MEow wrote:

> I've been wondering about different things I've been told about food
> safety, and figured that someone in here is bound to know, and be able
> to give me a proper answer.
>
> 1) I've been told that once you've defrosted frozen food, you shouldn't
> re-freeze it. Is that true? Why? Does it go for all kinds of food, or
> just some?

You don't want do refreeze it because of quality concerns. When you freeze
something, all of the moisture in it crystallizes. When it thaws, moisture
in the air will condense on it and add new moisture. If you then refreeze
it, that additional moisture will seed even more crystals.

This is bad because crystals, by their shape, have sharp edges which will
damage whatever is surrounding them. In meats it will puncture the cell
walls of the meat and make for a less-than-fresh flavor that will just get
worse with refreezing.

> 2) I've been told that you should never re-heat spinach, but I've done
> so a few times without any noticeable harm being caused by it. Is there
> any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?

Never heard that one...

--
Darryl L. Pierce >
Visit the Infobahn Offramp - <http://mypage.org/mcpierce>
"What do you care what other people think, Mr. Feynman?"