Freezing Vegetables - Freeze only fresh high- Freezing Cooked Food -Prepare cooked foods
quality vegetables picked when barely mature. as you would for the table; shorten cooking time 10
For best results, freeze no more than 2 to 3 hours to 15 minutes to allow for additional cooking dur-
after picking. Wash in cold water, sort and cut into ing reheating. Omit seasonings and part of the liq-
appropriate sizes. Blanch or scald. Pack in recom- uid. Plan to add them at reheating time. Potatoes
mended container and freeze. should also be added to soup and stew at heating
Do not freeze lettuce, celery, carrot sticks, time. Add crumb and cheese toppings at heating
potatoes or fresh tomatoes. All will become limp or time.
mushy. Tomatoes will collapse when thawed. Cool as rapidly as possible and freeze at once.
Liquid or semi-liquid dishes may be frozen in rec-
ommended containers with head-space. Cas-
seroles and other more solid foods may be frozen
in the baking container. If you don?t want to leave
your casserole dish in the freezer, line it with foil.
Bake, cool, freeze, lift out the foil package, bag it
and return to freezer.
Freezing Meats - The meat you thaw can only Freezing Baked Goods - Wrap baked breads in
be as good as the meat you freeze. ?Drugstore? recommended material. Thaw in wrapping.
wrap in meal-size packages. Flat cuts or patties Unbaked yeast breads can be frozen afterthe first
should be wrapped individually or in layers sepa- rising. Punch down, wrap and freeze.
rated by a double thickness of freezer wrap. Bake cookies as usual. Cool and freeze on trays,
Make sure store wrappings are moisture and then pack in recommended freezer bags or car-
vapor proof. If not, re-wrap meats with one of the tons. Unbaked cookies may be dropped, molded
wraps recommended under ?Packaging:? or rolled and frozen on cookie trays. Store in bag or
carton; bake without thawing. Refrigerator-type
cookies can be wrapped and frozen in roll form.
Thaw only enough to slice when ready to bake.
Fruit pies are best frozen unbaked. Bake without
thawing. Bake pecan and similar pies before
freezing...rrch fillings do not freeze solid. Cut steam
vents in top crusts when ready to bake.
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ACEC
