what is "freezer taste"?

[eub]

There's a characteristic taste that everything stored in a freezer takes on, no matter what the food is itself. What is that taste?

• cryophilic microbiological flora
  
• plasticizer in freezer door gasket material
  
• actually not a foreign addition, but characteristic of freeze-drying
  

Comments

[caladri.livejournal.com]

In some food it's cell rupture and the subsequent separation of water (and ice crystals) from their normally-associated flavor agents. I don't know what it is for all food, though obviously the effect is at least similar for most food.

[eub.livejournal.com]

ice cubes get it. ice cubes.

[beaq.livejournal.com]

Are you answering, or hypothesizing? Either way, what a great question!

[eub.livejournal.com]

[via-lens.livejournal.com]

When we got a new freezer, everything we put in the freezer tasted like plastic. The longer we've had it, the more things we put in the freezer have started tasting like vegetable broth. I keep a lot of vegetable broth (in sealed containers) in the freezer.

Therefore, I conclude that the molecules are bored in the freezer, and they go visiting.

[eub.livejournal.com]

Ah yeah,

• it's a blend of everything else in the freezer

is a good option.

The smell I'm thinking of as freezer smell, I have trouble imagining it's made from any kind of food. But I dunno.

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

I've had freezer-burn-taste ice cubes from a freezer that contained *nothing* but (very old) ice cubes. I'm a bit curious about this.

[eub.livejournal.com]

My favorite theory is cryophilic bacterial biofilm. Sporulates to survive above-freezing temperatures, of course. Infests commercial freezing facilities.

I'd like to see what's common between two freezers. Can one logical-AND two GC/MS outputs.

[hosterman.livejournal.com]

Freezer-burnt ice cubes? ;)

[shandrew.livejournal.com]

My completely unsupported theory is that it's the same odd flavor that you get if you leave a plastic bottle of water (previously opened) in a warm car.