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Freezer Items to Keep on Hand 1-5

by jughandle

This are items to stock in the freezer.  Most will keep 6 month to a year or more and are a great source of last minute meals or  an add-on to a meal in progress.

Freezer Items to Stock

1. orange juice concentrate
2. corn
3. green beans
4. spinach
5. peas
6. mixed vegetables
7. ground beef
8. chicken breasts
9. shrimp
10. dinner rolls or bread
11. ice cream
12. pie crust
13. nuts
14. peppers

 

1. Orange juice concentrate – OJ as we know it is a good source of vitamin C, but it’s main benefit seems to come from “flavonoids”.  OJ with pulp has more flavonoids than pulp free.  Ever wonder why frozen or concentrated orange juice tastes different than fresh?  It is because the fresh squeezed juice is pasteurized and filtered then the water is evaporated under vacuum and heat.  When most of the water is gone the concentrated juice, now about 65% sugar by weight is frozen to 10 def f.

2. Frozen Corn – good for soup or as a side dish

3. Green beans – also good for soups or as a side dish

4. spinach – loses some texture but is great for dips or a side dish

5. peas – also good for soups or as a side dish

 

All of these frozen vegetables are treated the same way.  They are cleaned, washed blanched and flash frozen.  During the process there is loss of vitamins because of the blanching process and not the freezing.  Vitamin C takes the biggest loss at over 30%.  Freezing isn’t as effective at killing pathogens as is heating and some believe that the pathogens are just slowed down and will become active again once the food warms.   For that reason long term frozen food should be kept at below -18 deg F which isn’t possible in most home freezers so you shouldn’t keep frozen food for more than 6 months to a year.

More tomorrow,

Jughandle

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1 comment

Year in Retrospect from a food standpoint | Jughandle’s Fat Farm December 28, 2011 - 7:28 am

[…] This has been an interesting year.  I’ve posted nearly 160 posts in 6 months averaging around 26 posts per month in addition to 60 of my favorite recipes.  The blog started in July and now has 72 subscribers averaging over 450 hits per week.  Personally, I’ve gone from a  morbidly obese meat eater to a obese Flexi-vegan.  I’ve learned that there are others out there that care about the quality of their food as I do.  I’ve identified the major problems with our eating and dieting as well as things to watch for in our food chain, food labeling and food additives. We’ve talked about nutrition and diets.  I’ve tried to pin point what to do and what not to do to the point of outlining what should be stocked in our pantries, refrigerators and freezers. […]

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