What foods can/can't you freeze?

ladyharleyrider

having just got another freezer which I`m trying to stock with all sorts of homemade food I was lucky enough to find a really good paperback book in a local charity shop called How to Freeze by Carolyn Humphries it lists nearly everything you can think of alphabetically its been an eye opener for me,,it gives you how to prepare things for freezing to..
I had a quick look and the book is available on Amazon for about £6/7 its worth every penny

sandys12345

I have also frozen rosotto before. Infact I find it cooks up better when it has been frozen that just stored in the fridge.

JulieGeorgiana

I'd freeze everything. Rice you have to be careful with, you have to heat it to boiling point to kill bacteria. I normally make rice and pasta fresh and just freeze sauces. But I freeze whole lasagna's and the pasta tastes fine.

taxsaver

Yes, I'd happily freeze all of that and certainly have frozen risotto/rice/pasta many times and never had any problems. I can't understand why several people seem reserved about freezing rice.

caz2703

Thanks for all the replies folks. With 2 young kiddies and a husband who has gone walkies I don't have the time to do a risotto (it takes a good 45 mins to make my version) so I was thinking of using the time he has the kids to batch cook some dinners.

My mum has mentioned rice as being an issue before hence asking here. A lot of ready meals have rice whether it be frozen or chilled so I was confused as to what the issue might be. Surely if you reheat the food until it's piping hot then it should be fine. It shouldn't matter if it's home frozen or store frozen.

ladyharleyrider

Have just looked in my freezer book as mentioned in an earlier post and this is what it says...
cook in normal way following packet directions..drain, rinse with cold water then drain again..allow to cool completely, spoon rice into a polythene bag or container in convenient portions remove air,seal and freeze.
To defrost: for cold rice defrost at room temp 2-3 hours or overnight in fridge
For hot rice heat in boiling water for 4-5 minutes or steam microwave, make sure it is piping hot before eating

givememoney

Sorry if this has been mentioned, but haven't looked right through.

When making a victoria sponge I used to freeze it and add butter cream and jam after taking from the freezer.

However as DH and me were going on holiday and DS (adult) was going to be left in house and he loves VS and I knew wouldn't bother to make butter cream. I made the who thing up and froze with the jam and cream applied. As he forgot to remove from freezer, we had it on our return and it was delicious, freezing the cream and jam no problem.

VJsmum

Yes it isn't the freezing of rice per se - it is the cooling of the cooked rice which has to be done quickly. I would imagine that left over risotto would cool slowly which allows the bacteria to do whatever it does.

REady made dishes are cooled quickly to kill bacteria

kookai9

Coconuts for 3 mnths

staircase2

I've discovered that (rather than throw them away) you can freeze things like the remainder of a tin of kidney beans - or chick peas - or baked beans. (I always used to keep them in the fridge planning to use them but would end up throwing them away cause they'd go off before I had a chance!)

Now all I do is put them into Pasta sauces/curries etc and give them a bit more time to cook thru.

I also discovered from buying bags of Chillies and (again!) not being able to use them before they'd gone off - that you can freeze them too!

Now I put a handful of chillies in a container in the fridge and place the rest of them in a sealed bag or container in the freezer. When I'm running low on the ones in the fridge I just put a handful of them in the container in the fridge - and by the time I've come to use the next day or so them they're defrosted.

Also over ripe bananas can be frozen for making into bread, muffins etc later - just make sure you peel them first and then put them in a sealed bag.

Hoorah! for top tips! ;o)