Things you can freeze

[nou]

Via oursin:

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So here is a quick post about things you can freeze that at least one person has been surprised about when I told them.

Chopped onions/leeks/celery/carrots/etc. I freeze these raw in little 100ml tubs I got from, um, can't remember — possibly bob got them for me? The onions usually come from me needing half a chopped onion for something else, so I chop the whole thing and freeze the extra. All these are chopped small (as for mirepoix), and you can put them in the oiled pan from frozen — just turn the tub upside down and run it briefly under some hot water to release the contents.

Things that came out of tins. e.g. chickpeas — often I want just a few chickpeas to stick in with some rice or instant noodles, so I open a can, use a third of it, and freeze the rest in two of the abovementioned tubs. (I don't know why, but until recently it never occurred to me to freeze something that had been previously preserved in a different way.)

Sandwiches. I started doing this mainly because I get up at 5am on Tuesdays and then head off for a day of childcare based at a house I won't have been in since the previous Tuesday. So on Tuesdays (a) I don't want to take too much time making breakfast, and (b) I don't know what groceries will be available for making lunch. I solve this by taking a few sandwiches out of the freezer the previous night and letting them defrost in the fridge overnight.

For building up the stocks, sometimes I set aside time to batch-make sandwiches and freeze them; other times I just make two sandwiches instead of one when I'm making lunch, and freeze the spare. I try to use a variety of breads and fillings. (NB some things don't freeze well, e.g. fresh tomatoes, cream cheese.)

Takeaway leftovers. I usually decant them into my standard freezer tubs first, for ease of stacking and labelling.

What things do you like to freeze that I might not have thought of?

Comments

[drplokta]

Cheese mostly freezes well. I always try to have some pizza mozzarella in the freezer, since all the other pizza ingredients are store-cupboard items.

[nou]

Ooh, I didn't realise you could freeze mozzarella — thank you! Just to confirm, this is the squidgy type that comes in liquid, right? I'm not familiar with the term "pizza mozzarella".

[drplokta]

No, I'm afraid this is what Tesco sell as "Mozzarella for Pizza", which is a bit less squidgy and not in liquid. It's easier to grate onto pizza, and melts just as well as the squidgier kind. I've not tried freezing proper mozzarella, but it's probably worth a go.

[nou]

Ah, I think that's the stuff I know as "Danish mozzarella". I'll give it a go!

[pseudomonas]

the squidgy type also freezes OK IME, at least OK enough for when it's going to be cooked.

[fred_mouse]

I've always had better luck freezing the cheese grated, and then using it frozen. I can't exactly remember (not having done it for some years), but I *think* that it came out too crumbly to grate easily. Mind you, I would mostly have been using 'tasty' which is an Australian approximation of cheddar.

[shuripentu]

Breadcrumbs from loaf ends that are going stale, so you don't have to eat stale toast and you don't have to dig out the blender when you need breadcrumbs for a recipe.

[nou]

I do this! But I really struggle with finding ways to use up the resulting breadcrumbs. Any ideas?

[bob]

meatballs!

[nou]

Good idea!

[pseudomonas]

I'm eating far too much of this at the moment: its kind of stuffing-esque. you fry onions & spices and then some chopped mushrooms* and shredded spring greens* and chopped sundried-tomatoes-in-oil* and then add large breadcrumbs, tomato puree, wine/stock, capers*, thyme, sage, and a beaten egg. don't get it too soggy. It's probably too much of a glumpy stodgy thing to serve to friends as a meal in itself (as opposed to a side dish) but on my own I have lower standards and it is very tasty.

*optional

[nou]

Now that sounds good, thank you! I assume it gets baked after the egg etc. are added?

[pseudomonas]

no, it's a single-frying-pan dish, it just cooks in the pan.

[nou]

Oooh, even better. I will try this — thanks!

[nou]

Thanks again for this — I made it tonight and really like how useful it is for using up all sorts of bits and pieces.

As well as the breadcrumbs, I used onion, garlic, chopped red pepper, chopped spring greens (fairly big pieces for textural contrast), capers, sundried tomatoes, black olives, tomato puree, sweet pepper puree (from Hungarian shop), olive brine (not from the black olives, from different olives), soy sauce, a little thing of leftover white sauce that's been in the freezer for ages, and of course an egg.

[fred_mouse]

apple crumble. mix breadcrumbs, almond meal, bit of sugar, rolled oat, and sprinkle across the top of the apple.

[nou]

Interesting, thanks! I'd never thought to put breadcrumbs in crumble.

[bob]

im sure we got them from lakeland.

[ceb]

Pastry freezes excellently, which means you can make up a giant batch when you have the effort for pastry-making and freeze the rest for later.

[nou]

Pastry. Oh pastry. I have two lumps of pastry in the freezer at the moment, left over from bob's last couple of baking sessions. I'm not quite sure what to do with them, as I don't really like pastry-based things in general.

I quite like things made with filo pastry, and the Square Pie company have recently started making things called "Canapies" with a terrible name but the most delicious pastry I have ever tasted. But I'm not very good with regular shortcrust.

I have pondered making some kind of snack with anchovies and cheese on top of thinly-rolled pastry. That might be a good way to use it up.

[ceb]

I'm not a huge fan of pastry in general either. (The pastry from this recipe, however, is awesome and I should make some more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/quichelorraine_85455 )

Quiche is my usual answer to what to do with pastry, you don't notice it so much there. Or fruit pies. How much do you have, and is it plain or flavoured with something?

[nou]

I think one batch is plain, and one might be anchovy-flavoured. Quiche sounds like a good plan, or maybe Ottolenghi's kale and Swiss chard tart.

[pseudomonas]

I freeze black squishy overripe bananas until I have enough for CAKE

[sqbr]

Hmmm...

Herbs, in the same category as onions and celery etc.

Bananas to eat frozen on a hot day. Berries can be good for this too but I usually just buy them frozen because it's cheaper. This may be a hot climate thing :)

Bread and meat the moment I get them. I am too sick to risk food poisoning and and my memory and energy issues make it hard to keep track of how fresh things are/use them before they go bad, so this way I can just put them in the freezer right away and take them out when I need them and know they'll be fresh. I buy bread as rolls which snap apart easily when frozen and defrost them in the microwave.

I don't use any flavour pastes any more but things like curry paste and tomato paste freeze really well. I did something involving ice block moulds lined with clin wrap, I think.

[nou]

I used to freeze bananas and then blenderise them up (from frozen) to make a sort of vegan ice cream. That was pretty good!

I freeze sliced bread, though mainly so I can be sure not to run out. It toasts from frozen, or defrosts in the time it takes me to have a bath.

[fred_mouse]

lemon juice in ice-cube trays.

tomato pasta sauce - every now and then I chance on 13kg boxes of *very* ripe tomatoes going out at ridiculously low prices, so I chop them all up, cover the stove with pots, and cook. I do then end up with lots of tomato 'juice' which I struggle to finish before it goes off, but I know that if I put it in the freezer I won't use it.

ginger root - can be grated while frozen, and doesn't dry out. Curry leaf survives better in the freezer than on the counter.

ground coffee - because we don't drink brewed coffee every day, the amounts we can buy it in go stale any other way.

yeast.

ice-packs for keeping the laptop cool in summer (like sqbr's comment above, this might just be a hot climate thing)

[nou]

I have a laptop cooling mat which goes in the freezer in the summer — though since I got a new laptop this is less of an issue.