Tips on How to Freeze Foods

Susan Brannon

It can save a ton of time to triple your normal recipe, eat one and freeze the other two portions of your meals. You don't have to triple or double your recipe but you can save your excess foods in the freezer. You will want your food to taste delicious when it thaws.  If you don't store the food correctly, things just may not turn out right and you have lost your meal.

There are some basic guidelines to make your life easier, and help you to get the best results when freezing your foods.

• First you need to make sure that you have the right containers, bags or wraps that are designed for the freezer.  They are made to keep the moisture in, and the odors out.  Using regular sandwich bags or plastic wrap are not thick enough to do the job.

• Divide the food into small portions, to ensure rapid freezing and better quality.

• Make sure that the food is tightly wrapped or sealed and make sure that you have removed all the air from the container because if you don't it can "dry" things out and "burn" your food.  If you use a plastic container, make sure that you fill the entire container leaving room for expansion.

• Freeze the food as quickly as possible to minimize ice crystals. Wait for hot foods to cool down before freezing.

• When placing the food into the freezer, make sure that you leave room around the container, so the food will freeze evenly.  Once it is frozen, then you can stack it up.

• Label your food and date them using a sharpie marker so you know how long the food has been in there and if it is still good or not.

Liquids:  Freeze sauces and broths in freezer bags, laying them flat.  This will save space and will thaw faster.
Breads:  Make sure that the breads are sliced before freezing so you can take out the amount that you need at a time. 
Casseroles: You can line a casserole dish with foil, and freeze it in the container, then once it is frozen you can lift up the foil and re-use your casserole dish.  You can freeze already cooked casseroles, or uncooked.
To do pancakes you can separate them with wax paper before putting them in the freezer to prevent them from sticking.  It is great to cook more than you need and freeze them!