What foods can/can't you freeze?

lil_me

Don't overcook the pasta is what I find works best when freezing pasta

Follow the rules from fresh of freeze once, (defrost if required) cook once, freeze once again, reheat once. If it's frozen start with the cook once. Don't refreeze what has previously been frozen without cooking first. Don't refreeze what has been reheated after being frozen.

Boiled potatoes make sure you drain well and I always defrost over a seive/collander.

Cheese I prefer freezing grated.

Rice can be iffy but ok if you are careful, chill quickly and freeze quickly, defrost in fridge, it's 'warm' rice which builds up nasties. For example if rice has been sat on the kitchen bench for a few hours I would fling it.

Pink.

H nopot2pin,

There's a recent thread on this so I've merged your thread with it to keep all the ideas and suggestions together.

Pink

lolarentt

it means 2 minutes from when the water comes back to boiling, but you should try and make the time in between as short as possible, ie large pan, fast boil, less product and straight into chilled/cold water to cool afterwards. If you want to freeze things like peas, beans, etc then drain well before freezing spread out on trays, and then take off & bag once frozen

lolarentt

thriftmonster wrote: »

Brie or Camenbert are very good to freeze but they don't ripen once thawed so freeze them at the stage you like. Boiled spuds freeze well if you are going to roast them after - put them frozen into the hot fat - v ery handy at Christmas.

Sorry to disagree here but if you freeze Brie/Camembert when it has developed a little ripeness (ie not when it's surgically solid a la Sainsburys) it will continue to ripen once taken out of the freezer, and quite quickly as well. I make a regular habit of this with Camembert bought in France (at a fraction of the UK price for the same brands)

It's also brilliant for cooking

JHKE

What about Celery - can that be frozen and if so, would I need to blanch it first?

lolarentt

JHKE wrote: »

What about Celery - can that be frozen and if so, would I need to blanch it first?

I freeze it chopped into short lengths and then use it in stews, casseroles, risottos etc - it's fine. Don't blanch it. It's obviously no good for eating raw after it's frozen!

nopot2pin

Pink-winged wrote: »

H nopot2pin,

There's a recent thread on this so I've merged your thread with it to keep all the ideas and suggestions together.

Pink

Thanks Pink-winged for linking this to the previous entry. :T

There are many great suggestions that I had not thought of before. Love the coconut milk... pesto... passata.. herbs ....... love all the suggestions.:D

Many thanks to all who contributed. :T :T :T

Hapless_2

sandy2 wrote: »

Never been succesful freezing a block of cheese, it never seems to cut properly when it defrosts.

Hapless said 'I freeze eggs' How do you freeze eggs please and why

My neighbour works on an egg packing farm and brings me 2 doz a week because her family only uses 6 a week and her entitlement is 2.5 doz free.

I usually crack 6 (enough for a family scrambled egg) into a bowl, whisk a little and put them into freezer boxes, freeze open then put the lids on.
Defrost before using.

I also do this for cakes. I just mark on the box the number of eggs in there and the size they were.

newlywed

nopot2pin wrote: »

There are many great suggestions that I had not thought of before. Love the coconut milk... pesto... passata.. herbs ....... love all the suggestions.:D

I bought an ice cube tray for £1 specifically for freezing pesto after reading this thread. It's about the amount I usually add to tuna and salad cream just to liven it up a little and I got fed up of chucking half a jar of pesto at a time. Now I have frozen pesto cubes (and a greeny tinged ice cube tray) and will be continuing with the plan

Thanks for the ideas.

nopot2pin

Cant believe how much stuff I have frozen that I would have previously thrown out....
Chopped onions... tinned choppedtomatoes... pesto... lemon ... lime.

And newlywed... I now have specific ice cube tray for freezing pesto / tomoatoes:T

And have also tried leftover cooked pasta with a tomatoe, baby clams, onion and mushroom sauce again.. so hopefully it will work better this time

Many thanks to all