Frostbitten faggots, a bathtub of thriller white sauce and a giant 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 cook dinner it? I haven’t had time to test my freezer for some time, however when used correctly, it’s a wonderful food-waste-prevention software, prolonging shelf life by months.
You may freeze just about something, to protect vitamins as a lot as to stop 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 high. Examine your freezer’s contents earlier than going to the retailers, not least as a result of constructing them into your meals will each stop them getting freezer burn and hold your weekly buying 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 usually 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 may 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 kind above 8C. As soon as defrosted, it’s an excellent basic rule to eat it inside 24 hours, and don’t refreeze until it’s been cooked since thawing. The Meals Requirements Company says: “It doesn’t matter should you cook dinner your meat from frozen or contemporary, you need to 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.”
Easy methods to freeze
FruitLove Meals 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 may be frozen complete 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, corresponding to fruit, could flip mushy as they defrost, however they're nonetheless positive to mix or cook dinner.
GreensThe Nationwide Heart for Residence Meals Preservation within the US recommends blanching greens earlier than freezing to stop flavour, color and texture loss; when you've got time, prep and lower them, too, for ease of use (if want be, although, you possibly can at all times freeze one thing complete to stop it from going to waste). At house, we hold a freezer container for vegetable scraps to make inventory, and if we have now an extra of greens on the finish of the week, we blanch and freeze them for later.
Herbs These perish shortly, 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, high up with water and freeze.
Meat and fish The associated fee and assets that go into producing meat make it a product with a giant foodprint. Even a small quantity of frozen leftovers is a win-win, and may kind the premise of a future thrifty meal, be it ragu, curry or pie. And keep in mind, meat shops higher in liquid, corresponding to 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 day by day, but solely 1 / 4 of the inhabitants freezes the stuff, in contrast with half who freeze meat, fish and bread. The federal government waste scheme Wrap estimates that simply matching these ranges for milk would lower greater than 10,000 tonnes of waste, saving £5m. Freeze in an acceptable container with house for the liquid to develop. (Milk can generally flip lumpy when it’s been frozen, wherein 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 shortly and is significantly better than shop-bought). Batch-cook meals and freeze, able to reheat and fake-away a takeaway. Based on the meals methods charity Suggestions, 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 is going to you make out of your freezer this week?
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