Freezing your food

Follow these tips to start saving:

Make space, use what you have - lurking in many freezers across the UK are unknown frozen foods, make a list of food in your freezer and see what you can use up.

Freezer forage - pull together meals by only using what’s in your freezer, fridge and cupboards. Then see how much freezer space you have and work out what you might need to buy from there. 

Swap fresh for frozen

Frozen foods are great, explore swapping a few fresh food items for frozen by heading to the frozen food aisle on your next shop. You might be surprised by just how much time and money you can save buying frozen.

Frozen veg is a great way to add more bulk and nutrition to meals. Cook them from frozen to save time on defrosting.

Did you know, 81% of fruit we waste is wasted because we haven’t used it in time? Buying frozen means we only use what we need as and when we need it, meaning less waste. Frozen fruit works well in smoothies, a compote or when baking. Berry tasty.

 

Stand-alone freezers, or fridge freezers are a big power consumer of energy in many households as they tend to run consistently for 24 hours a day. You may have to keep your fridge and freezer running all the time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reduce the amount of electricity it takes to run it.

Here are eight tips to make sure you’re using the least amount of energy possible on your fridge:

• fill the freezer - freezers are more economical to run and work more efficiently when full
• seal the deal - if you have condensation on the outside of your fridge-freezer, that’s a sure sign that you need to get the seals replaced
• peek, pick, close - don’t leave the door open when taking food out, the longer it is left open, the more the cold air escapes and the more energy is needed to reduce the temperature again 
• hold it on the hot - allow hot food to cool down naturally before putting it in the freezer, especially important if you are batch cooking
• from frozen to fridge - if thawing food from the freezer, put it inside the fridge, this helps keep the fridge cool without using the energy to do it
• love at frost sight - the more ice your freezer has in it, the more energy it uses; if the ice around the inside is more than 1cm thick, you need to defrost it
• store it right - adding a label to everything you add to your freezer will make it easier when you are searching for something specific, meaning less time with the door open
• check the temperature - freezers should be set at -18ºC and make sure to pay attention when the seasons change; a temperature setting that works well for the winter months may need to be adjusted during hotter weather

Cheese

If grated and stored in an airtight container, cheese holds up great in the freezer. Toss on top of a pizza or a pasta dish to give it a brie-lliant kick. 

Milk and dairy-free milk

Milk can be frozen and stored for months. This is a great way to combat the 6.7 million pints of milk which are wasted in Norfolk and Suffolk each year! It will expand slightly when frozen and needs some time to defrost. The same goes for oat milk. If your oat milk is homemade (shameless plug for our recipe), it may go a bit grainy so strain it through a cheese cloth (or fine sieve) after it has thawed if needed. 

Eggs

Don’t freeze your eggs in the shell. Break them in a bowl and beat until the yolk and egg white is just about blended. Put the mix in an airtight container and label with the date and number of eggs used.

Mushrooms, broccoli and other veg

Vegetables such as mushrooms, avocados, spinach, rhubarb (yes, it is a vegetable!) beans, carrots, broccoli can all be frozen. If they naturally have a high water content it's best for them to be pureed, sautéed, stewed or made into these easy freezer-friendly veg meals before freezing.

Cooked rice

Rice can be frozen, but be sure to freeze it as soon as possible after cooking. Pack the rice into a microwavable container or Tupperware as soon as it’s cooked. When the rice has cooled, seal the container and put straight into the freezer. Make sure to reheat thoroughly so it’s piping hot before eating. Want to know more? Check out our guide to freezing rice safely.

Mashed potato and sweet potato

You can freeze cooked potatoes and mashed potato. Make sure you do this when they're fully cooled though. For mashed potato, you could either transfer all of it into a freezer bag/container or if you're feeling particularly #FoodSavvy, you can freeze your own individual servings by scooping out portions individually like ice-cream scoops. Freeze these on parchment paper for about an hour and then transfer into a freezer bag/container from there. 

Cooked pasta

Slightly under-cooked pasta is best for freezing. This avoids it turning starchy when you reheat.

Bananas

Bananas freeze fantastically without their skin. Use frozen bananas to make a healthy alternative to ice cream, or coat them in melted chocolate before freezing for a sweet treat.

Butter

You butter believe it, it freezes beautifully. Either wrap it tightly in aluminium foil, beeswax wrap or plastic freezer wrap or place it inside container or freezer bag. To thaw it quickly, you can grate it or microwave it…or go slow and let it defrost over time in the fridge.

Tomatoes

Blitz before freezing and keep in a sealed container. You'll have tomatoes for sauces to the ready at all times.

Bread

Whether it's homemade banana bread, Irish soda bread or shop-bought bread, you could slice it before you freeze to keep a constant supply of bread ready to toast fresh if needed. 

Berries

Berries freeze nicely, although they may go a bit squidgy when defrosting. Sprinkle on top of your porridge, pop them in a smoothie or whip up a healthy summer pudding.

Chopped chillies and herbs

Seal in a clip lock box to avoid frostbite. Some herbs don’t freeze so well. See below.

Cakes, brownies and biscuits

Believe it or not, they can all go in in the freezer. If you have any left that is. Wrap well.

Wine

Wine can be frozen, just like water. It works best with wines that taste better chilled (like white or rose).

 

Some herbs

Basil, chives and parsley turn brown in the freezer. You can mix them in oil or melted butter and pop in a ice cube tray to avoid the issue.

Yogurt

Use up your yoghurt in a smoothie before heading off on holiday.

Some dairy

Soft cheeses (except brie), cream cheese, cottage cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream. 

Fresh salad greens

Finish off that lonely lettuce with a delicious fattoush recipe or chuck it in a soup. It grills well too.

People tend to worry that it’s not safe to store cooked rice. True, rice is trickier than some leftover foods as it has unique bacteria which may survive some cooking processes. However, if you follow these simple steps you won’t need to worry:

• cool - you can do this by putting the container of rice in cold water or spreading it across a wider container
• store - next transfer the rice into the clean sealed container you wish to freeze it in
• date - before you pop it into the freezer you’ll need to note how many portions are in the container and the date it was cooked and frozen (this should be the same day)
• defrost - when you come to eat it you need to place the rice in the fridge overnight to defrost it
• reheat - you can do this in a number of ways, but the one golden rule is to get the reheated rice really hot – well over 72°C

How to reheat your rice safely

You can do this in the microwave: open the storage container and for each cup of rice add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Place the lid back on lightly on top and heat for 3 to 4 minutes.  

To stir-fry leftover rice: place the rice in a wok or saute pan with your choice of oil. Turn the stove to medium heat, stirring the rice continuously. Make sure to break up the clumps of rice. Stir continuously to cover the rice evenly in oil. Use a thermometer to make sure internal temperature is at least 72°C.

To steam leftover rice: place the rice in a saucepan with 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter or oil. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water for each portion of rice and bring to a simmer. Keep the lid on the saucepan. Stir occasionally. Once the water has boiled off, check that the internal temperature is above 72°C. Serve immediately if piping hot.

Remember:

• it is safe to eat the rice cold as long as it has been cooled quickly and stored in the fridge for no more than one day after cooking or defrosting
• do not reheat rice more than once

We’ve done some research to help debunk common freezer myths:

Myth 1: Frozen foods are less nutritious

Not true. Frozen fruit and vegetables tend to be picked and frozen at the time of their peak ripeness, also their peak nutritional levels. Nutrient levels in frozen produce do inevitably decrease over many months, but overall they sure give fresh produce a run for its money.

Myth 2: Fridges, freezers and fridge-freezers are expensive to run

These are usually switched on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so it's well worth finding models that are energy efficient. Typically choosing an A+++ fridge freezer over an A+ unit will save you about £320 in energy bills over the lifetime of the product. However, as the energy rating is based upon classification by size, choosing a smaller fridge will use less energy than a larger fridge with the same energy rating. You can compare the total energy consumption of appliances by looking for their yearly energy consumption in kWh/annum displayed on the bottom right of the energy label.

Myth 3: Freezing food reduces its quality

Not if you do it right. Air coupled with moisture is the enemy of frozen food; ice crystals are the tale-telling sign of freezer burn. Extracting air from packs, using tupperware to seal the deal and reducing the surface area exposed will see your goods through their hibernation. Smalls foods with large surface areas are most affected.

Myth 4: There are lots of things that you can’t freeze

Most things are easily frozen, bar strong liquor. There are a few others to avoid: fine vegetables practically disintegrate, whilst frozen creams are prone to curdle whilst thawing. Freezing canned foods, fizzy drinks and eggs in their shells is a no and coffee has a tendency to absorb freezer smells as its oils break down in the process. As for the rest? Full freeze ahead!

Myth 5: You can't refreeze frozen food

Refreezing food isn’t dangerous, the danger is that food can spoil before it’s been refrozen. Freezing food does not kill bacteria, it just ‘freezes’ its action, so to speak. So, once thawed bacteria continues to multiply at the same rate it was multiplying at before being frozen.

 

Toss if:

• Temperature went above 5°C, the temperature range in which food-borne bacteria can grow is 5°C to 63°C
• It smells funny, trust in your senses
• You have any doubts

Refreeze if:

• temperatures are still below 5°C
• thawed fruits if the don't smell bad or have any signs of mould
• vegetables are still solid and icy, if they have thawed do not refreeze, your nose may tell you this
• baked goods are pretty dry and therefore don’t change much in the freezer

Cook if:

• raw meats are thawed, are still cold (below 5°C) but not icy (these can then be frozen after being cooked properly)
• prepared foods have defrosted (the quality of the food is likely to deteriorate and it’s best to be on the safe side with mixed food groups in one dish)
• raw fish and shellfish once cooked you can refreeze after, but be sure to freeze it as soon as possible after cooking (do not refreeze raw fish and shellfish)