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

tain

runscreaming wrote: »

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?

I wouldn't blanch them. Not sure how this affects the freezing, but mushrooms love fat and can go soggy in water.

his_missus

I find microwaving mashed potato from frozen prevents it going mushy. I usually don't add milk or butter to the mash before freezing but once it's been reheated.

I've heard cheese that has been frozen should only be used in cooking, any opinions? (not that I ever have left over cheese, in my house it's as rare as leftover wine! )

Savannah02K

I buy the big jars of pasta sauces when they're on BOGOF, once I've opened one, had out a portion for my pasta (I live on my own) then I portion out the rest of the jar into small pots and freeze those. Saves buying those individual Dolmio type pasta sauce pots. Do the same with any of the ready made sauces, Homepride etc.

I also freeze Philly cheese in smaller portions, separates a bit on defrosting but a good stir gets rid of that.

I also make up a big batch of cheese sauce and freeze that in individual portions, perfect for pasta, fish, chicken.

I keep a 'soup box' in the freezer too, at the end of the week any left over veggies go in that (including cucumbers etc, just chop up first) plus any rinse outs from jar sauces, stock made with leftover lettuce etc. When box is full, that all gets tipped into soup pan with lentils or potatoes and you have 'never the same recipe twice' veggie soup! Which can be frozen!

G6JPG

Semi-skimmed milk freezes fine, or at least it does for me; I think full-cream tends to separate though. (I imagine skimmed would too.) Do allow plenty of time for it to defrost though, if you do so in the 'fridge - two or three days, especially for a 4-pint "bottle". [Oh, I wouldn't try it with glass bottles (does anyone still use those?) - I imagine they might well break.]

(If you're wondering why I freeze it - after all, there aren't that often special offers on plain milk - it's because I like to keep a reasonable buffer against running out.)

Hot dogs - the sort that are in plastic packs of ten - freeze and thaw fine too. (Though again it's now more for buffering reasons: these do sometimes appear on special offer, but I actually prefer the Lidl ones [Delano I think they're called] anyway, which are always 99p a pack anyway; they're IMO much nicer taste than the others.)

nanainspain

Jamsi wrote: »

I have always frozen cheese and butter.
I don't think Mashed potato freezes very well, goes very mushy and watery when thawed.... Unless I am doing it wrong

If you freeze in small scoopfuls it is ok also you can take out as much or little as required:j

gloriouslyhappy

ashleyriot wrote: »

@ gloriouslyhappy

I wish I was a dog.

@ashleyriot

You'd have to forage for your lunchtime biscuits off my lawn like Maxi, keeps her amused for hours and makes her work for her food - you're welcome to pop round and see if she's missed any!

gloriouslyhappy

purplesarah wrote: »

Use as little or as much oil per cube as you like, as long as you cover the herbs. Remember it will all go into your cooking though so I'd say less is more.

And yeah, feel free to fill up any empty cubes with water if you want ice cubes too, but you don't have to! I wouldn't mix water with the herbs and oil, well I've never tried it but I can't see it working as well.

joedenise wrote: »

You can also freeze herbs in water rather than oil, which if you prefer not to use too much oil is preferable.

Denise

Thanks, Sarah and Denise,

your ideas sound great, I'll try both ways, especially now my herb garden has died and I'm having to buy expensive cut herbs which go soggy quickly - grrr.

gloriouslyhappy

tain wrote: »

Word on rice though:

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) .

I always freeze rice and have never had any problems, I agree with all Tain said above - never try to freeze still-warm rice (or anything that's warm, for that matter), and I cool it quickly by washing it under the cold tap in a colander. Initially it was because I could never estimate the quantities properly, but now I deliberately cook loads in one go to freeze in portion-size batches.

I chuck a frozen portion in a pot and cover with curry sauce then simmer the lot on lowest setting for about a half hour with a few chopped veggies steaming on top in a metal sieve. Quick, easy, cheap veg curry.

Can also thaw in the microwave, but never refreeze.

pigpen

Potatoes and pasta should never be frozen. they loose integrity and go nasty and mushy. Pasta take 10 minutes to cook there is no need to freeze it... and it is vile when cooked in the slowcooker.. it overcooks and goes mushy.. or may MIL had left it too long in there, I've never done it.

Anything else... go for it!

Rice is fine frozen.. you can buy it precooked and frozen!! It is when it is left and reheated it causes a problem.. though I eat it anyway and only once gave myself a dodgy tum.. it was takeaway rice left for 2 nights in the microwave on an uncovered plate in summer.. it was reheated thoroughly and tasted fine... first time round

pasti33

I brought 3 giant tins of tomato puree for 99p & although I use it often I never use that much, I also find that the tubes leak once they have been opened so I freeze it in ice cube trays, put it in & freeze, they are so convenient when needing them for cooling & they slide out very easily. I also freeze quiche without any problems, both home made & shop brought. if u get anything that goes a bit watery them lay it on kitchen roll to absorb some.of the liquid. wafer thin ham jerrys but cowa go a bit dry once departed but I buy mini gammon &cook & slice that for ham absord cheaper & that freezes great if u need to but ut lasts enough vertebrae the shop ham anyway.we have recently done onto a weekly food waste collection & I waste very little.:)