Freezing ravioli:
Yes, obviously keep them flat. I would layer them over Saran wrap or microwave paper, in layers in a box to stop them sticking to eachother in one big ball (as ALLWAYS seems to happen eventually, whatever it is in the freezer). (Bless Annoia)
Freezing Flat noodles:
Not really tried this recently for two reasons:
1. It allways tended to stick together in the past, though with a dry enough egg pasta
this should not happen. I would THINK that the best way would be to make nests on a
cookie sheet (like with dried pasta), freeze and BOX them to stop them geting broken
in the freezer (they definitely would in mine) (so they take up a lot of space this way).
Drop them straight in to boiling water and they should seperate and start to cook
BEFORE they get a chance to stick to eachother. Do it slow, they will get soft on the
outside first before fully defrosted, and overfriendly with their neighbour making
them difficult (or impossible) to separate. But do what suits you best.
2. I can make fresh pasta for 4 from scratch, cut up & ready to cook by the time it
takes the water to boil.
Cooking Frozen Ravioli
If they are seperate, bung em in boiling water and bring back to the SIMMER. If they
have attached themselves to eachother (a nightmare), try very carefully to seperate
them slowly. This is like siamese twin surgery with a wooden fork. There will be
some losses.
I think straight into boiling water is the best, although there are health risks re
salmonella, for which a slow defrost is PERHAPS better. BUT I work on the principle
that (1) my immune system seems to have survived better than some others, and that
(2) exercise is good for it (or as is said in the US “use it or loose it”). It depends on
the nature of the filling to some extent. Use your own good common sense.
Keeping Qualities
Frozen ravioli will keep reasonably well in the freezer. Oxidisation is the problem, as
with all foods. REMEMBER, that you can buy DRIED tortellini, and other, unfrozen versions that keep for a very, very long time. It is not clear how the concept of meat/vegetable/mushroom/cheese wrapped in a dough came about. But it IS historically clear that from an early time DRIED versions of something very close to ravioli were used as journey food, because they were dry and could be REHYDRATED to provide a sustainig meal in the most simple/harsh of conditions.
Freezing tries to maintain an instant form of FRESH ravioli (ie not the dried type),
and thus it is subject to the action of bacteria, albeit at a reduced rate. Accordingly,
the keeping quality of any frozewn ravioli depends on the filling. Most fillings will
improve in flavour in the short term (like a stuffato or lasagna Bolognese made 2-3
days before serving). BUT the greater the quantity of animal fat, particularly pork fat,
the shorter the keeping time. Pork fat in particular goes rancid in the freezer within
three months even in sausages with preservatives in. It does depend of course on the
precise nature of the dish, ie with salt and spices and preservative, beef might keep
longer, wine marinade longer still, pork vindaloo 3 years plus- - but this is NOT
Italian cooking!
So reckon on about a month for optimum performance.
And yes, Darkstream does check this thread occasionally.