How To Be Super Mom: Tips on how to store made-ahead homemade food
I have a thing for freezing home-made food. I like to prepare escalopes, cordon bleu, filled pastries, stews, lasagna casseroles and freeze them for emergencies!
I also buy boxes of seasonal vegetables, prepare them and freeze them: tomatoes (peeled and cooked), green beans, spinach, green peas, ...etc. What's better than freshly, home-prepared, frozen vegetables?
The advantage of freezing food is that you're never out of ideas. If you haven't prepared today's menu just take a tupperwear out of the fridge, thaw it and lunch or dinner will be ready in no time!
Today I am having one of those "emergency" so called days and my savior was a green beans stew tupperwear. All that is left for me to do is prepare vermicelli fried rice and lunch will be served!
When having a 3 months old baby, it is very hard to be able to cook everyday, but I don't encourage ready-made food nore microwavable meals that is why, everytime I get the chance to cook I always consider preparing an extra portion and my freezer will be always filled with delicious homemade meals without any extra effort! You see now what a great friend my freezer is?
Numerous are the recipes that can be stored in your freezer so why not sacrifice this week for freezer suitable recipes? But before, let us run along few tips on how to safely freeze our food:
How to store
Here's how to store different kinds of foods safely and efficiently, so you also make the most of your freezer space.
Liquid-based dishes: Store
dishes, such as soups and stocks, in airtight containers. Leave a 3cm
gap at the top so the liquid can expand as it freezes.
Fritters and patties: Place, in single layers, between sheets of freezer paper in an airtight container. This makes them easy to separate.
Muffins, cakes & slices: Wrap
muffins and individual slices of cake in a double layer of plastic
wrap, then in foil. Store together in a sealable plastic bag.
Purees: Freeze
purees, and even concentrated stocks, in ice cube trays, so you don't
have to thaw the whole lot when only smaller quantities are needed.
Mince: Place
in a sealable plastic bag and press to flatten. This allows the mince
to thaw more evenly than when it's frozen in a ball shape.
Pasta bakes: Cook pasta bakes in freezerproof, ovenproof dishes. Cool. Cover with a double layer of plastic wrap, then in foil and freeze.
Crepes & pancakes: Layer each one between sheets of freezer paper, so they don't stick together when thawed. Store in sealable plastic bags.
Packaged meat: Remove
meat, such as steaks, sausages, chops and fillets, from the supermarket
packaging. The supermarket wrapping is designed to allow oxygen in to
keep the colour of the meat bright and, while this is fine for
refrigerated storage, it leads to freezer burn
in the freezer. Instead, wrap portions separately in a double layer of
plastic wrap, or layer them between sheets of freezer paper, and store
in an airtight container. This makes single portions easy to separate.
What not to freeze
Some foods just don't freeze well. Follow this list to find out what foods you should avoid freezing
.
Vegetables
with a high water content (such as cucumber, celery and lettuce) should
not be frozen because the water expands during freezing and damages the
structure of the cells. This makes them mushy when thawed.
Jam turns runny and watery when frozen and thawed. This is because freezing causes the sugar to break down.
Dairy products (such as milk, yoghurt and cream) should not be frozen because they curdle when thawed.
Egg-based sauces separate
and whole egg shells crack when frozen. Raw egg whites, however, can be
frozen in sealable airtight containers and thawed for use in recipes.
Foods with stuffings, such as whole chickens, should not be frozen as raw meat juices can be absorbed by the stuffing and cause bacteria to grow.
References:
How to freeze food, by Michelle Southan
