Cryofood: Tips to Freeze Your Food

I come from a thrifty family. My grandfather lived through the Great Depression and then my mom grew up in his household as they struggled to start a kibbutz in Israel. Whenever visiting my grandfather two things were to be expected: questionable food in the fridge and an accumulation of plastic bags. My mom, still a thrifty pack rat, has learned to throw away things occasionally even if begrudgingly. Her biggest vice has been the act of freezing food. If something won't be eaten in the next few days I can usually be safe in betting that food will end up in the freezer.

While this caused a lot of grief and disagreements (really?! you're freezing milk?!), she has also taught me many valuable lessons on how to live cheaply and waste very little. Freezing can certainly be an excellent way to preserve food or ingredients. Now as an aspiring foodie I also think freezing can be a great way to save seasonal recipes to enjoy out of season without the cost or guilt of unseasonal cooking.

You can freeze pretty much any food, but the following tips and suggestions will ensure that the food you freeze is almost the same as the food you thaw and read. I have mentally accumulated these thoughts from various websites and from viewing the Good Eats episode about freezing at least twice, which I highly recommend watching. In fact I found it on YouTube:

My tips:

1. Always chill food for several hours (overnight if possible) in your fridge. Bottom shelf if it's a side by side and top shelf if it's not. This will allow your food to get cold before freezing. The faster it freezes the less likely it will be for ice crystals to form.
2. Make sure the container is sealed tight before chilling and freezing. If you're using freezer bags push all the air out while sealing before chilling and again before transferring to your freezer. Excess air or an open container will allow for moisture to condense and form ice crystals.
3. Label your bag or container and write the date. Even though food properly sealed and frozen should last awhile, I find that inevitably some moisture will form ice crystals and I prefer eat things sooner rather than later even if frozen. Many recipes will recommend how long you can keep things frozen.
4. DO NOT freeze a dish with meat that was previously been frozen. If meat thaws entirely it could accumulate bacteria and freezing will not kill them. When you thaw the meat again the bacteria will grow faster since it is already present. If you are going to freeze a meat dish buy some fresh meat, prepare your dish and freeze once.
5. Always google "freezing ____" when freezing produce. Some items can be frozen whole or fresh, others are best prepared in some way and yet others should be pureed. Many fruits and vegetables lose their structure when frozen, but the taste remains.

Suggestions:

1. Soup! One of the most common items to freeze. From my experience and reading I would suggest freezing stock rather than soup. With some chicken or vegetable stock you are normally less than an hour away from some quality fresh soup. If you freeze soup with chunks of vegetable or meat you might not have the desired consistency when thawed.
2. Pureed seasonal produce. In the fall when pumpkin, squash and sweet potatoes are cheap and plentiful you can cook and puree these ingredients to save and use for any recipe that pureed or canned is called for.
3. Herbs and spices. If you have extra spices or a spice you rarely use, freezing will keep it fresher longer. Herbs are trickier since freezing them may change their consistency, but if you can buy a lot cheaply when seasonal or if you grow your own you can freeze fresh herbs. The easiest way is to place a teaspoon of chopped herbs in the bottom of an ice cube tray than fill with water. After the water melts you can add the herbs to a recipe.
4. Sauces. Particularly things like pasta sauce which we often buy jarred and use for multiple recipes or batches of pasta. You can freeze in smaller quantities, thaw, reheat add extra vegetables or meat and mix with pasta for an easy meal.
5. Pesto. Since the herbs are pureed, consistency shouldn't be an issue. Like herbs, I recommend using small containers or ice cube trays since pesto is a particularly easy one to freeze in 1-2 serving amounts.
6. Fruits and vegetables. I recommend pureeing, but if you still want "fresh" fruits or vegetables for baking or cooking you can freeze so. The best tips for this are in the Good Eats episode I embedded above. Enjoy

Do you have any tips to add? What do you like to freeze? Please comment! I'll add more tips and suggestions as I learn or discover them. I will also add yours (with credit of course).