I'd always heard that food with freezer burn should be thrown away because it's inedible, so I tossed out any food with a dried out edge and tons of ice crystals because it seemed like the right thing to do.
But then came the times where it was either cook up freezer burned food or go hungry, and that's when I discovered food with freezer burn is okay to eat, although it can taste a bit off.
Freezer burn is caused when the moisture escapes from the food and forms ice crystals on the outside of it, thereby drying it out, and even though it can make the food taste a bit funky freezer burned food is okay to eat.
If you want to prevent your food from getting freezer burn you need to use airtight containers for storage and wait until it has cooled before you throw it in the freezer, since warm food can cause condensation which leads to freezer burn.
And to keep your ice cream from getting that gross layer of freezer burn on top simply slap some cling wrap on the surface before closing up the carton and your ice cream will stay fresher longer!
-Via Taste Of Home
"I will never understand friends who offer you ice cream at their house ... but then the ice cream is COVERED IN ICE CRYSTALS." / "Ice crystals?" / "Yeah, like it's been sitting in their freezer for months, _uneaten_." / "They HAVE ice cream. In their freezer. That they do not eat. For months. ... You've done a lot of thinking about this." / "THEY GO TO BED EVERY NIGHT NOT EATING ICE CREAM THEY OWN."
I have never once had this issue as I just use the 'eat the ice cream faster' method. :p