So, you have to make sure to leave a space at the top of the canister while freezing food to accommodate expansion.
For this, you can easily leave an inch of space below the top line if using mason jars.
Additionally, if you use lids or covers, hold them off until the item is completely frozen rather than tightening them all the way when you initially place it in the freezer.
Once it has frozen, you can easily secure the lid or cover the container with a lid. This method will lessen the likelihood of the container building up pressure.
4. Limit The Use Of Shaped Containers
Last but not the least, you must avoid using mason jars or any shaped jars as they frequently feature “shoulders,” which is a kind of bend around the top of it.
If you use them to freeze your food, there are chances a pressure point will be created by the shoulders or bends of the jar which leads to the crack or shattering of the glass.
The same is the case with different shaped containers as they can also develop stress points.
Therefore, it is preferable to utilize containers or jars without shoulders or any other particular risk points when freezing them.
But if you don’t have many choices other than mason jars or containers with shoulders, be sure to provide plenty of space for the food item to grow.
By doing this, the pressure will be lowered and your jars being shattered will be less frequent.
Final Words on Putting Glass in the Freezer
Glass is a perfect storage medium to use because of its many advantages, including the fact that it is free of dangerous chemicals that could leach into your foods.
Therefore, make sure you are following the safety tips we mentioned to prevent your glass from breaking.
Also, make some space for expansion, and let it come to room temperature before placing them in the freezer.
