Freezing is an important topic in every household. It provides a large selection of food and allows you to preserve fruit and vegetables, especially during the most productive seasons.Not everyone can or wants to go shopping every day. As a mother of twins, I usually only manage to do a big grocery shop once a week, because where would I put 2 children with a need for movement and curiosity? So my freezer is one of my most important household appliances. In the following article, I give an introduction to what can be preserved and how best to do it.
Basics of freezing
First of all, a few basic things:
- It is best to freeze food in plastic bags or containers. It is important to squeeze out the air .You can easily suck out the air with a straw: place it in the middle of the bag and suck. Then seal it tightly immediately.
- Never fill foodChamomile tealiquids to the very brim of the container; always leave at least 1 cm of space to the lid. Freezing causes the volume to expand!
- Labeling is important! Because you don't want things to lie in the freezer 'forever', and it's often interesting to know whether you're taking out chicken or turkey for today's menu. I use paper strips and tape for labeling. It's faster if you use adhesive tape or even medical tape.
Freezing meat and fish
To ensure the food not loses Freshness as much as possible freezequick as quickly as possible. Therefore, quickly remove meat from the packaging, pat dry if necessary, and freeze airtight in a freezer bag or freezer bowl.
Minced meat should ideally be frozen pressed flat in a freezer bag, as should small portions of meat or fish. This allows it to cool down fastest and results in less bacterial growth.
Fish is first gutted and cleaned before being briefly pre-frozen. Then it is best to dip it briefly in salt water. This gives it a protective layer of ice.
Shelf life of chilled meat:
- Beef 8-10 months
- Veal 8-10 months
- Pork, lean 6 months
- Pork, fatty 2-3 months
- Minced meat, lean 2-4 months
- Minced meat, fatty 2 months
- Chicken 8-10 months
Tips for thawing meat and fish
Fish and meat
Thawing chicken legs or Steak is best done overnight in the refrigerator. It is good to cut it while it is still a little frozen. To prevent too much water from escaping, it should be fried at room temperature.
If Meat quick thawed is required, then place it with the packaging in a Water filled Bowl. Add some salt to the water and cover the bowl. Let it stand for approx. 1 hour. Minced meat can be sprinkled with the amount of salt you would have added for seasoning anyway; salt also accelerates the thawing process.
Very important: Never refreeze thawed raw meat!
Freezing vegetables
You can freeze almost all types of vegetables raw (exception: freezing mushrooms).
Wash, clean, and chop the vegetables. It is even better to blanch them beforehand, as this preserves their taste, smell, color, and nutrients.
- Ginger can be frozen well, for example: peel the root and put it in the freezer whole. If necessary, grate the desired amount as usual.
- Garlic, Peppers and Onion can be chopped up beforehand and then frozen, so they are ready to use for cooking.
- Mushrooms can also be frozen, but definitely not raw
Preserving fruit and berries
Most Berries can also be frozen well. Wash well beforehand (not with blueberries or raspberries, otherwise they will get mushy!), let drain and pat dry. For cherries, red fruits are better than black ones. Strawberries, however, are not particularly suitable for freezing, as they become mushy after thawing, but you can still puree them very well and use them for sauces.
Remove stems and pits from stone fruit. Spread loosely on a tray and flash freeze. Only then fill into containers. If you don't pay attention to this, they will freeze into a very impractical lump.
Overripe Bananas are best mashed into a pulp and mixed with a little lemon juice, then frozen. Still good for desserts or ice cream.
Tips for thawing fruit
Frozen fruit should be poured over with hot sugar water to thaw. This preserves the color of the fruit.
on Unold 8695 Bread Maker – Homemade bread & rolls
Bread can be frozen wonderfully. I always buy larger quantities of bread and rolls. I always halve the large loaves of bread so that there is a bit more variety in our menu. Also practical if guests come for dinner. It is best to cut old white bread into cubes, brown it in a little butter, and fill it into freezer bags after cooling. The bread cubes are great for dumplings or as a soup garnish.
Preserving dairy products
Butter can even be frozen for several months; you can also freeze the butter paper. I like to use it for greasing baking trays or cake tins.
Eggs can be preserved very well in an ice cube tray in the freezer. Brush the ice cube tray with salad oil beforehand. You take as many eggs as there are compartments. Example: Crack 6 eggs into a bowl, add 3/4 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp salt (so nothing curdles), whisk everything, fill it into the tray (here the trays where you can insert the compartments only after filling are actually better), and let the whole thing flash freeze. Afterwards, you can transfer the cubes into a bag. One cube corresponds to one egg.
Protein keeps for up to a year in the freezer. 2 tsp correspond to one egg white. Before freezing, you should add a little salt and sugar to the egg white; this prevents later curdling.
Many Types of cheese, such as processed cheese, Dutch, Chester, Greek, and Italian cheeses, can be frozen very well. Parmesan or other hard cheeses are easier to grate when frozen. Also, freeze soft varieties for 15 minutes, then it's easier too.
Whipping cream can even be frozen in the original cup if there is 1 cm of space between the lid and the cream. The cream can be whipped even better after thawing with a few pieces of ice in it. If there is already whipped cream left over, it is best to pipe small dollops onto a baking tray with a piping bag, flash freeze, and then transfer to a bag.
Preserving coffee
Both coffee beans and ground Coffee can be frozen very well and can therefore last longer.
These are by far not all the tips on the subject of freezing; who wants to help me complete this article? I would be very happy about further tips!
Read also: Lots of tips for proper thawing
Photo by Janine, meinhaushalt.at
