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