Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, we're sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun.
Today: Let's revisit last year's guide to freezer-friendly foods -- because we know you're stocking up for winter, yet again.
Much like attics, freezers are scary. They’re dark, often deep, half storage receptacles, half places you shall never name. When you were 9 you swear you read a Goosebumps with one in it.
Like everything you ever wore in the 80s, they house memories -- some good, some bad, some weird (like that time you wanted your soup to have a Moroccan thing going on, but you went off the cuff and added too much cinnamon).
We have no idea how to deal with your attic. But let’s try to make that freezer of yours more of a happy place, shall we? Here’s a guide to what you should be filling your freezer with, what you shouldn’t, and, consequently, how to be a responsible adult.
The Rules to Live By
Your freezer is one of your best tools, but in order to make it work for you, there are a few principles you have to follow. First, throw out that scary soup. Next, toss anything that’s been in there for over a year. By now, it’s more likely to taste like freezer than whatever it was in its youth. (If you’re opposed to waste like we are, try it before you pitch it.)
And, of course, make sure anything freezer-bound is completely cool before you freeze it -- or better, chill it in the fridge for a day first.
Our Do-Not-Freeze List
Never, under any circumstances, freeze the following things -- they will become unrecognizable, a textural nightmare of what they once were.
• Uncooked batters (see: cake, pancake, waffle) with baking soda or powder used as the leavening agent. (Yeasted doughs, however, are fine.)
• Eggs -- in their shells, hard-cooked, or any egg-based sauces. You there, making all of the crème brûlée -- you may freeze your leftover, separated egg whites (or yolks) for up to a year.
• Cooked pasta. Just please don’t do this. (Fresh pasta-makers, though, have at that freezer.)
• Soft cheeses and cultured dairy, such as cream cheese, ricotta, or sour cream.
A Note on Dairy
Contrary to popular belief, you can, in fact, freeze cream and buttermilk, and soft cheeses like chevre, but their texture will be slightly affected by the acts of freezing and thawing. Same goes for the hard cheese you put in pesto. To be safe, we like to use any dairy we freeze for cooking only -- if that goat cheese is destined for a cheese plate, please buy it fresh -- and we’ll often leave cream out of our puréed vegetable soups and cheese out of our pestos that are destined for freezing. (Just stir it in when you reheat.) Looking to freeze extra butter? Go for it -- just use it up within 3 or 4 months. (You shouldn’t need help in this area, but if you do, go bake some pies.)
Cookies, Cakes, Pies, and Sweets
Good news -- you can get really ahead on dessert if you want to. Cakes and cheesecakes can be baked ahead, fully cooled, and stashed away for later. Cookies can be frozen in any stage -- dough (portioned dough balls if you’re smart), or already baked. Pie dough is fair game, too. Bake all nut, pecan, or custard pies ahead of time and freeze; for fruit pies, assemble just up to the point before you bake, and freeze that for when you’re ready, hungry, or have someone to impress.
Be wary of freezing your homemade chocolate candy, as anything made with tempered chocolate has the potential to bloom. You’d better eat it all now.
Vegetables & Beans
Before you fill your freezer with resolution-friendly fresh vegetables and beans, blanch them to help preserve their flavor, color, and texture. Have already-cooked vegetable purées or beans? Throw 'em in.
Fruit
If you’re freezing fruit to use in baking, no need to cook before you store (see: pies), but if you want to have fresh slices of apples or pears, say, you’re not in luck. Do not do this -- the temperature change, and the fact that water expands when it freezes, will make their texture suffer when you go to thaw. That being said, frozen fruit is perfect for blending in smoothies.
Raw Meats and Fish
Throw it in. Stock up. (Just remember to label clearly.) The main rule is, if it hasn’t already been frozen once in its lifetime, it’s good to go. (This goes for smoked salmon, too!) Refreezing previously thawed foods decreases their quality exponentially, and if meat or fish was thawed outside of the refrigerator, it could pose a food safety risk.
Our Favorite Things to Freeze
Here’s what we’re stockpiling for the months ahead -- these are our favorite dishes that take to a cold stint in the freezer well, reheat beautifully, and bail us out when we find ourselves typing “wilted parsley hot sauce mustard dinner” into our search bar.
• Soups. All of the soups. (Just leave the cream and/or noodles out.)
• Casseroles. (Pastitsio, lasagne, and shepherd’s pie are all freezer-friendly; just freeze assembled dishes, unbaked, until you’re ready to have them for dinner.)
• Hummus. Believe it. Make a triple batch of this and you’ll be ready for any lunch, guest, or impromptu dinner party that comes your way.
• Pizza dough, after its first rise. When pizza night arrives, thaw it, let it do its second rise, top, and bake.
What freezer-friendly foods do you turn to? Tell us in the comments!
A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).
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Written by: Kenzi Wilbur
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78 Comments
I have a never ending plastic container for leftover gravy. Whenever we have a roast, I add the saved gravy to the new.
Why?
I rarely freeze pasta; usually cook only enough to have leftovers the next night. But when I have frozen pasta mixed in with one of my go-to sauces, it's never been a problem. More likely to have leftover sauce which I freeze constantly. Butter is also a freezer-staple for me.
And...I am somewhat fanatical about plastic. I wrap single servings in foil (recyclable) then put as many as will fit into one freezer bag - which I re-use and re-use (and then recycle). If we could all cut back on the use of plastic...what a wonderful world this would be!
http://www.eatbydate.com/eggs-shelf-life-expiration-date/
http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/4754/how-long-do-eggs-stay-good-in-the-refrigerator
Eggs will also last outside the fridge if the temperatures are cool for weeks. I rarely refrigerate my eggs. I like the space free for other items because I usually have about 4 dozen eggs at any one time. I eat them almost daily and I bake every other day or two.
I have had my eggs partially freeze in my former refrigerator. When I would be ready to crack them and use them, I would crack them in a bowl and let them thaw a little. They thaw quickly. They were just as perfect as when I bought them. Partial freezing does not seem to be a problem.
The salt recommend here before freezing, of course, is to keep them from freezing solid.
Hard boiled eggs, while still in the shell, can last for ahwile if there are no cracks in the shell, in a cool temperature out of the fridge.
If you want to preserve your hard boiled eggs, get a huge jar with a wide mouth, fill it with vinegar mixed with a little salt and put the peeled eggs in the jar. They will keep for a long time in a cool atmosphere. Keep them on your breakfast or kitchen counter for family to grab a quick healthy, low calorie snack.
There are only about 80 calories in a large egg. Eggs are full of vitamins and minerals.
Calcium, selenium, potassium. folate, B12, B6, ribofalvin, and many more are present in eggs. These mentioned are some with the highest concentrate.
I think they are the perfect food yolk and white together. BTW, my cholesterol at 63 yrs. is not at all high, it is normal.
I keep a roll of blue painter's tape and a Sharpie in my kitchen drawer. The words are easy to read and the tape pulls of glass jars and plastic containers without leaving sticky stuff to scrub. Even works well on zip bags.
Cooked pasta dishes seem to survive my freezer without any negative effects. I'm surprised to see this as "never under any circumstances" on your list. Any time I make mac&cheese, lasagna, etc., I freeze a couple of single-serving containers and am very happy to have an "instant" homecooked meal when I'm too tired or hungry to cook from scratch.
I'd also add that I never freeze carrots, even ones that have just been blanched, but not cooked through. Their texture changes for the worse, so I always just leave them out and add fresh carrot (cut to size and either microwaved or cooked briefly in stock) when reheating.
;o)
Make sure, no matter what container you use, you leave enough room in it for the liquids to expand when frozen.
I have frozen ricotta (mostly to avoid throwing it out). It's fine for cooking and baking, though it tends to weep a bit; I don't mind that because the whey is great in bread, polenta, etc. Roasted butternut squash freezes really well. The Genius hummus recipe here also does remarkably well, though it needs brightening after thawing, so I tend to hold off on adding the lemon juice until then. Of course, I have an ice cube tray full of pure lemon juice so that's easy. (I squeeze a bag of 5 or 6 lemons at a time; it doesn't take as long as you think.)
I keep an inventory of my freezer contents on my phone, which helps immeasurably in planning.
Here's a tip I haven't seen here on Food52 (except when I've made it): when partially preparing a braise, soup or other item to be frozen, write on the package or on a piece of freezer tape, using a permanent pen such as a Sharpie, what the dish needs. E.g., "needs carrots and vinegar" (ingredients I add to soup on the evening I'm serving it), or explicit thawing/baking instructions with the temperature, time, rack placement, etc. for pies, pastries, sticky buns, etc. ;o)
Elsewhere on this thread Antonia, you mention holding carrots for soups etc until after freezing. Thanks for that suggestion: rubbery carrots are a nasty thing to find in the soup, and have - until now - stopped me making a few otherwise good recipes.
Never knew you could freeze hummus. Definately gonna try that.
And the freezing mince in thin sheets, is the best. You can cook it straight from frozen rather than trying to defrost a block rather unsuccessfully in the microwave (On thing I cannot get the hang of, with bits have cooked and other bits still frozen solid)
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