It’s always handy to know what you can freeze, and what you can’t. There are so many items you can freeze for various reasons to keep from wasting food, to keep them fresh and to save time and money in the kitchen.
Flour
Seal your opened flour in a GLAD Snap Lock Pantry Bag in the freezer. The pantry bags have a gusset at the bottom so are perfect for storing flour, sugar as they stand up by themselves it will last twice as long as in the pantry. It is also a good way to ensure weevils and nasties don’t get into your flour in the first place. Make sure the bag is sealed really well or it will smell like a freezer!
You can also freeze other pantry staples such as sugar, chocolate pieces, rice and nuts which is handy in the Summer months when these sorts of items can get stale or go rancid quite easily!
Tomato Paste
Give an ice cube tray a quick spray with canola oil – and fill them with any leftover tomato paste (even better, buy an extra large tomato paste so you are saving money – then freeze the lot!). Tomato paste never really freezes solid as such – but enough to store for up to four months in the freezer. Once semi-frozen, pop them out of the ice cube tray and seal in a plastic bag until ready to use!
Wine
If you have any wine left over – don’t tip it down the sink (sacrilegious!)- freeze it. GLAD Ice Cube Bags are PERFECT for freezing wine (because there is no waste!). This is perfect for Winter as you can just ‘pop’ out a wine cube and add it to a hearty casserole or a risotto. They are really easy to use too – best invention ever!
Grated Cheese
You can’t freeze a whole block of cheese, but you can freeze grated cheese – and it is a great way to buy in bulk and save money! Grab the big 1kg blocks, run it through your food processor (with the grating blade on to save your arms) and freeze into a GLAD Snap Lock Storage Bag. Don’t over-pack your bag, allow a bit of room so the cheese doesn’t stick together. It will last frozen in the freezer for up to six months! Don’t let it go mouldy in the fridge – grate it and freeze it!
Onion
Ever smelt a bad onion? They are almost as bad as sour milk – just disgusting! If you notice that onions are on sale, buy a big bag, remove the skins and top and tail, and chop into small pieces. Freeze in mini GLAD Snap Lock bags (half an onion in each is perfect). They are perfect for dishes like spaghetti bolognaise, fried rice or casseroles. They really do retain their flavour but are soft on defrosting so you won’t be able to use them in salads etc.
Milk
Yes milk freezes just beautifully! Place the bottle right from the shop into the freezer – make sure you allow a bit of room around it because it does expand a little. Don’t worry if the milk appears to go yellow once frozen, that is perfectly normal – it will return to white on defrosting. To defrost, place in the fridge for a day or two and give it a really good shake.
Other dairy foods that freeze well include cheese (see above), cream (freeze into ice cube trays), and butter (freeze in the container it comes in).
Fruit and Berries
Freeze washed berries and always have a supply on hand that are locally grown, simply wash, drain, pat dry with a paper towel and pop into a snap lock bag. Cut up and peel left over fruits and freeze in ice cube trays, and once frozen transfer to a freezer or snap lock bag.
Hints and Tips
Frozen foods always look a bit different so it’s always a good idea to write in permanent ink what is in the contents of the bag and the date it was frozen.
