Freezing sauces?? Ew

I made a red pepper sauce, put it in the freezer for 3 months in one of this glass jars (tostitos salsa jar) and when I defrosted it in fridge for 2 to 3 days...it ended up being a nasty sponge texture...it wasn't a sauce anymore? My experience with freezing food then defrosting it hasn't been a good one lately. The texture is alway different/nasty.

newcook6
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boulangere April 12, 2012
The sauce sounds wonderful, and I imagine its flavors were very good when you firs prepared it. The problem you ran into when you froze the leftovers was that it's basically an uncooked sauce. The peppers are grilled, but the rest of the ingredients are added raw. Yes, they're puréed, but their cells are still in a raw state. Try tossing a raw onion in the freezer for any amount of time. When you thaw it, it's going to have that same unpleasant spongy (eew!) texture you described. The next time you make the sauce, try transferring it from the blender to a saucepan. Heat it gently just to a boil. Heating will break down and soften the cell walls that turned spongy on you. Then you shouldn't have any trouble freezing, thawing, and enjoying it.
 
ChefOno April 12, 2012
Glass jar, good. 3 months no problem.

When you blended the oil with the rest of the ingredients (essentially water), you created an emulsion. Emulsions are fragile; they all have their breaking points. This one couldn't stand the freezing.

 
newcook6 April 11, 2012
I made Bobby Flay's smoked red pepper sauce, which came out excellent, but again, after being in the freezer, then defrosted, the texture was all wrong. Using a glass jar to store the sauce was the problem? Or maybe being in the freezer for 3 months too long?

Recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/smoked-red-pepper-sauce-recipe/index.html
 
SKK April 11, 2012
What was the recipe or what did you want to achieve? Red peppers have a lot of liquid and that needs to be taken into account. Sometimes they need to be roasted first.
 
newcook6 April 11, 2012
When I defrosted the sauce, why did the consistency end up being a spongy texture...rather then a sauce, like it was when I first made it.
 
SKK April 11, 2012
And what is your question?
 
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