Preparing food for the freezer

[ajrubyo]

I was just reading an article in the June newsletter about the Tilla Foodsaver Professional II. It sounds wonderful, but since I'm on a budget and don't have extra space, I have developed a method that's easy and foolproof.
Since we all know air is what ruins food in the freezer, I take my meats, etc. and wrap them individually in plastic wrap (airtight) and put them into a ziplock bag. I push out as much air as I can, then I close the bag but leave a small opening for a straw. Insert the straw and suck the rest out, then quickly close the bag. The meat will keep indefinitely, and when I just want a few pieces, it's easy to remove only what I want and close the bag again (I often buy in bulk and store it this way).
For liquid foods, like soups and sauces, I put liquid into a re-usable plastic container with a lid. When it's cool, I place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the liquid and press around the edges so that no air is touching the liquid. I put the top on over the edges of the overhannging plastic wrap. and label it. It will stay fresh for months this way.
This is much easier than it sounds, and these are products (plastic wrap & bags) that I have on hand all the time, and use for many other things.
I often cook large amounts and freeze individual servings, and believe me, this method has saved me a fortune in food that otherwise would get freezer burned and ruined.
Thanks for all your great thoughts.

 

[TexasBlueHeron]

This is the best idea!

Thanks! That's one of the top 10 best ideas I've ever seen. We, too, would love to have a food saver, but counterspace, $$$$, and supplies, well...

As for plastic wrap, we've found the store brand (you know what that means) from that big-box store (many of you will know the name) of wrap is the best ever. It sticks and wraps itself around just about anything. The box requires a rocket scientist to figure out, and is a bear to use, but the wrap makes it worthwhile. It's pretty cheap, too.

 

[jkath]

When I have things such as chili or soup to freeze, I use a large sized freezer ziploc and lay it flat in the freezer. (I usually do 3-4 at a time). After they're frozen, I stack them like books on a bookshelf. It's a great way to utilize the head space that sometimes isn't used.
(but, I'd love the foodsaver!!!)

Also for casseroles: line your pan with foil and then plastic wrap, using a double amount in length. Put your casserole on top of the plastic wrap and then close it up, followed by the foil. Freeze. When it's frozen, pop out your "package" and put the pan back in the cupboard. When you want to cook the casserole, take off the wrappings, and it will fit perfectly into your pan.

 

[GB]

When I have things such as chili or soup to freeze, I use a large sized freezer ziploc and lay it flat in the freezer. (I usually do 3-4 at a time). After they're frozen, I stack them like books on a bookshelf. It's a great way to utilize the head space that sometimes isn't used.

I do the same thing Jkath. You can fit so much more in the freezer this way and it is easy to see what you have in there. I freeze mine in Zip Lock bags and then I put them in a Foodsaver bag and vacuum pack it and stack them in the freezer.

Plastic wrap is great stuff, but don't be fooled. It might look air tight, but it is actually quite porous. It will let a lot of gases in and out including oxygen. It is good for short term storage, but not great at long term.

 

[ajrubyo]

Thanks! That's one of the top 10 best ideas I've ever seen. We, too, would love to have a food saver, but counterspace, $$$$, and supplies, well...

As for plastic wrap, we've found the store brand (you know what that means) from that big-box store (many of you will know the name) of wrap is the best ever. It sticks and wraps itself around just about anything. The box requires a rocket scientist to figure out, and is a bear to use, but the wrap makes it worthwhile. It's pretty cheap, too.

The plastic wrap that works best for me is found in the same type store (Sam's - are we allowed to name stores and brands?) and it's called Zip Safe. It comes in 500 ft. rolls (although it's not much bigger than typical brands), and has a slide cutter, so it's extremely easy to use. I love it. It comes 2 bozes to a package. Look for it - you'll love it!

 

[ajrubyo]

I do the same thing Jkath. You can fit so much more in the freezer this way and it is easy to see what you have in there. I freeze mine in Zip Lock bags and then I put them in a Foodsaver bag and vacuum pack it and stack them in the freezer.

Plastic wrap is great stuff, but don't be fooled. It might look air tight, but it is actually quite porous. It will let a lot of gases in and out including oxygen. It is good for short term storage, but not great at long term.

I agree, if you're only going to wrap in plastic wrap. But then you enclose the wrapped article in a freezer bag, and remove the air. Believe me, it works, for long term storage, too. And the freezer bag is reusablle. Not so with the other type.

With liquids, I have done the same thing, with the zip lock bags and stack them, but I really prefer the re-usable stacking plastic containers, as I can re-use them, where with the bags, it's only good for one use. Also, It's hard store or remove just a little amount. With the containers, I can freeze amounts as small as 1/2 cup easily without dragging a big machine out.

 

[surfrkim]

I have used the old drinking straw trick for years but would NEVER recommend using it with raw meat (esp poultry). You guys in the US have all these snazzy (read expensive) machines (that look a lot like laminators!!) to remove a little bit of air!! Here you can buy (from kitchen specialty stores) a small bellows-like gadget that does the work of your lungs & the straw (looks like a camera lens puffer brush - same size - about 130 cm long) by sucking the air out of the bag. Another great way of freezing liquids is to place a freezer bag inside a preformer (say a tupperware container of your choice) fill with stock, soup or whatever, remove air from bag, seal & then freeze until solid. Then you can remove the bag from the container & stack in the freezer in its bag.

Cheers, SK

 

[Andy M.]

I use Stretch-Tite that I buy at Costco for half the price at the supermarket. It's made of the same plastic as Saran Wrap (although thinner).

I also double package into a Ziplok bag and expel most of the air just by squeezing it out and sealing the bag. I don't bother with a straw.

I don't worry about freezer burn with liquids such as frozen broth. After all, freezer burn is just dehydration.

 

[ajrubyo]

I have used the old drinking straw trick for years but would NEVER recommend using it with raw meat (esp poultry)....

Cheers, SK

Absolutely, you make a great point. That's why I recommend using the plastic wrap FIRST, then the freezer bag. Meat never touches the outer bag, or the straw. Plus, with this method, you have double wrapped the item, and vacuum-sealed it, too. I've been doing this for years since having once owned a machine, which I found expensive to use, and not nearly as versatile as this method, and which soon broke down. This do-it-yourself method has served me perfectly over the years.

 

[ticoterry-EXPAT]

I have had great luck freezing liquids by using individual ziplock sandwich bags which I stuff into a large coffee mug (edges over lip of mug) this supports the ziplock bag, then I use a 1 cup ladle to fill,and put them down on level suface as I seal them. the air goes out. date them and freeze them individualy on a cookie sheet, when frozen I store them in a 1 gallon freezer ziplock bag with the air "sucked out". This method has solved the mess problem in filling the 1 cup portions...

 

[Claire]

Gee, aj, you must have been hanging around when Mom (now 71) taught me to freeze. The straw trick is one she used a lot, and we always did the freezing containers thing. I mean, once the (soup, stew, sauce) is frozen, you can save space by popping it out. I now have a half dozen servings of harissa, several curries, some lentil soup, etc, in the freezer using these methods and they really work and are really space savers in the freezer. Eventually tomato season will come upon us, and I have a bumper crop coming up. I will use both methods (I freeze some as just tomatoes and some as sauce, I don't "do" canning).

Once upon a time I had a small chest freezer that I thought I'd never do without. Some day someone here will offer me the results of their hunting expidition, and I WILL go down and buy a little freezer. But I'm amazed at what I can fit into the small top-of-the-fridge freezer I have!

 

[Constance]

We like to put our meat in a ziplock first...sucking all the air out as mentioned above...and then in foil. The foil makes a big difference. I found a t-bone from 2001 in my freezer a couple of weeks ago, and it had no freezer burn or funky smell at all.

That's the thing about a chest freezer...you have to stand on your head to get to the bottom. I have a friend who freezes water in gallon jugs and keeps in the bottom simply because he never uses the stuff down there anyway, and if the power goes out, he has a big ice chest.

 

[Claire]

Isn't that the truth! But luckily I'm tall, so can reach the bottom. The main reason we bought chest freezers (me and my mom before me) was that they often wound up "living" in a bedroom (we moved every few years). With a chest style freezer you could throw a pretty table cloth on it and pretend you didn't have a major kitchen appliance in your bedroom!

 

[ajrubyo]

....That's the thing about a chest freezer...you have to stand on your head to get to the bottom. I have a friend who freezes water in gallon jugs and keeps in the bottom simply because he never uses the stuff down there anyway, and if the power goes out, he has a big ice chest.

Just an aside about the inconvenience of a chest freezer... I saw a nifty little chest freezer at Sears that has the typical lid on top, but has a pull-out drawer on the bottom. That would be very convenient. You can find it on their appliance web page. If I didn't already have 2 refrigerators, I would buy one of those.

I recently read that stand alone-freezers are much better for long term storage of food. But my refrigerator/freezers seem to do a good job for me, but I use things frequently.

 

[TexasBlueHeron]

Freezers

The uprights are so pricey - but we recently moved to a middle-of-nowhere community and lucked into a used nice-sized upright. Now we can even put the dog food in there. It sits in a lower-level storage area and when we need something out of it, we call it "going to the store." Can you tell me miss really being able to run down the street to the store? But what we run out of the most are good old non-freezable onions. Boy, can you start craving sliced/diced/minced/chopped onions when they're not there.

 

[Claire]

BTW, freezing those pop and other bottles that you put on the bottom? When I lived in HI and FL, in the spring I'd start filling all unused freezer space with any extra container of water. #1--it keeps your frozen food longer when the electricity goes. #2--you have a good supply of potable water if the water goes. I haven't had water go more than 48 hours, but have done without electricity for a couple of weeks a couple of times, and for a few days OFTEN. Made it so that I didn't have to cook everything pronto. So, for those of you who live in areas prone to natural disaster, fill those empty bottles and fill up the extra space in your freezer.

 

[Barbara L]

That's a good idea Claire.

Barbara

 

[ajrubyo]

I agree, putting bottles of water in the unused space of the freezer is a great idea. I live on the west coast of Florida, so we're under the threat of hurricanes all summer long. We also get frequent power outages during storms. This has saved more than one freezer load of food!

Another use I find for the frozen bottles, is when I go to more than one store for groceries, I can take a frozen bottle or two and put it in the bottom of a small chest in the trunk of my car, and place my meat & cold items in there for a short term. We have such high temperatures here, it gets like an oven in the trunk. This really helps. When I get home, I pop the bottles back in the freezer for next time. No messy melted ice cubes to deal with.

 

[Michael in FtW]

As for the chest vs upright freezer question ... a little simple science helps. Cold air falls, hot air rises. In an upright freezer, or a freezer compartment over a refrigerator that has a side opening door, when you open the door the cold air literallly "falls out". Same thing happens with a refrigerator door. Ever notice your toes get cold when you are rummaging around at night in your bare feet and jammies looking for a midnight snack? It's the cold air falling out of the frige! With a top-opening chest type freezer, or to a lesser extent one with a front opening door and a pull-out drawer - the cold air stays in.