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Things NOT to put in the Freezer

by jughandle

This is a short FYI on what things you shouldn’t freeze.  As always I explore ideas that I have little knowledge of or would like to be more well informed about.

Dairy

You can freeze:

  • hard cheeses – to give them additional life, but usually they last pretty long anyway.

Don’t freeze:

  • eggs in their shells- they lose their consistency and can crack.  If you want to freeze eggs break them into a freezer bag and scrabble them.
  • milk or cream – they can separate

Spices

Apparently some dry spices with change flavor and get bitter if they are frozen.
Don’t freeze:
  •  pepper corns
  • cloves
  • garlic
  • green pepper
  • imitation vanilla
  • onions
  • paprika
  • celery
  • sage
  • salt

Fresh Vegetables and Fruit

Most vegetables and fruits have a high content of water that will break down the cell walls when frozen and get mushy and brown when defrosted.
Don’t freeze:
  • fresh lettuce
  • fresh spinach
  • fresh cabbage
  • any leafy vegetable
  • potatoes – they get grainy and soft
You Can freeze:
  • cooked vegetables

Canned foods

Never freeze canned food in the can.  It breaks the seal and can contaminate the food
Fish and Meat

I can’t find any fish or meat products that can’t be frozen but be aware that freezing does NOT kill harmful bacteria, it only slows the growth.  So never refreeze fish or meat that has defrosted or has been frozen before.  You can cook it, then freeze it again.  The cooking process kills the bacteria and gives you a fresh start if cooked properly.

Do freeze:

raw fish over night before eating as sashimi or sushi, because the freezing kills the parasites in the flesh.

Other Stuff

Don’t freeze:

  • Fried foods, especially deep fried foods, they will taste stale
  • Gravies and sauces with wheat in them will tend to separate
  • Cooked pasta will get very mushy
  • Crumb toppings on casseroles will get soggy.  Wait to add the crumbs until you are ready to reheat to serve
  • Soft cake frostings will get tacky and might separate
  • Artificial sweeteners (why would you want to eat them any how) will lose their effectiveness when frozen.
Remember when you do freeze stuff, to wrap them well, removing as much air as possible and to cool them before you freeze them.  A full freezer is more economical to operate. Label your food packages. Happy eating Fat Farmers – Jughandle

 

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1 comment

Mittie Wooden October 1, 2011 - 11:05 am

I don’t recall having heard that about the overnight freezing of sashimi. It makes sense. I only make my own sashimi when we are in the Keys & I can get the fish fresh off the dock at our little seafood market. Even so, I am always just a little bit nervous about it. Implementng the overnight freezing will make me moree comfortable I think.

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