New Freezer...Advice Needed Please!

Penny-Pincher!!

Hey :wave:

Our new freezer should be delivered in the next 2 weeks and really could do with some advice please.

Basically we have cut back alot on groceries etc and roughly have cut from £80+ a week to about £30-£35 a week. This includes everything apart from loo rolls, kitchen rolls, wash powder etc, which we buy in bulk from Makros when on offer. I think I can cut this further though.

Been married nearly 12 years and always have shopped weekly. The last 2 months I have cut to fortnightly and think I could cut it too monthly or 3 weekly but am worried about my weekly perishables. I normally buy weekly things like milk, bread, ham, cheese, yogurts, fruit & veg. Can any of these be frozen? I know bread can be, but dont know about the rest I shop at Asda presently and use the £10 off a £50 shop when available but always seem to find it difficult getting the last few pound in to bring basket to £50. If I shop 3 weekly/monthly this will not be a problem but only if the items can be frozen ok.

When we go to Makros (every 10-12 weeks) I always look in the reduced section as they practically give it away. When we went a couple of months ago they had 3KG block of cheddar (reduced to £3 from £11)it was huge so couldnt buy it as theres only 3 of us..lol, a big 1kg pack of boiled gammon ham (reduced £1.50) but again didnt buy, milk is always reduced (10p) but again unsure, also had a huge catering quiche 12 portion (reduced to £1 :eek: ) theres always pies etc and sometimes get these as I know they can be frozen ok.

If these items or most can be frozen then I can bulk buy and get better discounts, take more advantage of special offers etc. With it being bigger than my current freezer-I can bulk buy better from the butchers too :T

Also, is there a good way to organise a big chest freezer (its 135cm wide and grade C electric)Is there a good way of marking bags/boxes-i have used the freezer pens and think they are rubbish...any advice?

Is there anything that doesnt freeze well?

I also have a BM that ive never used-can HM bread be frozen OK-I dont like mushy bread :rolleyes:

Im sure I will think of more questions

Many Thanks

Penny-Pincher!!
xxx

exlibris

Milk & cheese can definately be frozen. A word of warning though. Freeze everything in useable portions, you will have a problem hacking a useable amount from a 3k block of cheese. Grated cheese also freezes well and you can take out a handful when needed. It does'nt usually need thawing. Remember that things cannot usually be refrozen when thawed. Someone on another thread suggested saving 3x2pt milk bottles, washing them out and then buying a 6pt container, filling the smaller ones and freezing 1 or 2 until needed.

A rule of thumb for fruit and veg. Everything that has a high liquid content eg lettuce, tomatoes strawberries etc don't freeze well in their natural state. Cook tomatoes and strawberries DON'T freeze lettuce!

I can't help with the storeage as I have an upright so don't have the delving to the depths problem!

I am sure others will have many other tips but this should give you a start.

Louisa_2

my little tip- fresh mushrooms freeze fine, if they are the ones in a plastic tray with film over the top just pierce the film a couple of times and whack in the freezer.

I've tried yoghurt before and it curdled- but don't know if that was only because it was the mullerlight absolutely-no-fat version.

Apparently cooked rice freezes brilliantly too (which would be good for me cos I'm always hopelessley over-catering with rice) but I've not tried it because of the general health-dodginess of leftover rice- can anyone shed light on this?

Ticklemouse

I freeze most things, if I can get away with it.

Milk has always been fine and it doesn't matter whether it's skimmed, semi or full fat.
Cheese - haven't had problems with as frozen in suitably small chunks. Haven't tries the grating before freezing trick.

Meat - either raw or cooked is fine - parcel up into useable sized portions and remove as needed.

Veg - I had too much left over before I went away so I've blanched and frozen celery, courgettes and peppers (latter don't need blanching) I have also bags of rhubarb and gooseberries from the summer PYO-fest

I did buy a load of onions once and chopped and froze them (lay on a baking tray and put into a bag once frozen) You have lots of ready to use onions for cooking with and don't have to faff chopping if you're tired etc.

Rice - freezes fine. When it's cold, put in bag/box and stick it in the freezer. I just blast mine in the microwave when I need it. I think the problems with rice come when you leave it sitting at room temp. As long as it's reheated properly then it's OK

Can't help with organising a chest freezer. I knew I would be too lazy to organise one properly so I bought an upright one

apprentice_tycoon

The easiest way to organise a chest freezer is to gather a few different supermarket carrier bags, you just group things in bags such as....raw meat, bread and cakes, vegetables, you'll soon get used to looking for the meat in Tesco bags, the bread in Morrisons, the veg in Asda etc.

elona

I tried this systen of using carrier bags and it worked well till DDs ransacked the freeezer and it is scattered all over now.

They treat the freeezer as if it is an entertainment centre.lol:eek:

Penny-Pincher!!

Well my freezer is here, and is HUGE :eek: 14.5cubic feet.

Any suggestions for initial freezer shop?

OH emptied our other freezer contents in it and didnt even cover the bottom I want to fill with food we eat daily but will keep for a while..if you know what I mean. We eat meat, fish etc daily. Have ham, cheese, milk etc in the fridge. I am mainly looking to cut my shop too once every 4 weeks if possible.

Thanks

PP
xx

apprentice_tycoon

I'm told that milk will freeze but when I tried I didn't like the taste, it would be fine to cook with but not to drink. Bread is fine, just take out a few slices each day. Cheese is fine but it crumbles a bit when you try to slice or grate it, so you could grate it first then freeze. Cooked meats will be OK, raw meat and fish will be good.

Fresh veg and fruit isn't good unless you are prepared to blanch it in boiling water for 60 seconds, chill in icy water then bag up and freeze, yogurt won't work either so you are best making your own (lots of home yogging info on Old Style) with UHT that you buy monthly, serve with fresh fruit, apple sauce, dried fruit like apricots and prunes or frozen fruit like the summer berries bags cooked, sweetened and thickened with arrowroot.

Edited - the milk I froze was skimmed, I don't know if you get a better result with semi skimmed or full fat milk

nicki_2

If you're going to grate the cheese first before freezing I would recommend you "flash freeze" it - grate, put on a baking tray in the freezer, once frozen bag it up I do this with mine and it makes making a pizza so quick and easy!

If you have a Google, you'll find loads of websites about freezing stuff - personally I would recommend Organized Home as thats where I learnt most of what I do - but then I'm biased

I've also got a book called "The St Michael All Colour Freezer Cookery Book" which I like looking through - I just can't do much as my freezer is packed full :rolleyes: - so would be happy to look anything up if you want to ask away!

Curry_Queen

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

I'm told that milk will freeze but when I tried I didn't like the taste, it would be fine to cook with but not to drink. ......

Edited - the milk I froze was skimmed, I don't know if you get a better result with semi skimmed or full fat milk

Ahhhh so frozen-thawed milk does have a different taste then? I wasn't sure if DS was just imagining things when he said that, but he said he actually prefers it and wants me to freeze milk more often LOL! :rolleyes:

It was a 2pt plastic bottle of semi-skimmed and had been in the freezer about a month when we used it. I don't usually freeze it but DS was going away for the week, and I don't drink milk, so I didn't want it to go to waste as it only had a day or two left to use by, so popped it in the freezer. It went a really strange yellow colour while frozen, and I almost threw it out :eek: but once it thawed out it went back to the usual creamy white colour again

AussieLass

I don't have a chest freezer now but when I did I always placed an old towel on the bottom. Made is so much easier to clean. I also purchased clear plastic containers (largeish). These were excellent as they had different coloured lids. But if you can't find any, different coloured stickers would do. I then got to know bread was in red, chicken in yellow;), etc. Bit like the plastic bag idea but fitted in a bit better. I wish I still had it now as I really miss it.