Food For Thought

When choosing recipes to double so you can freeze half for serving later, you should carefully consider the ingredients to make sure they freeze well. Some foods do not freeze well by themselves but are fine when mixed in a recipe, and others should just be avoided. Here is a list of foods that do not freeze well (and what happens when you try):

1- Sour Cream- Can be frozen if mixed into a recipe. If frozen by itself, it becomes thin and watery.

2- Mayonnaise- Can be frozen if mixed into a recipe. If frozen by itself, it will separate and break down.

3- Cream Cheese- Becomes watery and changes texture. Ok to freeze in small quantities if mixed into a recipe like enchilada filling.

4- Cheese- Can be frozen shredded or mixed into a recipe. If frozen in a block or slices, it will crumble when thawed (but will be ok for shredding).

5- Fried Foods- Become soggy when thawed.

6- Cream Pies- Become watery and/or lumpy.

7- Cream Fillings- Change Texture.

8- Frosting- Texture changes when thawed.

9- Cooked potatoes- Can be frozen in soups and stews where you can undercook them slightly. If frozen alone, potatoes become mushy and sometimes turn black when thawed.

10- Cooked egg whites- Become rubbery when thawed.

These foods change slightly when frozen:

1- Raw vegetables- Lose their crispness. Raw vegetables should be blanched before freezing.

2- Yogurt- May change texture.

3- Heavy cream- Will not whip when thawed but may be used for cooking.

4- Pastas and Grains- Become softer after freezing and reheating. To counteract this, slightly undercook them before freezing.

5- Gravies or fat-based sauces- May separate and need to be recombined when reheating.

Tags: food storage, freezing food items

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 8:48 am and is filed under Did you know?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.