How To Freeze Food
Continued
How to freeze cooked food,
dairy products and baked goods
How to freeze cooked food
Prepare two or three times the meal-size amount
of stews, soups or casseroles and freeze...freeze
leftovers...experiment with specialty dishes.
Main dishes, casseroles, soups, stews
1. Prepare cooked food as for the table, shortening
cooking time 10 to 15 minutes to allow for addi-
tional cooking during reheating.
2. Omit part of liquid, if possible, and add at time
of reheating.
3. Plan to add seasoning at serving time, since
many fade in freezing while others may grow
stronger.
4. Potatoes should be added to stews and soups
at serving time since they tend to become
mushy when thawed.
5. Some foods, like rice, take as much time to
prepare from the frozen state as they would to
prepare from scratch. These should not be
frozen except as leftovers.
6. Fried foods become soft and soggy, not crisp.
7. Add crumb and cheese toppings before
reheating frozen dishes.
6. Gravies and cream sauces may separate when
reheated. Stir continuously to smooth out. If still
separated add a mixture of flour and water. Stir.
9. Canned soups do not separate and therefore
can be used for dishes to be frozen.
Leftovers
Most cooked food can be frozen satisfactorily, so
freezing is an ideal method of keeping leftovers.
Leftover meat can be sliced and packaged in meal-
or serving-size portions. Package leftovers care-
fully and be sure to label them.
How to freeze
Cool cooked food as rapidly as possible and
freeze at once. Place food container in ice water
to cool food more quickly. Liquid or semi-liquid
dishes can be frozen in moisture-vapor-proof con-
tainers. (Be sure to leave headspace.) Casseroles
and other more solid foods can be frozen in the
container in which they were cooked:
1. Line the casserole with foil.
2. Add casserole ingredients and bake.
3. Cool and freeze in uncovered casserole.
4. When frozen, lift casserole and foil out in
one piece.
5. Place in a polyethylene freezer bag.
6. To thaw, take frozen casserole out of bag and
foil and place in the casserole dish it was origi-
nally baked in. This type of freezing frees the
casserole dish for other uses while the food is
in the freezer.
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