Creative Cooking Tips - Freezing Foods

Cooking Tips
Tips for Freezing Foods

Tips :)

Freezing foods can be a money saver, time saver, and worry saver for any cook.

There are do's and don'ts to freezing food which, can give you maximum utilization of your groceries.

Use only moisture-vapor proof packaging material. Press out as much air as possible.
Use freezer wrap for individual portions, then place within freezer container.
When freezing liquids, always leave about 1 inch headspace in the container to allow for expansion.
Label all foods with the name of the food, date frozen, and number of servings. Keep a handy list of freezer contents.
When freezing chicken or meat broth, skim off as much fat as possible since the fat tends to become rancid.
Cook pasta only partially when using in prepared dishes to be frozen.
Season lightly with black pepper, garlic, gloves, green pepper, pimiento, celery seasonings and imitation vanilla.
These tend to increase in strength when frozen. Some become strong and bitter. Onion, chili powder and salt tend to decrease.
Brown sugar and confectioners sugar stay moist when frozen. Over wrap boxes with freeze material.
Nuts, cereal and whole-grain flour stay fresher when frozen.

The following is a short list of food that might develop unfavorable characteristics when frozen at home:

Sour cream and mayonnaise (tend to separate).
Cream fillings, custards, and puddings (watery and lumpy).
Light cream, buttermilk, and yogurt (change texture).
Fried Foods (lose their crispness and become soggy. (Exceptions: french fried potatoes & onion rings)).
Salad greens, tomatoes, and unblanched vegetables (lost nutrients, flavor, color, texture).
Bread crumbs and other casserole toppings (become soggy; add during reheating).
Cake batters.
Cake icings made with egg whites (become frothy or "weep" when thawed).
Egg whites (become tough and rubbery).
Fruit jelly in sandwiches (may soak into bread).
Gravies (can separate; combine fat and flour well to avoid this).
Stuffing in raw poultry (can encourage bacterial growth).
Salted nuts (absorb moisture).
Creamy cheeses (loss of texture).
Mayonnaise - not in salads - (separates during freezing and thawing).
Macaroni, spaghetti and some rice ((frozen separately) has a warmed-over flavor and often is mushy.))
Potatoes (Irish) cooked in stews and soups (become mushy and may darken).
Gelatin molds (can separate; prepare firmer then usual).
Mixtures such as potato and tuna salad, cole slaw (become watery).
Raw or boiled potatoes (become mushy and may darken).

Thawing & Preparing

Do not thaw more food at one time than is actually needed because once frozen food is thawed it spoils more readily then fresh foods. Thaw each product to the desired point by placing it (in the unopened package):

in the refrigerator (this is the best method)
on a table in the kitchen for three to four hours
before an electric fan for one-half to one hour
place sealed package in cold water.
defrost in microwave (see Microwave Cooking Tips for defrosting times)

Never thaw by holding product in hot water.
In most cases the thawed product can be used the same as fresh.

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