A Guide to Freezing Almost Any Food
Sure, the refrigerator can keep food fresh longer, but for serious life extension, you should focus your attention on the freezer. Not only does food preservation help reduce food waste, it’s also critical to staying on budget, especially when food prices have reached new highs. Stop bulk buying and throwing away spoiled food and calmly freeze more food. Here are the best ways to pack your freezer, what’s best to freeze, and how to do it.
Organized freezers hold more space and stay cold
Before we dive into specific products, it’s important to set a standard for freezer organization. Keeping your freezer (and refrigerator, for that matter) organized will save you the headache of finding lost food, allow you to fit more space into your space, and ensure you’re eating old food first. Freeze sauces, broths and other liquids in freezer-safe ziploc bags and be sure to label them. (At one point, you may swear to yourself that you’ll never forget when you put that chili in the freezer, but then an unknown number of months pass and suddenly you’re no longer sure whether that chili was June or September.) Once your liquids are frozen, you can stack them like books on a shelf. Read here for more detailed tips on portioning sauces in the freezer.
If you don’t like the idea of freezing in plastic freezer bags (keep in mind that many of them are washable and reusable up to 10 times), buy a set of freezer-safe storage containers that can be stacked. The goal is to fit as much food into the freezer as possible while still keeping all items accessible. You don’t want things getting lost in the back. An added benefit is that more frozen food in the refrigerator will keep the temperature constant, and your appliance won’t need to use as much energy. Less money spent on energy means one more chicken cutlet in the freezer.
Finally, consider purchasing a freezer . One of these will make it easier for you to freeze larger, irregularly shaped items, such as a rack of lamb or a whole turkey. Plus, the storage space is at your feet rather than high up, making it a better place for heavy items. I don’t have any space in my current apartment in Brooklyn, but trust me, the first thing I buy when I have more space is a freezer.
Carbohydrates
Let’s start with what’s best to freeze: carbohydrates. Breads, cakes, puff pastries, cookies, English muffins are all freezer storage champions. I say this because they freeze quickly, freeze for a long time, and come to life as if nothing had happened. This is the best example of what a great time capsule a freezer can be.
Store any bread in the freezer. The carbs I always freeze are sliced bread, loaves of bread, pre-divided English muffins (less annoying later), pancakes, waffles, cooked rice, cakes, frosting, cookies (dough or after baking), hamburger buns, bagels and cookies. Some of them can be frozen raw, but you may have problems with the starter if you try to bake them after freezing. If you haven’t tried this before, I recommend baking the bread, cookies or biscuits first, letting them cool completely, then freezing them on a baking sheet. Once they are firm and frozen, place them in a container or freezer bag.
Revive the bread in a 350°F oven for five to 10 minutes or in a pancake and waffle toaster. I reconstituted the bread after five months in the freezer and the flavor and texture were unimpaired.
Meat and other proteins
Meat is easy to freeze, both raw and cooked. The only thing you really have to worry about is frost burns. I recommend portioning your meat when you bring it home from the grocery store. You can slice the chicken or form the ground meat into patties while it’s defrosted, then wrap them securely in freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze. I sometimes reuse plastic grocery bags to double up and hopefully prevent moisture loss. Other proteins I like to freeze are shrimp and tofu .
To use frozen egg whites, place your chosen serving size in the refrigerator overnight. If you’re using meat in a soup or sauce, you can simply toss it into a hot pot of liquid to help it defrost and cook faster. According to the USDA Freezing Chart , frozen foods remain safe indefinitely—what you really care about is quality and texture. Here are their recommendations for how long to freeze various proteins before their texture or quality begins to suffer.
Cheeses
Frozen cheese is a lifesaver when you need to make a boring meal a little more appealing. Grated and low-moisture cheeses freeze well. Find a more comprehensive guide to great freezer cheeses here.
You can easily freeze a block of cheese, such as low-moisture mozzarella, cheddar or Swiss cheese, directly in the plastic bag. If you need to defrost it, leave it in the refrigerator overnight and it will be ready to eat the next day.
If you know you’ll be using it for a specific purpose, such as pizza toppings or lasagna layers, chop or shred it before freezing and store it in freezer-safe containers. The container can then essentially live in the freezer. You can simply reach into your bag and pull out exactly what you need, leaving the rest frozen until next time.
Fruits and vegetables
Fruits, vegetables and what we call vegetables can be frozen. Indeed, it is thawing that can cause problems for some products, but more on that later. When freezing fruit, cut it into small pieces first if necessary. For example, berries do not need to be cooked, but pineapple does. Peel fruits and vegetables that you usually eat peeled—this may not be necessary for bell peppers, but you can do the same for bananas. They should be cleaned first and then cut into smaller pieces for later use. I usually peel the ginger root and cut it into strips because that’s how I usually use it in soups and curries.
Place the pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer and place in the freezer for an hour or two until firm. Then place the fruit in a freezer-safe container. When you’re ready to use the product, throw it directly into the pan – no need to defrost. In fact, if you defrost the ingredient first, it will probably become soft. This is why frozen fruits and vegetables are often great for cooking: they impart all their flavor perfectly, and it doesn’t matter if their cellular structure is a little compromised. Try using them in stews, soups, muffins, pies or smoothies.
Milk and liquids
As I mentioned earlier, freezing liquids in flat boards will help you stack them on top of each other and save space rather than scrambling for places to put blocks of liquid. However, it’s really a matter of preference. I was new to the world of milk freezing until recently when I learned that I could freeze and defrost coconut milk. It turns out that cow’s milk can be frozen just as well.
This is a huge boon since dairy milk tends to spoil quite quickly, but buying a full gallon is usually more cost effective than buying a smaller size. Now you can buy the larger size, pour half into a freezer-safe container, and put it in the freezer. Use the other half as usual and defrost the other half when ready.
Thaw frozen milk in the refrigerator overnight and shake to smooth it out. If you’re in a hurry, you can put a piece of ice-cold milk in a pan on the stove and heat it up. Then return it to the refrigerator in a container to use in cereal, tea and coffee over the next five days.
Whole prepared meals
Grab it from the freezer section of the grocery store: Many fully cooked meals can be frozen. While you can make freezer meals (my mom makes three lasagnas to freeze for us kids), I use this as an easy way to keep leftovers in the bin. If I make a soup, a huge batch of chili, a casserole, or a roast and find that I have way more left than I expected, I’ll put it in containers or freezer bags and freeze it. This is especially useful when you’re going on vacation or have dinner plans for the next four nights.
Depending on the frozen meal, the best way to reheat it is to use the original cooking method. If it’s a soup, toss the frozen blocks into a saucepan, cover and heat over low heat to revive. If this is a casserole, gently reheat it in the oven, covered with foil to prevent it from drying out. A roast or stew is best reheated in a large frying pan, lightly greased with oil. Start cooking on low heat with the lid on to allow the moisture to help defrost the food. Once you can easily break up the pieces, you can remove the lid and increase the heat to sear well and evaporate any excess moisture.
Difficult to freeze food
There are some foods that don’t keep well in the freezer. Whole eggs with shells are not recommended to be frozen because the shells may crack as the inside expands; this could lead to potential bacterial contamination of the interior. However, you can crack them open and freeze them after removing the shell.
Watery fruits, vegetables and delicate herbs such as lettuce, cilantro, melons and cucumbers freeze well but lose their structural integrity once thawed. They can be frozen, and if you’re going to use them in something mixed (like a soup or smoothie), you won’t be disappointed. There’s no need to defrost them, just toss them straight into your soup, sauce or blender.