The freezer can be filled not only with meat, fish and berries. There are many foods that can be frozen without losing their taste. Frozen foods will calmly wait their turn, and you won’t have to throw them away or quickly finish them to avoid spoiling. Here are 20 foods you can freeze and how to do it.
1. Cheese
You can freeze big piece cheese, and after defrosting it will not crumble. If you prefer to slice your cheese before freezing, add a teaspoon of cornstarch or flour to the container to prevent the slices from sticking together during defrosting.
If you like to add to dishes grated cheese, you can buy a large piece of Parmesan, chop it in a food processor and put it in the freezer in special freezer bags. It can be stored in the freezer for several months, and while preparing it, all you have to do is open a container or freezer bag and remove a couple of teaspoons of cheese.
2. Homemade pancakes, waffles and French toast
If you'd like to enjoy homemade pancakes, waffles, and toast for breakfast more often, you can simply bake a larger batch on the weekend, freeze on a cookie tray, and store in freezer bags.
At any time you can take them out of the freezer, heat them in the microwave and have breakfast. In any case, it will turn out cheaper and tastier than buying frozen baked goods in the store.
3. Fruit
It is better to freeze fruits parchment paper, and only then place them in freezer bags. It is better to immediately freeze the cut pieces so that you can take them out for desserts and smoothies as needed.
If you're a smoothie lover, you can make your own frozen fruit blend right away. Separately freeze pieces of apples, pears, peaches, bananas and other fruits you like. At any time you can make yourself a new smoothie by mixing different types fruit.
If you don't like cooking slimy, thawed banana pieces, freeze them whole, skin and all. When you decide to cook something with a banana, you need to take it out of the freezer, defrost it in the microwave, cut off the top and squeeze the contents into the cooking mixture.
4. Rice
To avoid waiting too long for the rice to cook (especially brown rice, which cooks for about 50 minutes), you can freeze it. The rice is first frozen on a tray or parchment paper and then placed in a freezer bag.
Thawed rice can be fried or used for soup or casserole. The cooking time will be reduced by about an hour (including not only cooking, but also rinsing and soaking).
5. Pies
Can you do more? apple pie and enjoy it for several months. Wrap it in freezer paper, place it in a bag and put it in the freezer. When you want to taste the pie, place it in a preheated oven (about 150 degrees) for 2 hours.
6. Corn
The easiest way to freeze corn is not to take it out of the leaves, but just stick it in the freezer. When you want corn, just take it out and heat it in the microwave for 5 minutes. The leaves protect the corn kernels so it tastes fresh.
7. Tomato paste
Simmer Roma tomatoes over low heat with garlic, fresh herbs and olive oil for about 4-5 hours. Once the mixture has cooled, place it in freezer bags. You can use this mixture as a base for chili or tomato sauces.
8. Pasta
Weld more pasta and freeze small portions in different packages- you can use one small bag for soups and casseroles.
Before freezing, make sure to release the air from the bag - it should be as flat as possible. To defrost, place the sealed bag in hot water for a few minutes.
9. Mashed Potatoes
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out a portion. mashed potatoes and place the ball on baking parchment.
Freeze until the balls are firm and then store in freezer bags. The puree will keep in the freezer for at least two months.
10. Cookie dough
Cookie dough is frozen on parchment paper and stored in a freezer bag. You can divide it into separate portions or immediately make it in the desired form.
Using this dough, you can cook cookies in 1-2 minutes, without dirty dishes and table.
11. Potato chips
If you buy enough chips and freeze them in the same package they came in, you'll always have a snack.
Plus, frozen chips taste even better than regular chips, so there's no need to defrost them before eating.
12. Milk
If your milk is used very slowly, and the remains turn sour and are poured out, it is quite possible to freeze it until next time.
Just be sure to choose a bottle that has room to spare since frozen liquids expand. Thawed milk needs to be mixed well and can be used (just do not defrost it in the microwave).
13. Juice
The only criterion for freezing juice, as well as for freezing milk, is that there is enough big bottle so that the frozen drink has room to expand.
14. Bread
To avoid having to throw away dry bread, you can cut up several loaves and freeze them. As needed, remove the pieces of bread you need and defrost them in the oven or microwave. To prevent the bread from drying out until the morning, you can leave it overnight in a switched off, tightly closed microwave.
15. Vegetable pieces
You can freeze chopped onions, Bell pepper or chili peppers in freezer bags. Once they're frozen enough, you can mark the bag with "portion lines" so you know how much to take at a time.
16. Lemon and lime juice, lemon zest
Squeeze the lemon and lime into ice cube trays and place in the freezer. Now you will have fresh at any time citrus juice. The zest can also be frozen and used to prepare various dishes.
17. Herbs
You can freeze aromatic herbs in ice trays with no big amount water or broth to use for soups all year round, stew or casseroles.
18. Marinated meat
Place the meat in a freezer bag, cover with marinade and place in the freezer. When you take it out, it will already be marinated and you can cook it right away.
19. Homemade casseroles
When you're making a casserole like lasagna, why not make a big batch and freeze half for a home-cooked meal during the workweek.
There are several freezing options you can use:
- Freeze the whole casserole in a dish lined with freezer paper. When the casserole is frozen sufficiently, remove the dish, repack the casserole in freezer paper, and place it back in the freezer. The advantage is that you can use the dish while the casserole is stored in the freezer. When you need it again, place it in the same dish and cook it.
- Freeze in parts. Prepare the casserole, let cool, cut into pieces and freeze. Can be reheated in the microwave.
20. Fish fingers
Semi-finished products sold in stores can hardly be called tasty, so why not make them at home? fish fingers?
To do this, you need to buy fresh fish, cut it into small pieces, roll it in egg, flour or breadcrumbs, place on a tray and freeze.
After this, you can store homemade fish sticks in freezer bags - they are much tastier than store-bought ones, inside of which there is strange minced meat instead of fish.
Have you tried freezing any foods?
Now, while it's still in season, is the time to freeze vegetables and herbs for the winter! In winter, they will cost many times more, but the taste and benefits will be much less. So don’t be lazy and freeze it. 😀 You’ll see how they will help you out and diversify your diet in winter!
Vegetables can be stored in the freezer until next summer. They do not need to be thawed before cooking unless instructed to do so.
What vegetables must be frozen and how to do it correctly?
1. Greens
Be sure to prepare dill and parsley; optionally, basil, celery, cilantro, spinach, sorrel, etc. Frozen greens can be added to any dish; they are indistinguishable from fresh ones.
Wash the greens in advance and leave to dry. It can be frozen for the winter in several ways:
- Sliced– cut the greens, distribute them into small bags and send them to freezer.
- Bunches– place a bunch of greens in a bag, squeeze out the air from it and put it in the freezer.
- Butter cubes– chop the greens, add soft butter(per 100 grams of greens - 25 grams of oil), place in ice molds or from store-bought sweets. Can also be used olive oil– then pour the greens into the molds and fill with oil. Place the frozen cubes in containers and leave them in the freezer.
2. Tomatoes
Wash the beans and trim the tails. Cut it into pieces about 4 cm long.
I personally don’t blanch green beans, but for longer storage it is recommended to boil them for 3 minutes and then cool them sharply, just like cauliflower.
Place dry beans on a board or baking sheet in one layer and place in the freezer. When it freezes, transfer it to bags.
7. Eggplant
Wash the zucchini and wipe dry. Peel the old ones and remove the seeds.
- Cubes– cut the vegetables into cubes of about 1.5 x 1.5 cm, pack into small packages and freeze. It is advisable to add finely chopped dill to the zucchini - it will be very fragrant.
- Slices– cut the zucchini lengthwise into slices 3-4 mm thick. Place on a baking sheet lined with cling film or paper so that the slices do not touch. Freeze. Then carefully remove and place several pieces in stacks in bags. Before preparing the rolls, defrost in hot water or milk (as in).
- In circles– cut the vegetables into circles 4-5 mm thick. Freeze the same way as zucchini slices.
- Grated– Grate the zucchini on a coarse grater and squeeze out the juice. Divide into bags and freeze. To prepare the pancakes, you will need to defrost them first.
9. Corn
Who doesn't love boiled corn, and salads with canned grains?
- cobs– peel the corn from leaves, pack and freeze. In winter, simply remove the cobs and boil them undefrosted.
- Grains– Boil the corn and immediately put it in cold water. Then cut off the grains with a knife. Divide into bags or containers and freeze.
The freezer is one of the best inventions XX century. Berries picked in the summer, boxes of herbs, and meat purchased for future use are stored in it at a temperature of −18 degrees Celsius. Even soups and broths are frozen thrifty housewives. But very often, irreparable mistakes are made during long-term storage of products. We tell you what not to do when storing frozen food.
Boxes
There is never enough freezer. And I really want to push it into her more berries for winter fruit drinks, another portion of cutlets and several large fish. But remember not to stuff the drawers so much that they can barely close. Food in the freezer should lie freely, and there should be free space in the drawers for air circulation. Otherwise how to cool?
Package
Regular plastic bags And cling film won't fit. In the freezer they will crumble and break from the cold. We need dense polyethylene. These can be special bags, such as those are now sold, or simply dense bags, for example, packaging from soft milk often gets a second life in the freezer.
Lots of air in the package
You can't just stick a piece of meat in a bag and put it in the freezer. First, you need to pack it tightly so that as little air as possible remains in the package. Then the product will freeze faster and be stored better. Tightly sealed packaging ensures that your meat will not absorb the odors of the frozen fish lying nearby.
Large portions
It is best to pack food for freezing in small bags and containers. Then you will be able to get the amount of greens you need for a dish, for example, rather than defrosting a large package in order to take just a little.
Wrong Products
Not all foods can be stored in the freezer. Some only deteriorate due to frost:
Strawberries, watermelon, melon, papaya and all fruits with high content water. Firstly, in the cold they can crack (after all, the liquid expands). Secondly, after defrosting they will lose their taste, shape, and aroma.Cabbage, celery, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsnips, chicory, radishes, radishes. They also contain a lot of liquid and only lose their taste when frozen.
Potato. Raw root vegetables become limp, watery and sweet after defrosting.
Eggs. After freezing they acquire no pleasant taste, and bacteria penetrate inside through the cracked shell, which makes this product completely unsuitable for use as food.
Kefir, yogurt, cheese. Beneficial features and pleasant taste fermented milk products worsen, and due to the low temperature they can curl.
Cream, sour cream, milk sauces, custard, mayonnaise. Once frozen, you can throw them away - they will separate and become watery and lumpy.
Ready-made pasta, spaghetti, rice. These side dishes lose texture and flavor when frozen. Cunning
Shelf life
And finally, the most important point. The fact is that no product can be stored in the freezer for many years. The maximum is 1 year. And in most cases even less.
It must be remembered that during storage, even in a frozen state, the quality of the product deteriorates. This is especially true for fatty foods - fatty fish, for example, it loses a lot of taste if stored frozen for more than 2-3 months.
To avoid mistakes with shelf life, you can stick labels on each product with the date of freezing. It is best to also sign what is in the package so as not to unwrap the package again.
So, the maximum can be stored:
Bird- 9 months
Beef, pork, lamb, horse meat— 4-6 months
Fish: oily - 2-3 months, everything else - 6 months
Seafood— 3-4 months
Semi-finished products(dumplings, dumplings, cutlets, pancakes, cabbage rolls, minced meat, etc.) - 3-4 months
Ready meals, including broths and soups, sauces, cutlets - 2-3 monthsVegetables and fruits up to 1 year, except for tomatoes (2 months), peppers (3-4 months), zucchini and pumpkins (10 months), apples (4 months), apricots (6 months), peaches (4 months)
Mushrooms: boiled up to 1 year, raw - 8 months
Berries Usually stored for six months.
Greens and herbs— 6-8 months
Ice cream stored for 2 months
Margarine and butter- about 9 months
Bread and other baked goods— 2-3 months
For several years in a row, I have preferred freezing vegetables, fruits, berries and other delicacies for the winter instead of seams: the freezer helps preserve the maximum amount nutrients, and the technology of cooking at home - saving the family budget. Let's talk about how to properly freeze food for the winter, and what you can put in the freezer to enjoy delicious, colorful food on cold evenings.
What can you freeze in the freezer?
The list of winter preparations in the freezer can be made endlessly. However, not all housewives are happy owners of a freezer, limiting themselves to four drawers in the refrigerator.
Before deciding what to freeze for the winter, decide:
- what is in great demand in your family (maybe you can’t live without broccoli or mushrooms);
- what products are available in the winter season (for example, I do not recommend freezing carrots or beets);
- how much space are you willing to allocate for vegetables and fruits?
For preparation, buy seasonal products, prices for which are lower than ready frozen. For example, frozen sea buckthorn and blackberries in our region are cheaper than fresh ones, which means there is no point in freezing these berries yourself.
Freezing rules and technology
Basic cooking requirements frozen vegetables, herbs and berries:
Freezing vegetables for the winter will be of better quality if you blanch them before going into the freezer. To do this, place a colander with pieces in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, and then dry.
Try to pack food in portions so as not to break the seal of the package and not expose an extra portion of fruit to defrosting.
Shelf life
By observing frozen storage times, you maintain your health.
Frozen fruits and vegetables can be stored for no more than a year at temperatures below - 18 C, up to – 8 C no more than three months.
Re-freezing excluded: if you defrost a bag of mushrooms, use the entire volume of products.
What is frozen for the winter?
Almost any fresh food can be stored in the freezer without loss of vitamins and taste.
Vegetables
You can freeze any vegetables for the winter. It is not recommended to store in the freezer only:
- cucumbers;
- rutabaga, turnip;
- lettuce leaves;
- raw potatoes.
What vegetables can be frozen?
Tomatoes. It is better to take fleshy, non-watery fruits (for example, Lady fingers) or cherry. Small tomatoes are frozen whole, after removing the skin from them. Can be done tomato puree(useful for making pasta, soups, sauces).
frozen tomatoes If you prefer to freeze tomatoes sliced, place them in a sieve to drain excess liquid into a tray.
how to freeze tomatoes Broccoli and cauliflower. Disassemble the heads of cabbage into small inflorescences, rinse and blanch for 1 minute. Place into bags and place in the freezer.
Pepper. Cut into half rings and freeze in small portions (useful for soups, vegetable stew).
Zucchini, eggplant. Cut into circles or cubes, removing the skin. You can blanch vegetables, freeze them in trays, and then carefully place them in containers or bags.
frozen eggplants Vegetable mixes. We take peas, corn, cut peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and eggplants - pack them in portions and freeze them.
frozen pumpkin Berries and fruits
According to research, frozen berries contain only ten percent less vitamins than fresh ones, which means that delicacies collected in summer can benefit the body in winter.
It’s easy to freeze berries by following simple rules, which I already talked about in the article about how you can store in the freezer:
- blueberries;
- blueberries;
- strawberries and strawberries;
- apricots and peaches;
- melon;
- plums;
- cherries;
- black and red currants;
- gooseberry;
- pears;
- grape;
- blackberry;
- chokeberry.
You can include any seasonal berries and fruits in the list of winter preparations in the freezer, the main thing is that they are fresh, without mold or rotten fruit. However, I would not recommend freezing:
- Watermelon - when frozen, it becomes watery and tasteless.
- Bananas: in the summer, according to my observations, they are more expensive, and the yellow delicacy is available all year round. However, chopped frozen bananas can be blended into ice cream (by mixing them with berries or chocolate), and it is worth freeing up space in the freezer for this purpose.
- Kiwi and apples. Just like bananas, they are affordable all year round, and it’s not worth wasting your freezer space on green fruits.
- Citrus. When defrosted they lose taste qualities, becoming sour and watery. The exception is frozen lemon, which is easier to grate when cold, for example, if you need the zest or pulp for a lemon pie.
Milk products
I like to freeze butter (I usually don’t use a whole stick at once) and fresh village cottage cheese. It is recommended to store dairy products in the freezer for no more than two months.
Mushrooms
Greenery
The technology for freezing greens in the freezer is simple - parsley, dill, basil, cilantro should be washed and finely chopped.
I use special scissors for cutting greens. These can be bought with three blades and five. The tool allows you to carefully and quickly prepare seasoning for the winter.
Greenery scissors are easy to clean, do not damage the skin of your hands and are safe to use.
greenery scissors 
greenery scissors
Greens should be frozen in small portions so as not to open the bags, breaking their seal: dill and parsley quickly absorb foreign odors and begin to emit an unpleasant aroma.
Blank ideas
Experienced housewives know that you can save time and not harm your family’s health by using home-cooked semi-finished products:
- Preparation for borscht or cabbage soup. Finely chop onions, carrots, peppers, beets, potatoes, blanch and freeze in small bags. We store no more than a month.
- Stuffed peppers. We clean the peppers, wash them, stuff them with minced meat and put them in containers. All that remains is to simmer the almost finished dish.
- Meat and fish products. We form cutlets and meatballs from the minced meat, cut the pieces into goulash and freeze them first on trays, and then put them in bags for freezing.
- Casserole
- To my family cottage cheese casserole I'm the only one who eats, so I usually freeze half of it and cut it into portions. I heat it up for 2 minutes microwave oven and I receive tasty dish for breakfast or afternoon snack.
- Pancakes and dumplings
- We bake pancakes, wrap the filling in them (it’s better to take ready-made chopped meat or cottage cheese), freeze on a tray, and then put into freezer bags.
Semi-finished products at home may also look like:
- cooked rice;
- boiled vegetables;
- barley;
- frozen meat or vegetable stew;
- boiled buckwheat.
When there is no time to cook, such preparations for a month in the freezer help out the housewife. Hurry up to stock up healthy vegetables and fruits: frozen foods in supermarkets are several times more expensive than homemade products.
Many products are convenient to place on long-term storage in the freezer, but there are some that are very harmed by frost. Freezing can cause many problems, from destroying the texture and flavor of a food to reducing its health benefits.
Some foods cannot be placed in the freezer, even for a short period of time. Below is a list of foods for which frost should be prohibited.
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1. Vegetables with high water content
Many vegetables can be safely frozen without fear of harming them or yourself. But you should avoid freezing vegetables with a lot of water. When you defrost them, they run the risk of turning into a soft, shapeless mass with altered flavor. Therefore, onions, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower and other vegetables with high water content should never be frozen.
2. Dairy products
Dairy products also made the list. Everything is from soft cheeses and yogurt to milk and cottage cheese - can only be stored in the refrigerator. Liquid foods will curdle when defrosted, and soft foods (such as cheese) will change their texture in an unpleasant way. You can only put it in the freezer for a short time durum varieties cheese, they will hardly change when defrosted.
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3. Fruit
Fruits can be frozen only if you plan to blend them in a blender for cocktails or smoothies after defrosting. Otherwise, don't expect frozen fruit to deteriorate by changing texture after being in the freezer.
4 eggs
Raw or cooked, eggs are in any case on the list of foods prohibited from freezing. Fresh eggs in the freezer will simply crack, and when thawed, the whites of boiled eggs will turn into something more like rubber. If freezing is unavoidable, divide into raw eggs whites and yolks and freeze them in different containers.
5. Lettuce
Cabbage, lettuce and any green leaf salad They should also not be placed in the freezer if you want to keep their texture intact after defrosting. The leaves will not only wither quickly, but will also lose a lot of flavor.
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6. Fried food
Fried foods—from potatoes to chicken—become just a soggy mess once they thaw. However, this can still be fixed - they can be heated on the stove or in the oven. But the initial taste of such products will still be lost.
7. Sauces
Do not freeze sauces and mayonnaise. As a rule, when defrosted, they curl up, which makes them completely useless. Sauces containing flour or corn starch, but not best result you get by freezing egg white cream or frosting.
8. Carbonated drinks
Soda should not be frozen, remembering that liquids expand when they solidify. Carbon dioxide, which is responsible for the bubbles, will go away after freezing, and the taste of the defrosted drink can change greatly.
9. Thawed food
Freezing food that has already been thawed is a big health risk. Repeated freezing promotes the proliferation of bacteria, from which you can get food poisoning. Therefore, if you have already defrosted the product, try to cook it anyway.
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