Sep 05 2008
20 Freezing Quick Tips: Timeless Wisdom Collection
Here are 20 quick tips for freezing that I’ve collected from a variety of 1950s articles and books.
This will be the last collection of timeless wisdom tips for awhile, I hope you enjoyed them!
20 Quick Tips For Freezing Food Items
- Cream can be frozen for future use. Place enough cream for use at one time in glass freezing jars. Store not longer than 6 months.
- Butter and cheese may be wrapped in moisture-vapor-proof paper and stored for 6 to 9 months.
- For freezing eggs, separate yolks from whites. For whites, package and freeze. For yolks, add 2 tablespoons of sugar or 1 teaspoon of salt to each pint. Blend carefully with rotary beater but avoid whipping in air. Skim off any air bubbles from the surface before freezing to prevent crusting as well as prevent the eggs from becoming gummy when thawed.
- Keep in mind to allow a headspace when packing all liquid foods to be frozen. Never aim to keep these foods too long in cold storage.
- Sandwiches: Wrap well and freeze up to 4 weeks, be aware that mayonnaise and jelly will soak into bread so use sparingly. You can add fresh lettuce and tomato slices after sandwich has thawed.
- Freeze nutmeats and coconut for baking.
- You can freeze crackers, bread crumbs, potato chips, pretzels in sealed bags.
- For best results, skim off as much excess fat as possible from soups, stews and gravies before freezing.
- Use spices and herbs sparingly when preparing dishes for freezing. Cloves, black pepper and garlic become stronger, onions lose flavor, nutmeg, cinnamon and sage remain about the same, celery flavor becomes more noticeable.
- Unbaked pies and cookies may be conveniently stored in freezer. When ready for use, cut vent in top crust and place the frozen pie in a preheated oven about 15 minutes extra baking time.
- Some butter-type cake batters may be frozen, freeze batters in the pan, ready for baking. Angel, chiffon, sponge and fruit cake should always be frozen after baking.
- Cakes do not freeze solidly and need extra protection during freezer storage. You’ll find it convenient to cut cakes into halves, quarters or slices before freezing.
- Keep a chart upon which mark each package of fruit, meat or vegetable as it is put into the freezer. Every time a package is taken out, it is crossed off the chart. This prevents looking over everything in the freezer, only to discover that the package you have in mind already has been taken out.
- Pack fruits in small picnic cups and freeze, these come in handy for the lunchbox.
- Bread Dough: Prepare unbaked doughs for freezing after the first rising period. Shape dough for bread and place in loaf pan, grease well, wrap and freeze.
- Rolls: Shape rolls and coffeecakes into shapes for baking, grease well, quick-freeze on cookie sheet and wrap for storage after initial freezing. When ready to bake, thaw dough at room temperature and let rise until doubled in bulk; bake as usual.
- Partially Baked Rolls: Make your own “brown & serve” rolls by letting rolls rise only half as high as if they were to be baked completely; bake at 300° about 20 minutes, or until they are a very pale tan. Remove from pans, cool, package and freeze. When ready to serve, place frozen rolls on cookie sheet and brown in 400° oven 7-10 minutes.
- Unbaked Quick Breads: Use only recipes which call for double-action baking powder. Wrap and freeze batters in pans ready for baking; when ready to use, thaw and bake immediately. Frozen, unbaked baking powder biscuits need be only partially thawed before baking.
- Tomatoes don’t freeze well but tomato juice does! Wash, sort and trim firm, ripe tomatoes. Cut in quarters or eighths. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes. Strain. Add 1 teaspoon salt to each quart of juice. Pour into rigid freezer containers, leaving head space. Seal and freeze.
- Meats: Do not season meat with salt before freezing, it will become rancid. You can hasten the thawing of ground meat which has been frozen by sprinkling the amount of salt you want for seasoning over the top of the frozen meat.
More Tips For Freezing:
- How To Wrap Meat Like A Pro
- Smart Tip: Bulk Freezing With Individual Portions
- How To Prepare Rhubarb For Freezing Plus Recipe
- Freeze Bananas Plus Banana Bread Recipe
- Freezing Bell Peppers
- Recipe Hit List: Make Ahead Casseroles
More Timeless Wisdom Tips:
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05 Sep 2008 at 3:45 pm
FREEZING TOMATOES:
Some years ago when my garden didn’t produce enough tomatoes at a time for a full canner to process, I started freezing them — I’ve never gone back to canning tomatoes!
Simply wash and stem the tomatoes, dry and put in freezer bags whole. If you only put one layer in a bag, they stack neatly in the freezer. When I need tomatoes for sauce or soup, I take out what I need and run under hot water. The skins slip off neatly — non of the “meat” of the tomato is lost. I then cut the frozen tomato in half (a few minutes of thawing helps) chunk up and toss in my recipe. The tomato breaks up into a smooth sauce without having to use my food processor.
Be sure to date the bags of frozen tomatoes with the year frozen. In the years of garden bounty I have more than I can use the next winter, but have used tomatoes from as much as three years prior to no detriment to my recipe, which certainly helps in the “years of the green tomato.” If there’s any freezer burn, just trim it off.