Freezing is one of the best ways to preserve food. It’s also a great time and money saver. Instead of cooking every meal from scratch, you can spend a whole day conjuring up culinary creations in the kitchen in bulk, filling and labelling Tupperware and stocking up the freezer.
The brrrrrules!
- Always wrap everything securely to prevent freezer burn, when the food gets dehydrated. Freezer wrap, Tupperware and bags are essential.
- Designate one shelf for each kind of product, for example, keep all raw meat on one shelf, sweet products on another, vegetables in another and pre-cooked food in another.
- Put a label on everything, clearly stating what it is and the date that you made it.
- If you buy or make food in bulk, make sure you separate it into smaller portions before freezing it. You'll never use those sausages if you freeze 50 of them together!
The cold catalogue
Here are the best products to stash in your deep freeze:
- Stocks – after you have roast chicken, boil the carcass with herbs and vegetables and freeze the stock in ice trays for easy use.
- Meatballs – spend an afternoon mixing pork or beef mince with onion, garlic, herbs, egg and breadcrumbs, roll into balls and freeze. Whenever you need them, just throw them into a passata sauce.
- Casseroles – spend a day making Bolognese sauce, casseroles, stews or chasseurs in bulk, separate into smaller portions and freeze for use on a busy night.
- Spicy food – make the base sauce for chilli or a curry then freeze. Spicy flavours get even more intense when they’re re-cooked. You can also add fresh veggies to liven up after defrosting.
- Meats – all meats and poultry freeze well but have to be wrapped thoroughly.
- Vegetables – buy fresh spinach, baby peas, corn or broccoli, mix up and throw into bags for the freezer, great for hungry emergencies!
- Fruits – it's great having raspberries or other fruit for last-minute desserts, when you can heat them through and spoon over ice cream.
A few 'cool' ideas
Here are a few of our fave homemade freezer meals:
Breakfast burrito
Cook scrambled egg and sausages and load into a warm tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese and salsa, roll up and wrap in parchment paper. Wrap individually in freezer bags and stack in freezer for 000 breakfasts!
Moroccan lamb stew
Fry lamb pieces until brown, add chopped onion and garlic, then flour. Add 1 tin tomatoes, cinnamon, paprika, cumin and cook for 20 minutes. Freeze, then when you need it, defrost and add mushrooms, zucchini and capsicum. Serve with couscous and crumbled feta.
Quick curry
Fry onion and garlic with toasted coriander seeds, turmeric, cumin seeds and mustard seeds until golden. Add fresh tomatoes, vegetable stock and lentils and simmer until cooked. Separate into freezer containers – when you need it, you can add meat, poultry or fish, chickpeas or paneer for vegetarians, plus either tinned tomatoes, cream or coconut milk to make the sauce more interesting.
YOUR SAY: What tips do you have for freezing and preserving food? Tell us below!
