Meal Planning and freezing food

BrokeBrokeBroke · 17 May 2005 at 12:00AM

I'm trying to be organised and make double of things which I can then freeze, bbut what should I do re: using up the frozen meals. How long can they last in the freezer? Indefinitely or do you think a couple of weeks/a month would be the safest?
Thanks All in advance!

AP22 · 17 May 2005 at 2:44AM

It depends what you freeze but generally 3-12 months. Take for example a nice load of bolognaise sauce (pre-cooked incl. minced beef) - it will keep for over 6 months providing the temperature of the freezing compartment is below -20 C.
As a guide please look at the following link: http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3522.htm

Good luck!

Chipps · 17 May 2005 at 7:53AM

How long do you want to keep the food for? When I cook double & freeze half, it is usually just after payday, so that by the end of the month I already have meals there. Our local butcher sells mince at a discount for bulk ie buy 2lb get 1 free, so I buy at the beginning of the month then cook it & divide into meals. Saves initial outlay & fuel.

P.S. If you freeze things like spag bog sauce in (good quality) zip lock bags, it takes up very little room in the freezer, and they all stack nicely together.

squeaky · 17 May 2005 at 7:57AM

I go through phases of cooking and not cooking. Usually this means that frozen meals seldom last more than a couple of months anyway, and that's comfortably within the safe storage time for most things.

Just remember to allow things to cool properly, covered, before putting them in the freezer.

spendaholic · 17 May 2005 at 8:37AM

Chipps wrote:

Our local butcher sells mince at a discount for bulk ie buy 2lb get 1 free

One of our market butchers does this. As most meals are 1lb of mince, I ask the butcher to split it into 3 separate bags, so I don't have to do any messy measuring at home.

spendaholic · 17 May 2005 at 8:40AM

I've been cooking and freezing stuff for a while now, but I always defrost overnight in the fridge before reuse. However, are there any loose guidelines on defrosting in a microwave? Our microwave does have a defrost facility on it but the only time I use it is when a prepackaged item says "heat on defrost for x minutes". There have been times when I could have defrosted something NOW for use NOW, but as I've been brainwashed that defrosted overnight is best, I always resort to a convenience food.

moggins · 17 May 2005 at 8:48AM

Personally I nuke it until I can stick a fork in the middle without any resistance.

squeaky · 17 May 2005 at 8:57AM

My microwave book has a table for defrosting. Too long to quote, but the minimum time for anything is ten minutes, the longest is sixty.

I don't bother with the table. I give an item a ten minute blast, check it, rearrange it, and if it's still solid it gets another ten... and so on.

It's difficult then to overdo things and start cooking one bit while another is still frozen this way. For stuff like spag bol, once it's almost defrosted and you can break it up, stir things around a little and give it five more.

Then re-heat thoroughly.

Queenie · 17 May 2005 at 11:37AM

spendaholic wrote:

...... However, are there any loose guidelines on defrosting in a microwave? Our microwave does have a defrost facility on it but the only time I use it is when a prepackaged item says "heat on defrost for x minutes". There have been times when I could have defrosted something NOW for use NOW, but as I've been brainwashed that defrosted overnight is best, I always resort to a convenience food.

I agree that overnight defrosting is *best* but not always convenient

Couple of things to bear in mind when thawing meals:

keep it covered!
a frozen block of food needs to be as snug in it's container as possible so that it doesn't spread out and overheat before it's thoroughly defrosted
you need to defrost in short *bursts* because any ice crystals will melt first and then start cooking! Result? Outside hot, inside cold.
allow time to "stand" between bursts.

As a rough guide: (based on a 650w )
Cooked meat dishes or soup/casseroles etc. (based on 1lb weight) is defrost 10mins (try giving it a stir during thawing) so two 5mins bursts
A plated meal will take roughly 7 - 10 mins
Bread - 3mins then 5 mins standing time - slice - 30 secs - roll 15 -30 secs

HTH

BrokeBrokeBroke · 17 May 2005 at 5:16PM

Thanks for all these, esp. the defrosting tips! Has anyone else found that some stuff tastes lots better when you have it after it's been frozen? (I've tried spag bol, chicken curry and beef strogonof - bit of an experiment as I had no idea whether sour cream would freeze ok, but it did!)

moggins · 17 May 2005 at 5:20PM

Curry always tastes better when it's made in advance as it gives the flavours time to mingle and mature.

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Meal Planning and freezing food

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