Frostbitten faggots, a bathtub of thriller white sauce and an enormous lump of blue cheese sit on my counter defrosting: is that this meals nonetheless even edible, I ask myself, and if that’s the case, how ought to I prepare dinner it? I haven’t had time to verify my freezer for some time, however when used correctly, it’s a superb food-waste-prevention device, prolonging shelf life by months.
You’ll be able to freeze just about something, to protect vitamins as a lot as to forestall waste. Freeze meals earlier than its use-by date, and ensure it’s packed in hermetic baggage or freezer-proof containers to keep away from freezer burn.
In case of any spillage and due to this fact cross-contamination, ideally hold meat and dairy within the backside drawer, cooked meals within the center and fruit and contemporary meals on the prime. Examine your freezer’s contents earlier than going to the outlets, not least as a result of constructing them into your meals will each stop them getting freezer burn and hold your weekly purchasing invoice down.
Label objects clearly, with an outline and use-by date, to keep away from freezer confusion. Most meals will freeze properly for 2 to 6 months, after which their texture will in all probability deteriorate, although it’s typically nonetheless usable for as much as a yr. Mix defrosted meals into soups to keep away from any disagreeable textures, whereas even freezer-burnt meat might be marinated, minced or stewed to assist enhance its mouthfeel.
Defrost meals within the fridge in a single day, to keep away from the so-called hazard zone, as a result of micro organism can type above 8C. As soon as defrosted, it’s an excellent basic rule to eat it inside 24 hours, and don’t refreeze except it’s been cooked since thawing. The Food Standards Agency says: “It doesn’t matter in case you prepare dinner your meat from frozen or contemporary, you should use your leftovers to make a brand new meal. This new meal can then be frozen, however be sure to solely reheat it as soon as.”
How you can freeze
Fruit Love Food Hate Waste estimates that 81.25% of the fruit we waste is as a result of we simply haven’t used it in time. Uncooked or cooked fruit might be frozen entire or sliced for ease of use in smoothies or porridge, say (we even freeze brown bananas and our daughter’s half-eaten ones, peeled and sliced, in a bathtub). Meals which have a excessive water content material, resembling fruit, might flip mushy as they defrost, however they’re nonetheless tremendous to mix or prepare dinner.
Greens The National Center for Home Food Preservation within the US recommends blanching greens earlier than freezing to forestall flavour, color and texture loss; if in case you have time, prep and reduce them, too, for ease of use (if want be, although, you may at all times freeze one thing entire to forestall it from going to waste). At residence, we hold a freezer container for vegetable scraps to make inventory, and if we’ve an extra of greens on the finish of the week, we blanch and freeze them for later.
Herbs These perish rapidly, so catch them earlier than they flip to mulch. Chop up, unfold on a tray, freeze, then pack right into a container in order that they don’t freeze in a single strong block. Or pack into ice-cube trays, prime up with water and freeze.
Meat and fish The fee and sources that go into producing meat make it a product with an enormous foodprint. Even a small quantity of frozen leftovers is a win-win, and might type the idea of a future thrifty meal, be it ragu, curry or pie. And keep in mind, meat shops higher in liquid, resembling in a stew or curry, or double wrapped in a sealed bag to scale back the chance of freezer burn.
Dairy The equal of 3.1m glasses of milk are wasted within the UK on daily basis, but solely 1 / 4 of the inhabitants freezes the stuff, in contrast with half who freeze meat, fish and bread. The government waste scheme Wrap estimates that simply matching these ranges for milk would reduce greater than 10,000 tonnes of waste, saving £5m. Freeze in an acceptable container with area for the liquid to increase. (Milk can generally flip lumpy when it’s been frozen, during which case it’s finest utilized in cooking.) Freeze cheese in parts or grated for ease of use.
Different Freeze leftover wine for sauces. Freeze batches of pastry or bread dough (it defrosts actually rapidly and is a lot better than shop-bought). Batch-cook meals and freeze, able to reheat and fake-away a takeaway. In accordance with the food systems charity Feedback, UK households throw away 24m slices of bread a day, so freeze and pop straight into the toaster as required.
By the way, in the long run, I made a blue cheese fondue with my freezer scraps, whereas the faggots fed the compost monster. What’s going to you make out of your freezer this week?