Everything You Need to Know About Your Freezer
The freezer is a home cook’s best friend. It allows you to configure your groceries around your busy lifestyle, and frees you from eating days’ worth of leftovers in a row by giving you an option to save them for another day. Did you know that certain foods are better for freezing than others? Find out which ones work best in the freezer, and more tips for freezing foods in our infographic.
The basic rule of freezing is that air and moisture are not your friend. If packaging meat in a plastic freezer bag, make sure to squeeze out the excess air to avoid freezer burn. Also keep in mind that foods with high moisture content are not optimal for freezing if you plan to eat them raw. Finally, if you’re freezing cooked food, let it cool before placing it in the freezer, as condensation will build up if it is still too hot.
Once you master freezer 101, it’s time to move on to the genius hacks. If you’re preparing a dish that includes dairy, such as a pasta sauce, simply leave that ingredient out before freezing, and add it in when you’ve defrosted the dish and are preparing to serve. Also, think about the convenience of defrosting when you prep foods for the freezer. Packaging dishes in single servings or slicing bagels before frosting for easy toasting can be a big help down the line!
Check out our infographic below for lists of foods not to freeze, and the length of time each type of meat lasts in the freezer.
