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| Food Freezing Techniques |
Freezing is a quick, easy way of storing foods for
future use. As handy as freezing is, however, it is a
good idea to take some care in preparing foods for
the cold as it can make the difference between dry
unappetizing dishes and those that are as good as
freshly made.
Cold air slows down, but does not stop changes and
deterioration in food. When wrapping foods for
freezing, always try to get as much air out of the
package as possible and wrap it well so that moisture
can't get in. The dreaded "freezer burn" (which will
leave your food dried out and tasting funky) occurs
when the moisture on food's surface evaporates.
Aluminum foil is a great freezer wrap as are heavy
plastic freezer bags.
Freezing is also a wonderful time saver. You can
make all kinds of food in advance (such as soups,
casseroles, bread doughs, even lasagna) and freeze
them for future use. If you're going to the trouble to
make one dish, why not make extra and freeze for a
night when you're too busy to cook?
You can also make huge batches of stock (chicken,
beef, fish, vegetable) and freeze it in small containers
so it's ready any time you need it.
Another handy idea is to freeze stock in ice cube
trays then keep the cubes in a Zip-lock bag (where
would we be without Ziplock bags) so that you have
small amounts of stock at your fingertips any time you
need it.
Ice cube trays work well for egg whites too. If you're
making a recipe that calls only for egg yolks, freeze
the leftover whites (one per cube) in an ice cube tray.
Transfer the frozen whites to a Ziplock bag and they
will be ready any time you have a recipe that uses
only egg whites!
Foil containers are great for freezing foods you will
want to re-heat in an oven, as are freezer safe glass
baking dishes (just cover the tops of them well).
Plastic containers work well for freezing liquids , just
make sure you leave a 1/2 inch or so of space for
expansion.
It's a good idea to put masking tape labels on your
frozen foods, unless you like playing "dinner roulette"
and are willing to take a chance on what might be
behind the wrapping. Labels are also necessary for
dating the food you freeze. While freezers will keep
food for long periods, they won't keep forever.
Foods that freeze faster will keep better. If your
freezer isn't as cold as it should be (most home
freezers should operate at about zero degrees F)
your food will form larger ice crystals when freezing.
Larger crystals mean poorer texture to your thawed
foods.
What To Freeze
Baked Goods - In general, the lower the moisture
level in your baked goods, the more successfully they
will freeze. Well wrapped bread will keep for about
five months in a freezer. You can also freeze bread
dough for a month or two before baking (same goes
for pizza or other yeast doughs). If you know you are
making yeast dough to freeze, add a little extra yeast
to your recipe.
Unbaked pie crusts - freeze well as do unbaked fruit
and meat filled pies (add a little extra thickening agent
to fruit pies destined for the freezer), so you might
want to stock up and get ahead when making these.
Unfrosted cakes - will keep for months (again well
wrapped is the key). You can freeze a butter cream
frosted cake as well, although other types of icing
tend to separate (especially those made with egg
whites and/or brown sugar).
In all cases, cool baked goods completely before
freezing or they will end up soggy.
Prepared Foods - Soups, stews, many sauces
(spaghetti sauce comes immediately to mind),
unbaked pies (see baked goods), casseroles, lasagna
etc., freeze well. Freezing may affect some spices, so
it's a good idea to check and re-season if necessary
when cooking previously frozen food. As always,
wrap and cover well before freezing.
Eggs - Many people don't know you can freeze eggs.
You can store whole eggs in plastic containers
(cracked open and with the whites and yolks stirred
together) or store egg whites and yolks separately.
Raw egg yolks will need to be broken and stirred with
either 1/4 teaspoon salt or 3/4 teaspoon sugar for
each 1/2 cup of egg yolks or else they will turn to a
"gummy" consistency. Cooked egg yolks, on the other
hand, freeze beautifully. The reverse is true of egg
whites: raw are just fine (freeze in ice cube trays, one
per cube), but cooked egg whites will change texture
so much they will not be at appealing.
Vegetables - Most vegetables will need to be
blanched before freezing them for any amount of time
(if you're going to use the vegetables in question
within a week or so, you can often get away without
blanching). After blanching, plunge the vegetables into
cold water and wrap and freeze. Vegetables will keep
in the freezer for about nine months.
Fruits - While frozen fruits do retain their flavor, be
aware that the texture of many frozen fruits will
become softer (think of frozen strawberries as
opposed to fresh). Add some sugar (to fruit that will
be served uncooked after freezing) or simple syrup
(for fruits that will be cooked after being thawed) as
this helps to retain the fruit's texture when freezing.
Fruit will keep in your freezer for about a year.
Meat - Trim any excess fat from meat before
freezing, as the amount of time meat will stay fresh in
a freezer directly correlates to the amount of fat in it.
Less fat equals longer freezer times. Also, the more
saturated the fat (for instance beef has much higher
saturated fat than fish) the longer it will keep). Wrap
meat well. (If you're going to use the meat within a
week you can get away with freezing it in the
Styrofoam, plastic wrapped grocery tray it came in.
Any more than that, re-wrap it to prevent freezer
burn.) Beef and lamb chops, steaks and roasts safely
keep for about a year (unless it's ground, as in
hamburger, in which case plan to use it in about 4
months). Pork will last about six to eight months and
sausage can go for about three months.
Poultry - It's a good idea to remove poultry innards
before freezing (although they can be frozen
together). Never stuff and freeze raw poultry, as you
risk salmonella contamination. Whole chicken and
turkeys will keep for about a year. Chicken and turkey
parts, ground poultry, as well as whole duck and
goose will last about six months.
Fish - Scale and clean fish before freezing (this is
probably done for you if you got your fish at a grocery
store). As with meat, the higher the fat content in your
fish, the shorter the time it will keep well in the freezer.
Oily fish will keep for about three months and leaner
fish will keep about six.
Dairy Products - The higher the fat content in dairy
products, the better they freeze. Milk products that are
under 40% butterfat will separate, but heavy cream
does well. You can freeze butter with no texture
changes, but remember, fat can go rancid even in a
freezer, so never keep it for more than two months.
Cheese - Freezing does change the consistency of
most cheeses, making it more mealy and crumbly,
although the flavor remains intact. If you plan to grate
or melt your cheese, this textural change won't matter
much. If you plan to slice your cheese, it's best not to
freeze it. Softer cheeses such as cream or cottage
cheese do not freeze well at all (although most
cheesecakes will do fine in the freezer).
Blue cheese, Roquefort and gorgonzola are usually
served crumbled so they freeze well and should keep
for about six months (a little of these strong cheeses
goes a long way, so they're handy to have in the
freezer for quick "flavor pick ups" to recipes). Well
wrapped firm cheeses (like cheddar, gouda, Swiss
etc.) should keep for about six months in your freezer.
Hard cheeses like parmesan and romano will keep for
about a year.
If you have a large block of cheese (why does the
Albert Brooks movie "Mother" come to mind?), cut it
into manageable chunks, before freezing in order to
cut down on thawing time.
You can freeze bags of shredded mozzarella
(shredded cheddar or other firm cheeses are also
handy) so that you can remove the amount you like at
a moment's notice (it's also a lot cheaper to buy in
bulk, "Mother" was right about that, Albert).
Sauces - Tomato sauces and the like do very well in
the freezer. Mayonnaise and mayonnaise based
sauces, however, will separate. Sauces (or even
custards) thickened with flour or cornstarch don't
freeze well, but those thickened with arrowroot or
tapioca do.
Herbs - Don't throw away leftover fresh herbs. Wrap
them in Ziplock bags and freeze them. Be sure to
blanch leafier herbs like basil. Sturdier herbs like
rosemary freeze exceedingly well.
What Not To Freeze
Some foods just don't do well in the freezer.
Vegetables with high moisture contents like lettuces,
celery and cucumbers will thaw limper than a rag doll.
Some dairy products like cream cheese or cottage
cheese, cream, milk, mayonnaise, custards, cream
fillings or meringues will not freeze well because they
will separate or curdle. Ditto for food made with
gelatin. Fried foods will likely turn soggy or rancid
when frozen.
Thawing Food
The safest method of thawing food is slowly, in your
refrigerator. For this method allow about 8 hours per
pound of meat and about 4 hours per pound of
poultry, and about 6 hours per pound of fruit or
vegetables.
You can speed up the process by about 1/8 the time
by submerging the food (still wrapped) in a sink full of
COLD water. You can also use the defrost feature on
your microwave oven.
Never allow meat or eggs to defrost on the counter
top. This is an invitation for bacteria to grow and can
result in food poisoning. Baked goods and most
fruits, on the other hand, can thaw at room
temperature. With the exception of baked goods,
most food should not be re-frozen (and even baked
good may become drier with repeated freezings).
future use. As handy as freezing is, however, it is a
good idea to take some care in preparing foods for
the cold as it can make the difference between dry
unappetizing dishes and those that are as good as
freshly made.
Cold air slows down, but does not stop changes and
deterioration in food. When wrapping foods for
freezing, always try to get as much air out of the
package as possible and wrap it well so that moisture
can't get in. The dreaded "freezer burn" (which will
leave your food dried out and tasting funky) occurs
when the moisture on food's surface evaporates.
Aluminum foil is a great freezer wrap as are heavy
plastic freezer bags.
Freezing is also a wonderful time saver. You can
make all kinds of food in advance (such as soups,
casseroles, bread doughs, even lasagna) and freeze
them for future use. If you're going to the trouble to
make one dish, why not make extra and freeze for a
night when you're too busy to cook?
You can also make huge batches of stock (chicken,
beef, fish, vegetable) and freeze it in small containers
so it's ready any time you need it.
Another handy idea is to freeze stock in ice cube
trays then keep the cubes in a Zip-lock bag (where
would we be without Ziplock bags) so that you have
small amounts of stock at your fingertips any time you
need it.
Ice cube trays work well for egg whites too. If you're
making a recipe that calls only for egg yolks, freeze
the leftover whites (one per cube) in an ice cube tray.
Transfer the frozen whites to a Ziplock bag and they
will be ready any time you have a recipe that uses
only egg whites!
Foil containers are great for freezing foods you will
want to re-heat in an oven, as are freezer safe glass
baking dishes (just cover the tops of them well).
Plastic containers work well for freezing liquids , just
make sure you leave a 1/2 inch or so of space for
expansion.
It's a good idea to put masking tape labels on your
frozen foods, unless you like playing "dinner roulette"
and are willing to take a chance on what might be
behind the wrapping. Labels are also necessary for
dating the food you freeze. While freezers will keep
food for long periods, they won't keep forever.
Foods that freeze faster will keep better. If your
freezer isn't as cold as it should be (most home
freezers should operate at about zero degrees F)
your food will form larger ice crystals when freezing.
Larger crystals mean poorer texture to your thawed
foods.
What To Freeze
Baked Goods - In general, the lower the moisture
level in your baked goods, the more successfully they
will freeze. Well wrapped bread will keep for about
five months in a freezer. You can also freeze bread
dough for a month or two before baking (same goes
for pizza or other yeast doughs). If you know you are
making yeast dough to freeze, add a little extra yeast
to your recipe.
Unbaked pie crusts - freeze well as do unbaked fruit
and meat filled pies (add a little extra thickening agent
to fruit pies destined for the freezer), so you might
want to stock up and get ahead when making these.
Unfrosted cakes - will keep for months (again well
wrapped is the key). You can freeze a butter cream
frosted cake as well, although other types of icing
tend to separate (especially those made with egg
whites and/or brown sugar).
In all cases, cool baked goods completely before
freezing or they will end up soggy.
Prepared Foods - Soups, stews, many sauces
(spaghetti sauce comes immediately to mind),
unbaked pies (see baked goods), casseroles, lasagna
etc., freeze well. Freezing may affect some spices, so
it's a good idea to check and re-season if necessary
when cooking previously frozen food. As always,
wrap and cover well before freezing.
Eggs - Many people don't know you can freeze eggs.
You can store whole eggs in plastic containers
(cracked open and with the whites and yolks stirred
together) or store egg whites and yolks separately.
Raw egg yolks will need to be broken and stirred with
either 1/4 teaspoon salt or 3/4 teaspoon sugar for
each 1/2 cup of egg yolks or else they will turn to a
"gummy" consistency. Cooked egg yolks, on the other
hand, freeze beautifully. The reverse is true of egg
whites: raw are just fine (freeze in ice cube trays, one
per cube), but cooked egg whites will change texture
so much they will not be at appealing.
Vegetables - Most vegetables will need to be
blanched before freezing them for any amount of time
(if you're going to use the vegetables in question
within a week or so, you can often get away without
blanching). After blanching, plunge the vegetables into
cold water and wrap and freeze. Vegetables will keep
in the freezer for about nine months.
Fruits - While frozen fruits do retain their flavor, be
aware that the texture of many frozen fruits will
become softer (think of frozen strawberries as
opposed to fresh). Add some sugar (to fruit that will
be served uncooked after freezing) or simple syrup
(for fruits that will be cooked after being thawed) as
this helps to retain the fruit's texture when freezing.
Fruit will keep in your freezer for about a year.
Meat - Trim any excess fat from meat before
freezing, as the amount of time meat will stay fresh in
a freezer directly correlates to the amount of fat in it.
Less fat equals longer freezer times. Also, the more
saturated the fat (for instance beef has much higher
saturated fat than fish) the longer it will keep). Wrap
meat well. (If you're going to use the meat within a
week you can get away with freezing it in the
Styrofoam, plastic wrapped grocery tray it came in.
Any more than that, re-wrap it to prevent freezer
burn.) Beef and lamb chops, steaks and roasts safely
keep for about a year (unless it's ground, as in
hamburger, in which case plan to use it in about 4
months). Pork will last about six to eight months and
sausage can go for about three months.
Poultry - It's a good idea to remove poultry innards
before freezing (although they can be frozen
together). Never stuff and freeze raw poultry, as you
risk salmonella contamination. Whole chicken and
turkeys will keep for about a year. Chicken and turkey
parts, ground poultry, as well as whole duck and
goose will last about six months.
Fish - Scale and clean fish before freezing (this is
probably done for you if you got your fish at a grocery
store). As with meat, the higher the fat content in your
fish, the shorter the time it will keep well in the freezer.
Oily fish will keep for about three months and leaner
fish will keep about six.
Dairy Products - The higher the fat content in dairy
products, the better they freeze. Milk products that are
under 40% butterfat will separate, but heavy cream
does well. You can freeze butter with no texture
changes, but remember, fat can go rancid even in a
freezer, so never keep it for more than two months.
Cheese - Freezing does change the consistency of
most cheeses, making it more mealy and crumbly,
although the flavor remains intact. If you plan to grate
or melt your cheese, this textural change won't matter
much. If you plan to slice your cheese, it's best not to
freeze it. Softer cheeses such as cream or cottage
cheese do not freeze well at all (although most
cheesecakes will do fine in the freezer).
Blue cheese, Roquefort and gorgonzola are usually
served crumbled so they freeze well and should keep
for about six months (a little of these strong cheeses
goes a long way, so they're handy to have in the
freezer for quick "flavor pick ups" to recipes). Well
wrapped firm cheeses (like cheddar, gouda, Swiss
etc.) should keep for about six months in your freezer.
Hard cheeses like parmesan and romano will keep for
about a year.
If you have a large block of cheese (why does the
Albert Brooks movie "Mother" come to mind?), cut it
into manageable chunks, before freezing in order to
cut down on thawing time.
You can freeze bags of shredded mozzarella
(shredded cheddar or other firm cheeses are also
handy) so that you can remove the amount you like at
a moment's notice (it's also a lot cheaper to buy in
bulk, "Mother" was right about that, Albert).
Sauces - Tomato sauces and the like do very well in
the freezer. Mayonnaise and mayonnaise based
sauces, however, will separate. Sauces (or even
custards) thickened with flour or cornstarch don't
freeze well, but those thickened with arrowroot or
tapioca do.
Herbs - Don't throw away leftover fresh herbs. Wrap
them in Ziplock bags and freeze them. Be sure to
blanch leafier herbs like basil. Sturdier herbs like
rosemary freeze exceedingly well.
What Not To Freeze
Some foods just don't do well in the freezer.
Vegetables with high moisture contents like lettuces,
celery and cucumbers will thaw limper than a rag doll.
Some dairy products like cream cheese or cottage
cheese, cream, milk, mayonnaise, custards, cream
fillings or meringues will not freeze well because they
will separate or curdle. Ditto for food made with
gelatin. Fried foods will likely turn soggy or rancid
when frozen.
Thawing Food
The safest method of thawing food is slowly, in your
refrigerator. For this method allow about 8 hours per
pound of meat and about 4 hours per pound of
poultry, and about 6 hours per pound of fruit or
vegetables.
You can speed up the process by about 1/8 the time
by submerging the food (still wrapped) in a sink full of
COLD water. You can also use the defrost feature on
your microwave oven.
Never allow meat or eggs to defrost on the counter
top. This is an invitation for bacteria to grow and can
result in food poisoning. Baked goods and most
fruits, on the other hand, can thaw at room
temperature. With the exception of baked goods,
most food should not be re-frozen (and even baked
good may become drier with repeated freezings).