Can you freeze everything?

corblimey

I'm getting into the idea of cooking a few things at the weekend and freezing them for the week as it's more efficient use of my time and money. Is there anything I cannot/should not freeze? I assume meat is fine, as long as it's been cooked? What about sauces, juices, veg, side dishes, etc etc?

Supercell

I do the same, I find that spuds don't freeze well at all (texture is weird after reheating), but apart from that pretty much anything goes. If you're freezing pasta..i'd mix in the sauce first as it tends to stick together when reheating otherwise.

Mr Magnolia

corblimey wrote: »

Is there anything I cannot/should not freeze? I assume meat is fine, as long as it's been cooked?

Raw meat can be frozen too, once it hasn't already been frozen.

A lot of food will keep for a couple of days in the fridge so it may not be worth freezing everything; like juices.

rubadub

Supercell wrote: »

I do the same, I find that spuds don't freeze well at all (texture is weird after reheating),

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Raw meat can be frozen too, once it hasn't already been frozen.

It can be refrozen and thawed as many times as you like, as long as you do it properly. All that happens is the cells rupture and the texture changes, like the spuds. Many believe the myth of meat somehow being toxic or overcome by bacteria if it goes through 2 freezing cycles. Manufacturers will say do not refreeze, this is only since it affects taste, and they do not want you getting the impression their food always tastes like that. If defrosting meat it should be done in the fridge, otherwise a big bit of meat will be thawed on the outside and sitting at room temp.

Raw mushrooms will turn to goo when defrosted, most things with large water content will change texture.

You can also use a pressure cooker to sterilize your food in jars, these will keep on a normal shelf indefinitely, just like sterilized food in jars/tins in supermarkets.