Best practices for freezing food?
October 31, 2014 2:37 PM
Please give me your tips and tricks for insuring any fresh foods you are freezing (meat, bread, etc) remain in the best condition and taste the best when thawed.
I really prefer to eat fresh, never frozen meats, breads, etc, but because of health and mobility issues, I need to start buying in bulk and freezing foods. Sometimes when I thaw frozen foods, they seem to taste a bit "off" to me (especially ground beef), which may just be my bias against frozen meats at work. Please tell me about your systems for making sure meats, breads, milk (can you freeze milk?) are properly frozen and then properly thawed. I know some people thaw meat in the microwave, but that always results in partially cooked meat for me. What am I doing wrong? I live alone, should I portion out everything before I freeze it? Take it out of the store packaging and re-wrap it? Freeze the bread in two packages instead of the whole loaf? Can I freeze small amounts (a couple of cups) of milk?
I know this shouldn't be so hard, but it flummoxes me for some reason. Thanks for your help!
I really prefer to eat fresh, never frozen meats, breads, etc, but because of health and mobility issues, I need to start buying in bulk and freezing foods. Sometimes when I thaw frozen foods, they seem to taste a bit "off" to me (especially ground beef), which may just be my bias against frozen meats at work. Please tell me about your systems for making sure meats, breads, milk (can you freeze milk?) are properly frozen and then properly thawed. I know some people thaw meat in the microwave, but that always results in partially cooked meat for me. What am I doing wrong? I live alone, should I portion out everything before I freeze it? Take it out of the store packaging and re-wrap it? Freeze the bread in two packages instead of the whole loaf? Can I freeze small amounts (a couple of cups) of milk?
I know this shouldn't be so hard, but it flummoxes me for some reason. Thanks for your help!
Definitely portion meat first. I put meal-sized amounts in small freezer bags, squish out all the air and seal, then pack those small bags in large freezer bags. Take out small bag in the morning and thaw in the fridge for dinner use. The double bagging plus air elimination really helps with cutting down freezer burn.
posted by donnagirl at 2:47 PM on October 31, 2014
posted by donnagirl at 2:47 PM on October 31, 2014
Vacuum-bagging is great. I just had some lasagna that I vacuum-bagged a month ago and nuked. I think it was as good as when it went into the bag. You can also boil anything that's vacuum-bagged to heat it up.
I think the trick with thawing meat in the microwave is to get it to a uniform thickness—not too thick—so that you don't wind up with some parts cooking and some parts remaining frozen.
posted by adamrice at 2:51 PM on October 31, 2014
I think the trick with thawing meat in the microwave is to get it to a uniform thickness—not too thick—so that you don't wind up with some parts cooking and some parts remaining frozen.
posted by adamrice at 2:51 PM on October 31, 2014
Make a list. Stick it to the front of the freezer. Date each entry. That way you're less likely to lose something in the back of the freezer.
posted by mollymayhem at 3:30 PM on October 31, 2014
posted by mollymayhem at 3:30 PM on October 31, 2014
For defrosting: put the meat (or whatever else) in the sink or a large bowl and cover generously with hot water from the tap.
It should defrost in a few hours without actually cooking it (like the microwave tends to do).
posted by jpeacock at 3:42 PM on October 31, 2014
It should defrost in a few hours without actually cooking it (like the microwave tends to do).
posted by jpeacock at 3:42 PM on October 31, 2014
If you don't have enough time to thaw in the fridge, and you don't want to use the microwave, submerge the package of meat in cold water.
I would freeze bread and milk in smaller portions. A gallon of milk takes a long time (over a day in my experience) to thaw. Bread thaws quickly, but sometimes it's hard to separate a few slices from the loaf when frozen.
In addition to freezing raw ingredients, you might want to cook bigger batches of some dishes and freeze the cooked food in individual portions, which can be heated easily in the microwave. Just let the food cool before sticking in the freezer.
posted by treachery, faith, and the great river at 3:52 PM on October 31, 2014
I would freeze bread and milk in smaller portions. A gallon of milk takes a long time (over a day in my experience) to thaw. Bread thaws quickly, but sometimes it's hard to separate a few slices from the loaf when frozen.
In addition to freezing raw ingredients, you might want to cook bigger batches of some dishes and freeze the cooked food in individual portions, which can be heated easily in the microwave. Just let the food cool before sticking in the freezer.
posted by treachery, faith, and the great river at 3:52 PM on October 31, 2014
Vacuum seal your meat before freezing. If you can afford it the FoodSaver set up is great but expensive. I use a cheap $30 knock off from Amazon, used it with no problems for 6 months now, get the no name bags as well, if you check the ratings you will be fine. Vacuum sealing stops that freezer burn & helps keep other tastes in the freezer from mingling and is great. Also make sure your freezer is running cold enough.
Chances are all your "Fresh" meat, unless you are killing the animal yourself or know the butcher, have been frozen at some stage in their journey to you. Pretty much all meat in supermarkets/whole foods is frozen to make storage & transport easier & then defrosted for sale. So if you are tasting a difference it is most likely your freezer or technique.
Milk is super easy to freeze, just chuck it in, plastic 1 gallon jugs have expansion built in, if you are using a solid contain pour a little off to allow for expansion then freeze. Defrost in fridge, it might take a day or so depending on fridge temp, shake well & you are ready to go, there is no difference in taste or texture.
Defrost bread on the counter making sure there is no ice in the pack to make the bread soggy as it defrosts. Defrosting bread in the fridge can dry it out. When in a hurry freezer bread is great for toast.
posted by wwax at 5:15 PM on October 31, 2014
Chances are all your "Fresh" meat, unless you are killing the animal yourself or know the butcher, have been frozen at some stage in their journey to you. Pretty much all meat in supermarkets/whole foods is frozen to make storage & transport easier & then defrosted for sale. So if you are tasting a difference it is most likely your freezer or technique.
Milk is super easy to freeze, just chuck it in, plastic 1 gallon jugs have expansion built in, if you are using a solid contain pour a little off to allow for expansion then freeze. Defrost in fridge, it might take a day or so depending on fridge temp, shake well & you are ready to go, there is no difference in taste or texture.
Defrost bread on the counter making sure there is no ice in the pack to make the bread soggy as it defrosts. Defrosting bread in the fridge can dry it out. When in a hurry freezer bread is great for toast.
posted by wwax at 5:15 PM on October 31, 2014
If you don't have, or don't want to purchase, a vacuum sealer I think double-bagging does a very good job. Put your meat portion in a simple plastic bag without any closure (I tend to use Baggies brand, but it doesn't really matter), roll it tight, then put it in a plastic freezer bag and squish out as much air as you can. Certain foods, particularly ground meats, don't do well in the freezer; we buy those no more than a few days before we use them.
Our Panasonic microwave has a turbo defroster that works very well, which is a saving grace because we usually don't plan far enough ahead to defrost foods in the refrigerator.
posted by DrGail at 5:31 PM on October 31, 2014
Our Panasonic microwave has a turbo defroster that works very well, which is a saving grace because we usually don't plan far enough ahead to defrost foods in the refrigerator.
posted by DrGail at 5:31 PM on October 31, 2014
I find it's helpful, if not "green", to wrap meat/poultry/fish items singly with plastic wrap and then freeze in a larger, closable plastic bag. I also do it with packages of sausages which I wouldn't be using all at one time. You can then take out just the number you need at a time.
I get a large (2-3,000 foot) roll with a slide edge cutter from a local restaurant supply market (Cash and Carry in our region), which are generally open for shopping by the public. They're available in a variety of widths and lengths. Buy the better quality, it holds better. This is both a lot less expensive per unit and more convenient than the "pull and rip" small store rolls.
posted by uncaken at 6:21 PM on October 31, 2014
I get a large (2-3,000 foot) roll with a slide edge cutter from a local restaurant supply market (Cash and Carry in our region), which are generally open for shopping by the public. They're available in a variety of widths and lengths. Buy the better quality, it holds better. This is both a lot less expensive per unit and more convenient than the "pull and rip" small store rolls.
posted by uncaken at 6:21 PM on October 31, 2014
Portion bread before freezing -- make sure loaves are sliced; cut bagels in half, etc. You can it it straight in the toaster or toaster oven; yum!
I've done this for years -- enjoy!
posted by kestrel251 at 7:43 PM on October 31, 2014
I've done this for years -- enjoy!
posted by kestrel251 at 7:43 PM on October 31, 2014
As mentioned above, thawing meat in a bowl of cold water is what works for me.
I find that chicken breasts in particular seem to absorb lots of liquid as they thaw, if unwrapped, so I'll often seal frozen chicken in a zip-lock bag with marinade and put the bag in the bowl of water.
posted by XMLicious at 7:25 AM on November 1, 2014
I find that chicken breasts in particular seem to absorb lots of liquid as they thaw, if unwrapped, so I'll often seal frozen chicken in a zip-lock bag with marinade and put the bag in the bowl of water.
posted by XMLicious at 7:25 AM on November 1, 2014
They were just talking about this on "Fresh Air" last week, reiterating what's been said upthread -- double-wrapped in plastic-wrap, then they also suggested a layer of aluminum foil. Thaw in the fridge, or under running water if you must. For chicken they suggested brinning, first.
posted by Rash at 8:42 AM on November 1, 2014
posted by Rash at 8:42 AM on November 1, 2014
I'd suggest that if possible, buy your meats pre-frozen. Butchers and those who deal with meat have access to more sophisticated sealing & freezing than home. I have a (wonderful, glorious) CSA meat share that comes pre-frozen and I thaw the meat either in the fridge or in cold water. Once thawed, I typically brine all meat and find the flavor and quality superior to anything I've bought fresh and frozen myself.
If you're using the milk for anything but straight drinking (e.g. baking, cooking, hot chocolate), you might want to consider powdered milk. The nonfat instant kind is most commonly available, but I prefer the full fat non-instant.
posted by carrioncomfort at 1:21 PM on November 1, 2014
If you're using the milk for anything but straight drinking (e.g. baking, cooking, hot chocolate), you might want to consider powdered milk. The nonfat instant kind is most commonly available, but I prefer the full fat non-instant.
posted by carrioncomfort at 1:21 PM on November 1, 2014
Important to know that not all ziploc bags are freezer bags. Freezer bags are heavier duty bags. If you use non-freezer bags freezer burn will often result.
posted by srboisvert at 4:32 AM on November 2, 2014
posted by srboisvert at 4:32 AM on November 2, 2014
Checking through some Google results for "freezer bag" "freezer burn", I think the most important step for avoiding freezer burn is using an air-tight bag and evacuating all the air from the bag; the things marketed as "freezer bags" do seem to have a heavier construction in general, but unless you actually run into problems with a particular sort of bag losing its seal due to the plastic cracking or something like that, my experience has been that if it's a one-time use it doesn't matter what sort of bag you've got so long as there are no air pockets. (Conversely, you can use a freezer bag but if there's tons of air in there with the food, you still get freezer burn.)
Though the heavy-duty qualities do come into play if you're re-using bags or in the situation where you've got multiple items in a single bag and you're opening it, taking something out, and re-sealing the bag to put back in the freezer.
posted by XMLicious at 10:13 AM on November 2, 2014
Though the heavy-duty qualities do come into play if you're re-using bags or in the situation where you've got multiple items in a single bag and you're opening it, taking something out, and re-sealing the bag to put back in the freezer.
posted by XMLicious at 10:13 AM on November 2, 2014
The most important thing I think is to make a schedule of when you plan to eat the food that you have frozen. We freeze lots of things at my house because we buy extra when it's on sale, but in reality, it goes on sale so frequently that we haven't finished the last frozen stuff yet before it's time to buy fresh again. So I throw away a lot of stuff or eat a lot of slightly "off" stuff with year-old dates on it.
If you are starting to freeze because of limited trips to the store, map out a rough calendar showing meal plans for the time between store trips. Buy what you need for those meal plans, use all the advice above for how to freeze it, then USE IT during that time. Before the next store trip, review how well you did at following the plan and take a new inventory of your freezer. Make a new plan that uses the existing inventory first, or better yet, postpone your trip another few days while you finish up your freezer.
posted by CathyG at 1:53 PM on November 3, 2014
If you are starting to freeze because of limited trips to the store, map out a rough calendar showing meal plans for the time between store trips. Buy what you need for those meal plans, use all the advice above for how to freeze it, then USE IT during that time. Before the next store trip, review how well you did at following the plan and take a new inventory of your freezer. Make a new plan that uses the existing inventory first, or better yet, postpone your trip another few days while you finish up your freezer.
posted by CathyG at 1:53 PM on November 3, 2014
« Older How Can I Find A Girlfriend In College, Really? | Soup recipes to use with a stick blender Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
When I kept meat, I thawed in the fridge.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 2:42 PM on October 31, 2014