Video narration
Why can a berry from your freezer turn mushy when it thaws? As that berry freezes slowly, water inside it forms ice crystals. A slower freeze gives them more time to grow large, and those crystals can damage the berry's cells. Freezing faster doesn't stop ice from forming. It changes crystal size-and the damage. With flash freezing-freezing food rapidly-the berry's crystals stay smaller, so they do less harm to its structure. When you thaw it, more of the berry holds together instead of collapsing into softness. The same berry frozen more quickly can come out firmer, but freezing still changes the fruit, and thawing can soften it. The food itself, how it's stored, and how it's thawed also affect texture. So why did your berry go mushy? Ice damaged its cells. Flash freezing limits that damage, so it stays firmer-but never perfectly fresh.