1. Nuts and nut flours: Because of their high oil content, nuts can go rancid very quickly. We recommend freezing both nuts and nut flours if you don't plan on using them right away. To freeze peanuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, and almonds (shelled or unshelled), simply wrap them well in plastic, then place in a resealable freezer bag.
2. Herbs: Chop up fresh rosemary, oregano, sage, or thyme. Pack in ice cube trays (about 1/2 full), pour extra-virgin olive oil over, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze overnight. Remove cubes from trays and store in freezer in resealable plastic freezer bags. When ready to use, thaw in a pan on low heat, or use in stews or soups. (Pesto also freezes well: Put in ice cube trays, freeze overnight, then store in resealable plastic freezer bags.)
4. Bacon: We love freezing bacon, not only because, well, it's BACON, but also because it defrosts incredibly quickly at room temperature. Wrap individual portions (3-4 slices) of raw bacon side by side in parchment paper or wax paper, pop them into a resealable freezer bag, and place in the freezer. (If you need to chop the bacon for a recipe, it's very easy to do so when it's frozen.)
6. Ripe bananas: Store very ripe bananas in resealable freezer bags (squeeze out as much air as possible and arrange them so they don't stick together). Blend frozen bananas (after peeling with your fingers or a knife) with yogurt and other produce for a super-creamy smoothie, or defrost them (they should thaw after about an hour at room temperature) and use in banana bread.
9. Bread: When freezing loaves of homemade bread, like French bread, be sure to let them cool first, then wrap whole loaves airtight in plastic wrap then place in resealable freezer bags. Lightly toast the bread to restore its texture and bring out its flavor. Can't finish that whole loaf of storebought bread? Freeze it, then toast slices right out of the freezer.
10. Coffee: If you're an iced coffee lover and you haven't yet made coffee ice cubes, I have to ask: What the heck are you waiting for? Pour your leftover coffee into ice cube trays, freeze, them toss the caffeinated cubes into your iced coffee to give it a boost. Because you do need that extra boost, right?
11. Citrus juice: Again with the ice cube trays! Squeeze fresh lemon or lime juice into ice cube trays (measure out 1 or 2 tablespoons in each cube), freeze, then store in resealable plastic freezer bags. Add the cubes to iced tea or lemonade to give your drink an extra kick, or use them in recipes calling for lemon or lime juice.
13. Cooked pasta: Boil your pasta until barely al dente (so pasta isn't mushy when you reheat), then freeze without sauce in individual freezer-ready containers. To serve, microwave or just add to a hot sauce--ta-da!
14. Cooked rice, quinoa, and other hearty grains. I only very recently cottoned to the concept of freezing rice and other cooked grains. Just cook, let cool, then store in resealable plastic freezer bags. When ready to serve, pour into a bowl and microwave for a minute, or heat the grain with a little liquid on the stovetop. Read More
Monday, February 24, 2014
List: "What items might people be surprised to find in your fridge?"
"Here are 9 (out of 15) surprising foods you can--and sometimes should--stock in your freezer. (Be sure to check out our essential Guide to Freezing for smart tips on how to store and thaw food.)"
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27 comments:
I don't bother filing the freezer with things that just take up space (I am not a big banana bread fan, so ripe bananas don't do a lot for me), but good advice about the nuts and the bacon.
What about human heads?
Top tier of wedding cake.
Vanilla beans.
Yeast.
Semolina (because it's around for so long)
Stack of pre-made sourdough pizza bases smeared with tomato paste.
Tomato paste that comes in tins
Vodka. (That turned out terribly. Made it much worse. Made what is supposed to be excellent vodka taste exactly like, and I mean egg zakly like concentrated hospital)
Various chile powders. Specific chile types used infrequently.
DO NOT store ice cubes. Old ice cubes are the worst of all ices. Have you noticed that? Do you have ice cubes come out of the door? Check them recently? Smell them? Smell your ice cubes. They can be ruining your drinks if they are old. This is serious, because if I can smell them then they're pretty bad, that means they're even worse for others. And it's bad because the glass is lifted directly to their nose. Ask your spouse if they can smell the ice cubes if you cannot. And if you live alone, I'd still prefer you be troubled on this because I'm a mean-spirited that way and it's vogue now having unusual hangups.
This reminds me that I really need to clean my fridge.
Are you opening up the fridge as well as the freezer with this question?
We keep a 20 pound bag of purchased ice in the freezer, even though the unit comes with an ice maker, because I prefer the taste, smell, sound and sight of store bought ice which is clear and "tinkles" differently in the glass.
Nuts. Chip A got here first. My spouse cannot smell the difference between store ice and ice machine ice, but I can. Yet love is such that he regularly and willingly buys and lugs home this $5.00 treat that makes me happy every time I use it.
It takes such a short time to boil pasta to al dente that I don't see the great advantage in cooking freezing then recooking.
Mint ice cubes. Nice idea for iced tea in the summer.
We have two freezers.
Cornmeal and polenta along with flour, grits, graham cracker crumbs. Otherwise they get buggy. They still ARE buggy but the critters don't get to grow.
Along with the rest of the items already mentioned except the banannas...gonna remember that:
Avocados for guacamole. We have a friend whose daughter has a big avocado orchard in the San Luis Obispo area. When we get avocados from them we get 20 to 30 pounds of them. No way can we eat all of that. So we let them get ripe, mash up, mix with lemon juice and put into small freezer bags to thaw out and use as a base for guac later.
Nuts. Pinenuts, Pecans, Sesame seeds, pepitas, sunflower. Walnuts from our tree. I still have a 10 gallon container full of unshelled walnuts from this year's harvest to shell. Evening project. Sit at the kitchen island with my cutting board, hammer and a glass of wine while watching tv.
Containers of frozen wild plum pulp, santa rosa plum pulp for jams that I haven't made yet. Dried Italian plum halves from last year as well. Apple pie fillings in individual pie shaped flats. Individual frozen blackberries and strawberries. Little hard nuggets of sweetness.
Frozen quarts of chicken stock and other soup stocks, made with the bags of frozen leftover chicken and tired vegetables, old celery, wilted onions etc. that I just add to a miscellaneous soup stock bag until I have enough. Ham bones. Beef bones.
And of course meat, chicken, pork and fish. Time to go for the buy one get one corned beef sales! We buy in bulk.
Lop Cheong sausages. Shrimp. Scallops. Pot stickers. There is a lot more. I know it sounds like a lot...and it is. It is also 80 miles one direction to the nearest big box stores like Costco, Wally World or Winco. We shop about once every other month and do our weekly shopping for perishables at the local Safeway which is only 30 miles away. You learn to plan ahead and stock up.
I put large rough turned bowls in the freezer - ones that have evidence of powder post beetles in them. Six months in the freezer and it's game over for the anobiids.
Batteries. Gooood eatin' No, it makes them last longer.
Items with plastic covers that require vents before being placed in mikewave. yes, the shame.
NOT vodka. Drink the vodka, don't save it for the apocalypse!
Definitely switch out ice cubes. Reduced ice cubes (in freezer for long period) are gross.
There is always some kind of medicine in our fridge.
In Kansas one guy keeps an Arizona truck driver in his freezer. Police, being police, suspect foul play.
Colombo concurs.
Not only is freezing nuts advisable, you can eat them right out of the freezer. We eat a lotta pistachios and walnuts. Get the big Costco bags and put them right in the freezer. I freeze bread and the pizza dough I make.
MamaM is an ice diva! Who would have guessed.
My nuts have been frozen all winter.
Let's see, in the freezer, all the usual things. Soup, meat, jar of cash, vodka, chili, sauces for Indian food, molé paste, ice cubes, etc.
In the fridge, twelve kinds of hot sauce, kimchee, three kinds of vinegar, hot giardiniera, six kinds of olives, several cheeses, sports drinks, beer and some leftover stuff.
'Tis true, Nd. While you may have the inside scoop in other areas, I know ice! The lame cloudy stuff the ice maker produces lacks clarity, purity and sparkle!
OK, so I'm an idiot.
Why does vodka go in the freezer?
My reason is that sipping a bit of very cold vodka is a nice little pleasure. Some vodkas taste better when very cold. I think I've got a bottle of some kind of Polish vodka made of potatoes in the freezer at present.
My wife recently gave me a bottle of vodka made form sweet potatoes, of all things, and it had a remarkably pleasant flavor. That one was also kept in the freezer.
Opened ink cartridges for printers not much used.
Once I was served iced tea with a frozen, whole strawberries in it. I've always meant to do that.
Ice, for human heads I recommend a chest freezer. The bigger, the better.
MamaM, I've never had an icemaker. I love good ice. I use bottled water and fill trays. In Wi. we have the worst water I've ever tasted. I have a water dispenser w/ spring water from northern Wi. I only use tap water to bathe, wash dishes, and cook. I use bottled water to make coffee. It NEVER gums up. So, my friend, we are soulmates.
I can't afford that store bought ice.
Ice, for human heads I recommend a chest freezer.
Yeah, but you don't always want them frozen, just cold for a day or so, until you can finish them.
True :)
What a great idea for all those quarts - 1/2 cups of buttermilk that linger.
I just put that last uneaten banana as is in the freezer.
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