Tip - Freezing Stuff

 From http://asiarecipe.com/


Freezing Stuff

Freezing is a quick, easy way of storing foods for future use. As handy as 
freezing is, however, it is a good idea to take some care in preparing 
foods for the cold as it can make the difference between dry unappetizing 
dishes and those that are as good as freshly made. Cold air slows down, but 
does not stop changes and deterioration in food. When wrapping foods for 
freezing, always try to get as much air out of the package as possible and 
wrap it well so that moisture can't get in. The dreaded "freezer burn" 
(which will leave your food dried out and tasting funky) occurs when the 
moisture on food's surface evaporates. Aluminum foil is a great freezer 
wrap as are heavy plastic freezer bags.

Freezing is also a wonderful time saver. You can make all kinds of food in 
advance (such as soups, casseroles, bread doughs, even lasagna) and freeze 
them for future use. If you're going to the trouble to make one dish, why 
not make extra and freeze for a night when you're too busy to cook?

I also like to make huge batches of stock (chicken, beef, fish, vegetable) 
and freeze it in small containers so it's ready any time I need it. Another 
handy idea is to freeze stock in ice cube trays then keep the cubes in a 
Zip-lockŪ bag (where would we be without ZiplockŪ bags ?) so that you have 
small amounts of stock at your fingertips any time you need it. Ice cube 
trays work well for egg whites too. If you're making a recipe that calls 
only for egg yolks, freeze the leftover whites (one per cube) in an ice 
cube tray. Transfer the frozen whites to a ZiplockŪ bag and they will be 
ready any time you have a recipe that uses only egg whites!

Foil containers are great for freezing foods you will want to re-heat in an 
oven, as are freezer safe glass baking dishes (just cover the tops of them 
well). Plastic containers work well for freezing liquids , just make sure 
you leave a 1/2 inch or so of space for expansion.

It's a good idea to put masking tape labels on your frozen foods, unless 
you like playing "dinner roulette" and are willing to take a chance on what 
might be behind the wrapping. Labels are also necessary for dating the food 
you freeze. While freezers will keep food for long periods, they won't keep 
forever.

Foods that freeze faster will keep better. If your freezer isn't as cold as 
it should be (most home freezers should operate at about 0° F) your food 
will form larger ice crystals when freezing. Larger crystals mean poorer 
texture to your thawed foods.


What To Freeze

Baked Goods - In general, the lower the moisture level in your baked goods, 
the more successfully they will freeze. Well wrapped bread will keep for 
about five months in a freezer. You can also freeze bread dough for a month 
or two before baking (same goes for pizza or other yeast doughs). If you 
know you are making yeast dough to freeze, add a little extra yeast to your 
recipe.

Unbaked pie crusts freeze well as do unbaked fruit and meat filled pies 
(add a little extra thickening agent to fruit pies destined for the 
freezer), so you might want to stock up and get ahead when making these. 
Unfrosted cakes will keep for months (again well wrapped is the key). You 
can freeze a butter cream frosted cake as well, although other types of 
icing tend to separate (especially those made with egg whites and/or brown 
sugar).

In all cases, cool baked goods completely before freezing or they will end 
up soggy.

Prepared Foods - Soups, stews, many sauces (spaghetti sauce comes 
immediately to mind), unbaked pies (see baked goods), casseroles, lasagna 
etc. freeze well. Freezing may affect some spices, so it's a good idea to 
check and re-season if necessary when cooking previously frozen food. As 
always, wrap and cover well before freezing.

Eggs - Many people don't know you can freeze eggs. You can store whole eggs 
in plastic containers (cracked open and with the whites and yolks stirred 
together) or store egg whites and yolks separately. Raw egg yolks will need 
to be broken and stirred with either 1/4 teaspoon salt or 3/4 teaspoon 
sugar for each 1/2 cup of egg yolks or else they will turn to a "gummy" 
consistency. Cooked egg yolks, on the other hand, freeze beautifully. The 
reverse is true of egg whites: raw are just fine (freeze in ice cube trays, 
one per cube), but cooked egg whites will change texture so much they will 
not be at appealing.

Vegetables - Most vegetables will need to be blanched before freezing them 
for any amount of time (if you're going to use the vegetables in question 
within a week or so, you can often get away without blanching). After 
blanching, plunge the vegetables into cold water and wrap and freeze. 
Vegetables will keep in the freezer for about nine months.

Fruits - While frozen fruits do retain their flavor, be aware that the 
texture of many frozen fruits will become softer (think of frozen 
strawberries as opposed to fresh). Add some sugar (to fruit that will be 
served uncooked after freezing) or simple syrup (for fruits that will be 
cooked after being thawed) as this helps to retain the fruit's texture when 
freezing. Fruit will keep in your freezer for about a year.

Meat - Trim any excess fat from meat before freezing, as the amount of time 
meat will stay fresh in a freezer directly correlates to the amount of fat 
in it. Less fat equals longer freezer times. Also, the more saturated the 
fat (for instance beef has much higher saturated fat than fish) the longer 
it will keep). Wrap meat well. (If you're going to use the meat within a 
week you can get away with freezing it in the Styrofoam, plastic wrapped 
grocery tray it came in. Any more than that, re-wrap it to prevent freezer 
burn.) Beef and lamb chops, steaks and roasts safely keep for about a year 
(unless it's ground, as in hamburger, in which case plan to use it in about 
4 months). Pork will last about six to eight months and sausage can go for 
about three months.

Poultry - It's a good idea to remove poultry innards before freezing 
(although they can be frozen together). Never stuff and freeze raw poultry, 
as you risk salmonella contamination. Whole chicken and turkeys will keep 
for about a year. Chicken and turkey parts, ground poultry, as well as 
whole duck and goose will last about six months.

Fish - Scale and clean fish before freezing (this is probably done for you 
if you got your fish at a grocery store). As with meat, the higher the fat 
content in your fish, the shorter the time it will keep well in the 
freezer. Oily fish will keep for about three months and leaner fish will 
keep about six.

Dairy Products - The higher the fat content in dairy products, the better 
they freeze. Milk products that are under 40% butterfat will separate, but 
heavy cream does well. You can freeze butter with no texture changes, but 
remember, fat can go rancid even in a freezer, so never keep it for more 
than two months.

Cheese - Freezing does change the consistency of most cheeses, making it 
more mealy and crumbly, although the flavor remains intact. If you plan to 
grate or melt your cheese, this textural change won't matter much. If you 
plan to slice your cheese, it's best not to freeze it. Softer cheeses such 
as cream or cottage cheese do not freeze well at all (although most 
cheesecakes will do fine in the freezer). Blue cheese, Roquefort and 
gorgonzola are usually served crumbled so they freeze well and should keep 
for about six months (a little of these strong cheeses goes a long way, so 
they're handy to have in the freezer for quick "flavor pick ups" to 
recipes). Well wrapped firm cheeses (like cheddar, gouda, Swiss etc.) 
should keep for about six months in your freezer. Hard cheeses like 
parmesan and romano will keep for about a year.

If you have a large block of cheese (why does the Albert Brooks movie 
"Mother" come to mind?), cut it into manageable chunks, before freezing in 
order to cut down on thawing time.

I like to freeze bags of shredded mozzarella (shredded cheddar or other 
firm cheeses are also handy) so that I can remove the amount I like at a 
moment's notice (it's also a lot cheaper to buy in bulk, "Mother" was right 
about that, Albert).

Sauces - Tomato sauces and the like do very well in the freezer. Mayonnaise 
and mayonnaise based sauces, however, will separate. Sauces (or even 
custards) thickened with flour or cornstarch don't freeze well, but those 
thickened with arrowroot or tapioca do.

Herbs - Don't throw away leftover fresh herbs. Wrap them in ZiplockŪ bags 
and freeze them. Be sure to blanch leafier herbs like basil. Sturdier herbs 
like rosemary freeze exceedingly well.


What Not To Freeze

Some foods just don't do well in the freezer. Vegetables with high moisture 
contents like lettuces, celery and cucumbers will thaw limper than a rag 
doll. Some dairy products like cream cheese or cottage cheese, cream, milk, 
mayonnaise, custards, cream fillings or meringues will not freeze well 
because they will separate or curdle. Ditto for food made with gelatin. 
Fried foods will likely turn soggy or rancid when frozen.


Thawing Food

The safest method of thawing food is slowly, in your refrigerator. For this 
method allow about 8 hours per pound of meat and about 4 hours per pound of 
poultry, and about 6 hours per pound of fruit or vegetables.

You can speed up the process by about 1/8 the time by submerging the food 
(still wrapped) in a sink full of COLD water. You can also use the defrost 
feature on your microwave oven.

Never allow meat or eggs to defrost on the counter top. This is an 
invitation for bacteria to grow and can result in food poisoning. Baked 
goods and most fruits, on the other hand, can thaw at room temperature. 
With the exception of baked goods, most food should not be re-frozen (and 
even baked good may become drier with repeated freezings).