The other article, by NYT food columnist Mark Bittman, someone who ‘got it’ long before most of the rest of us, is about freezing food, a particularly fond topic of mine as of late. When I bought my place, one of the first (and one of the only) real purchases I made for my new home was a freezer. I had always admired the wonder of my grandma’s deep freezers, with their stashes of delectables and stores of staples, and now I love having my own. Besides giving me a way to put up harvest fruits and vegetables that isn’t as scary as canning (my fear of which is just as irrational as my fear of pressure cookers, I know…), here are some of my freezer favorites:IQF beans – After I learned that cans are lined with BPA, I decided to start making my own beans. I like to make big batches in the slow cooker, and then drain and spread them in a single layer on cookie sheets and freeze them. After they’ve frozen, I put them into a sealed container. This way they don’t stick to each other, and when you’re ready to use them, you can scoop out just the amount that you need.
Pesto – like Bittman mentions, pesto freezes really well. A layer of olive oil over the top prevents discoloration and preserves the pesto perfectly, so that you can enjoy a taste of summer all winter long.
Tomato sauce – Pictured here are some of the Black Romas that found their way into our freezer last summer. For me, canned tomato sauce never tastes as good as frozen. I am trying to get away from using plastic, but one easy way to store sauces that we learned from our parents is to put the sauce in a zippered freezer bag, squeeze out all the air, and lay flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. Once they’re frozen, the bags stack sideways in the freezer like books on a shelf.
Stock up on sale – Having a deep freezer means you can stock up and save when your favorites are on sale. Things most likely to be found in large quantities in our freezer include frozen veggies, Amy’s gluten-free frozen pizza, and tempeh, which freezes nicely (and thaws quickly).
Compost – In the summertime, composting scraps can quickly become overwhelmingly ripe in the collection container on your counter. Instead, put them in the freezer to keep them neat and odor-free until you’re ready to make a trip out to the compost pile, or your weekly collection comes around.
I mentioned I’m trying to move away from using plastic, and I found some great glass storage containers that lock tight and do a good job keeping freezer burn at bay.
There are lots of other tips in the article and comments that I’m looking forward to trying, especially citrus zest and leftover wine! What are your freezer favorites?
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Love the bean idea. Wish we had a big deep freeze. Our freezer is always overflowing. We keep almost all of our cutting scraps in semi-sorted bags in the freezer for use in stocks. It's nice to squeeze some final flavors out of something that otherwise would have avoided the plate. I'd like to second the idea of flattened bags for storage of sauces. We've been doing it for several years and it does work well. Thanks for the tip on the Bittman article.
ReplyDeleteLooked at the Bittman article and would like to second his idea of labeling frozen things. After a while, a frozen chunk of one thing can become almost indistinguishable from something else. We always keep Sharpies nearby. I label & date the stuff we put away. It helps a lot. Things which have escaped labeling somehow also seem to escape identification after my memory has become frozen as well.
ReplyDeleteA friend gave me a great tip about freezing tofu. I do this now just as cooking prep, not even for long-term storage. (I usually can't wait that long!)
ReplyDeleteThaw your frozen block of organic, extra-firm tofu in the fridge overnight, then press it for 15 minutes or so, and drain, before marinating or tossing into a stir-fry or curry. The freeze-press combo method removes a lot of the liquid (which can then be reserved for stock), and leaves you with a more textured, less squeaky tofu. It sucks up sauce like a sponge, too!