Great 'food items that freeze (and those that don't)' Hunt

What a very helpful series of posts! I think it is always worth experimenting. I was told by the Manager of a supermarket that the reason items are marked "Not suitable for freezing" is not because there is a potential danger to health but because there could be a change in texture. My husband likes pork pies so if I see them reduced I will freeze them, or better still a large one cut into portions and he says they are fine.

I have had some mixed results with cream, but generally find that if it is whipped with a small amount of sugar it is alright.

Susi360, I have been freezing rice for decades! I think as long as you cool and freeze quickly, and re-heat thoroughly, it's no problem. I have ME, and often can't cook, so freeze LOADS. I batch cook when I can, and use those plastic dishes you get takeaways in to freeze overnight, then transfer to bags: they stack better with no wasted space.

jazzbag wrote: »

Mushrooms freeze well but ripe bananas peeled and the frozen make a healthy alternative to ice lolly or ice cream
:rotfl::j

I've been thinking about freezing mushrooms lately: I currently buy them ready frozen and use them in cooking as and when, but they're not always available. Do you have to blanch them first, or just chop 'em and freeze 'em?

Seriously though. Pretty much anything freezes well, except really fatty or oily products. I'm guessing it's because the water freezes and separates, but the oil doesn't or does but at different temperatures, and can make it pretty gross.

So if your mashed spuds are going mushy, I'm guessing you like a good hunk of butter in there when you're making them.

Also is quite annoying that mackerel doesn't freeze very well as I love this


Word on rice though:


I've heard that reheating rice can cause food poisoning. Is this true?
It's true that you could get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. But it's not actually the reheating that's the problem – it's the way the rice has been stored before reheating.

Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores will germinate into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins.

So, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, could stop the rice being safe to eat.

It's best to serve rice when it has just been cooked. If that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) and keep it in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating.

Remember that when you reheat any food, you should always check that it's steaming hot all the way through, and avoid reheating more than once.