Question
Christos Bechlivanidis
How do we know what things are freezable or what we shouldn't freeze?
Answer
Ah, so this is a, a fun question. So, you know, the, the quick answer is that everything's probably freezable, okay? And, you know, some things will change more or less during that freeze thaw cycle, but I, but I would say that anything's probably freezable. Okay? So let's talk about a couple of examples. So if an item is, is liquidy, uh, you know, very high in moisture, like a, a tomato sauce or, um, you know, something like that, then, uh, it'll freeze very easily. Okay? There is a tendency for many of these liquidy things to experience some separation upon thawing. And probably, you know, most of the time we can coax those two sides back together by whisking them, uh, you know, upon thawing. And so there's, you know, very little issue, uh, that you might experience. But, uh, you know, occasionally there's a little something that could break, you know, maybe it's, um, I dunno, some sort of a, a dairy product, um, for example, you know, in which case the result is gonna be, um, you know, two components that, that don't go together or don't re emulsify very smoothly, you know, in which case you might not be able to use that in the same way that you could have before it was frozen. Uh, that doesn't mean you should throw it away. Uh, in, in my book, you should always try to find a way to use those sort of things. And so, you know, maybe you use it in a place where the emulsification or the smooth texture isn't critical, you know, such as a, a chunky soup or a, a sauce or a stew, uh, versus, uh, something that's very smooth and silky, uh, in its texture. Okay? Um, and if we take a look at things like, uh, produce fruits and vegetables, uh, keep in mind that the, the water structure, right, uh, you know, in, uh, the, all those cells, right? That the water will expand when it freezes and it'll rupture the cell walls so that when you thaw, uh, fruits and vegetables, then you lose this structure from the torn cell membrane. And that's where we get this, this sogginess and this softness, uh, that's associated with frozen and thawed produce. So those items are definitely usable, um, but they're probably best used, you know, in applications where you're going to incorporate into some other cooked base. Again, soups and stews were great, um, depending on what it is, you can incorporate it into a savory pancake. Um, or, or even a sweet pancake. You know, we see frozen fruit a lot, and frozen blueberries, for example, are used in pancakes. Um, some of these things can be then pureed and made into certain sauces, uh, that can, uh, accompany, you know, something else. So, uh, you know, this is one category of food item, uh, to keep in mind due to its, uh, peculiar handling. Okay? And then dr more drier items, um, you know, maybe they're, you know, you know, like, uh, leaves that have been around for a while, or it could be other herbs that you might have. Uh, these things can be handled in a couple of ways. They can be, uh, dried, uh, you know, in the, uh, ambient air and then packaged and then held in the freezer, which will slow down its metabolism even further and extend its shelf life. And, um, also in the case of fresh herbs, if you have an abundance, then those things can be pureed and then put, uh, portioned out into, uh, an ice cube tray. And then once they set up, you can pop 'em out and then put those into a, a Ziploc bag or some other, uh, airtight container, and then hold them in your freezer, and then you can pull them out, you know, one by one and, and add those to different preparations. And frankly, you can do that with sauces too. Like, if you make a pesto, it's a great way to, uh, hold onto pesto. If you make a lot of stock, um, you know, especially a, a bone stock that you might reduce to concentrate the flavors, then you can again, put that into an ice cube tray, pop 'em out storm as loose cubes, and then because of its concentrated flavor, you can add that to a soup or a sauce or a stew for a little hit of umami as a finishing touch. And so that's a convenient way to use your freezer and plan ahead, uh, with the preparation, you know, of certain key ingredients that can add a little strategic edge, um, as you finish certain preparations in your kitchen. Okay? Now, overall for the freezer, uh, you know, my recommendation is to use things as quickly as you can, because the longer something sits in the freezer, the more you know the flavor and all those, uh, characteristics decline. And, you know, this is where labeling a dating becomes popular or, or, or important, I should say, for your packages. Um, put those items in with the intent that you're going to get around to using within a couple of months. And I would say definitely within six months, you know, if you happen to, uh, not have any plans until next Thanksgiving or, or, you know, whatever it might be, um, but, uh, things are still edible, okay? That's the, the other thing I wanna mention here is that if you have something in the freezer for a couple of years, it's probably gonna be edible. You know, it is not gonna make you sick, in other words, but you wanna take a look at all of the, uh, the, those organoleptic qualities, the, the aroma and, and the flavor, and not to mention the visual appeal of that item at that point, okay? They, they might not meet your expectations. Okay?
