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Defrosting / Heating / Eating frozen food

Hi

I am about to start trying to reduce the cost of my food shopping and have picked up some great tips from on here :D

I have never cooked meals and frozen them because I am always concerned about the health implications of reheating things. Can you let me know how to safely reheat frozen meals? Do I let them defrost and then warm in microwave or oven? Or can I reheat them straight from frozen in the microwave/oven??
:confused:
Please help?!?!
2012 wins approx £11,000 including 5k to spend on a holiday :j
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Comments

  • foreverskint
    foreverskint Posts: 1,009 Forumite
    500 Posts
    Me personally, I defrost any pre-prepared frozen meals before reheating thoroughly in the oven. I have no microwave, although when I did I never used it much. i always use the point of a knife inserted right into the centre to check that it's really hot.. Some dishes like lasagne I make up and freeze unbaked, defrost & cook as normal.

    I haven't killed anyone yet so give it a go and I'm sure there willl be some much better advice along shortly:D
  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You can heat food any way you choose to - but the most important thing is to heat the food thoroughly.

    Most people suggest that allowing frozen food (except where ready made packs say to cook from frozen) should be allowed to defrost in the fridge and then heated thoroughly in either the oven or the microwave.

    Defrosting in the microwave can be perfectly OK - just follow the instructions in your book for timings and how to lay solids out and how many times and when to stir things like casseroles or chilis.

    There's a helpful thread on microwave defrosting Here
    Hi, I'm a Board Guide on the Old Style and the Consumer Rights boards which means I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly and can move and merge posts there. Board guides are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an inappropriate or illegal post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. It is not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Any views are mine and are not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
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  • idiot_3
    idiot_3 Posts: 136 Forumite
    the official line when working in catering is to ensure the middle is up to 72 degrees. (if i remember rightly!) it is unlikely that you will have a food probe at home, so just make sure it is piping hot throughout. if you defrost in the funny oven and heat it straight away you will not go far wrong. if it is seafood (such as prawns), then you can defrost it under running cold water (or even lukewarm if it is fish and you are going to cook it instantly).
  • Loadsabob
    Loadsabob Posts: 662 Forumite
    I used to always put frozen bolognese, things like that, straight into a lidded saucepan with a drop of water and heat slowly until all thawed, then whack the heat up.

    These days, with meal planning, I know what I'll be eating that night, so I take out the bag / tupperware from the freezer and leave it at room temperature all day. By then it's ready to just be heated through. But if I forget, I know all is not lost!

    People have always told me to be careful re-heating rice. I've rarely needed to, but recently I made far too much and froze it. I just put it in a pan of boiling water for a few minutes, and I'm here to tell the tale!

    And some strange person told me I should never re-heat mushrooms! I've been doing that for about 17 years now, and no ill effects! In fact, I've only had food poisoning once in my life, and it was from a yellow stickered spicy tomato salsa in the chiller cabinet. Never again!!! I fainted in the middle of the night!
  • kit
    kit Posts: 1,678 Forumite
    Thanks all.
    Have yet to try any of the above yet but I reheated chicken for the first time yesterday (always been afraid of food poisoning!) so I am making progress!!
    2012 wins approx £11,000 including 5k to spend on a holiday :j
  • Pal
    Pal Posts: 2,076 Forumite
    Loadsabob wrote:
    I fainted in the middle of the night!

    Isn't that normally called "sleeping"?
  • can i ask what effect freezing has on vitamins and minerals ??
    will i loose all the goodness ??
  • pol
    pol Posts: 643 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    If it is frozen fresh and stored airtight, vitamin loss should be minimal. Steaming from frozen is better than boiling too.
    37 mrstwins squares, 6 little bags, 16 RWB squares, 1 ladies cardi, 4 boobs, 20 baby hats, 4 xmas stockings, 1 scarf, 4 prs wristwarmers
  • Hi there, no this is an old thread but have now been freezing fresh veggies for stir fry's etc... but would like to know how long i can leave them in, i don't plan to leave them long... but the best laid plans never come through, so i was wondering how long i have???
  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Quoted from elsewhere:-
    To obtain the best quality and longest storage life, it is important to blanch your vegetables in boiling water before freezing them. Blanching is necessary to inactivate enzymes in the vegetables. If these enzymes are not stopped, your vegetables can start to lose quality after after just a few weeks in the freezer. They`ll develop "off" flavors and a tough texture. There also tends to be a loss of vitamins and that garden-fresh color, when vegetables are frozen unblanched. The blanching process will prevent all these bad points and give you nine to twelve months, or even more, of quality storage time.

    So - a few weeks to a few months depending on blanching :)

    To see the whole article ---> Click Here

    ..and there's a link at the bottom to blanching times.
    Hi, I'm a Board Guide on the Old Style and the Consumer Rights boards which means I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly and can move and merge posts there. Board guides are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an inappropriate or illegal post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. It is not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Any views are mine and are not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
    DTFAC: Y.T.D = £5.20 Apr £0.50
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