Knowledge Base > Fran Costigan - Your Freezer Is a Secret Baking Tool

Your Freezer Is a Secret Baking Tool

Fran Costigan - Your Freezer Is a Secret Baking Tool

This event was on Tuesday, July 07, 2026 at 1:00 pm Pacific, 4:00 pm Eastern

Your freezer is not just for storing leftovers. Chef Fran Costigan, Rouxbe Director of Vegan Pastry, knows that strategic freezing can save time, while maintaining the integrity of s… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

How can I freeze liquids so they don't turn into hard ice but soft paste so I can scoop out?

— Sara Alymni

Answer:

If you're freezing orange juice or apple juice, it's going to freeze hard, and that's just the nature of it. On the other hand, maple syrup, which if you buy it in quantity, this is a great tip because maple syrup will ferment at room temperature, and so it's good to keep it refrigerated, or if you buy it in quantity, in your freezer. It just gets viscous, thicker, and so that's okay. In the course, we make date paste and prune paste and other dried fruit pastes, and they can be scooped. Ganache, depending on if you've made a soft ganache and it's in your freezer and it's pretty liquid, then you can scoop it. If you've made a firm one, you have to defrost it. So, that's really the answer to that. There is no ingredient that's going to turn a juice or a liquid into something that would be viscous.
Fran Costigan

Fran Costigan

Director of Vegan Pastry

FranCostigan.com