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TIPS for FREEZING cooked meals???
Hi there. Recently I have become interested in (obsessed by according
to my girlfriend cooking double or tripple meals and freezing the left-overs. Anyone who can give me some hints for this? I tried to freeze a creamy spaghetti-sauce (cream, cheese,...) and while re-heating it in the oven, a lot of water (or some other fluid?) appeared. So obviously I had done something wrong. I guess freezing creamy sauces is not a good idea? Anyway, all freezing cooked meals hints are welcome. Thanks. Kris |
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TIPS for FREEZING cooked meals???
On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 19:47:04 +0200, Kris > wrote:
>Hi there. Recently I have become interested in (obsessed by according >to my girlfriend cooking double or tripple meals and freezing the >left-overs. > >Anyone who can give me some hints for this? I tried to freeze a creamy >spaghetti-sauce (cream, cheese,...) and while re-heating it in the >oven, a lot of water (or some other fluid?) appeared. So obviously I >had done something wrong. I guess freezing creamy sauces is not a good >idea? Same thing happened with my beef stroganov, so the next time, I prepared it up to the addition of sour cream and froze the 'mix'. Added sour cream when I thawed and reheated. One empirical conclusion I've drawn is that stuff you usually don't see in the supermarket's frozen food dept probably doesn't freeze well. There is frozen chopped onion and bell pepper, but no frozen tomatoes or apples. It does *not* follow that everything you see commercially frozen is suitable for the home cook -- Banquet and Healthy Choice have industrial quick-freeze facilities, and add various 'stabilizers' and heaven-knows-what. Search on "freezer meals" for some suggestions. |
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TIPS for FREEZING cooked meals???
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TIPS for FREEZING cooked meals???
Kris wrote:
> Hi there. Recently I have become interested in (obsessed by according > to my girlfriend cooking double or tripple meals and freezing the > left-overs. > > Anyone who can give me some hints for this? I tried to freeze a creamy > spaghetti-sauce (cream, cheese,...) and while re-heating it in the > oven, a lot of water (or some other fluid?) appeared. So obviously I > had done something wrong. I guess freezing creamy sauces is not a good > idea? > > Anyway, all freezing cooked meals hints are welcome. Thanks. > > > Kris Some things don't freeze well. Some things don't re-heat well. I love macaroni & cheese but if you reheat it in the microwave on HIGH it comes out tasteless, as though there was never any cheese on it at all. The secret there is to reheat it on LOW heat, very slowly, and stir it a lot. Never heard of spaghetti sauce with cream cheese. But I suspect you reheated it too fast with the setting on HIGH. Jill |
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TIPS for FREEZING cooked meals???
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TIPS for FREEZING cooked meals???
On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 22:33:51 GMT, Erika > shared
the following: >On 04 Oct 2003 22:24:28 GMT, (PENMART01) wrote: > >>Chocolate tastes better after freezing too... and it's all I can do to keep out >>of the frozen Halloween treats. LOL Actualy it's not so funny, I don't dare >>open those bags of chocolate bars or all the kidlets will get for treats are >>fercocktah lollypops and ferschtunkiner kandy korn. >> >> >>---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- >> ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- >>Sheldon >>```````````` >>"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation." >> > > >But Sheldon, I never had you picked out for the type of guy who >actually buys candy to give to kids. I have him picked out as the guy who puts needles in tootsie rolls and razor blades in apples. Just kidding. He's worthless, but probably harmless. -- Travis '63 VW Camo Baja... http://bugadventures.dyndns.org Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled. :wq! |
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TIPS for FREEZING cooked meals???
Erika writes:
> (PENMART01) wrote: > >>Chocolate tastes better after freezing too... and it's all I can do to keep >out >>of the frozen Halloween treats. LOL Actualy it's not so funny, I don't >dare >>open those bags of chocolate bars or all the kidlets will get for treats are >>fercocktah lollypops and ferschtunkiner kandy korn. > >But Sheldon, I never had you picked out for the type of guy who >actually buys candy to give to kids. That's 'cause you're new... I go all out for Halloween. ---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon ```````````` "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation." |
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TIPS for FREEZING cooked meals???
On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 19:47:04 +0200, Kris > wrote:
>Hi there. Recently I have become interested in (obsessed by according >to my girlfriend cooking double or tripple meals and freezing the >left-overs. > >Anyone who can give me some hints for this? I tried to freeze a creamy >spaghetti-sauce (cream, cheese,...) and while re-heating it in the >oven, a lot of water (or some other fluid?) appeared. So obviously I >had done something wrong. I guess freezing creamy sauces is not a good >idea? > >Anyway, all freezing cooked meals hints are welcome. Thanks.> >Kris My best tips are that if you are really into this and think you will be for a long time, invest in a Foodsaver and a couple rolls of bag material. Also, even if you are sure you'll know what is in there, always label stuff with the date. |
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TIPS for FREEZING cooked meals???
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TIPS for FREEZING cooked meals???
SportKite1 wrote:
>>From: Kris > > >>Anyone who can give me some hints for this? I tried to freeze a creamy >>spaghetti-sauce (cream, cheese,...) and while re-heating it in the >>oven, a lot of water (or some other fluid?) appeared. So obviously I >>had done something wrong. I guess freezing creamy sauces is not a good >>idea? >> >>Anyway, all freezing cooked meals hints are welcome. Thanks. The reason your creamy sauce didn't freeze well is because the binders in it were damaged in the freezing and thawing processes. Commercial sauces designed to be frozen will have thickeners and stabilizers to prevent that. You need a thickener with good "freeze-thaw stability." There are many modified starches (typically maize or potato starches that have been pre-cooked or otherwise slightly altered) that will keep soups and sauces thick through it all. In a couple of my restaurants, we packed some sauces into "retortable pouches" (boil-in bags) for thawing later as demand required. We experimented with a lot of different starches and settled on one called "National-465" from the National Starch Company. Since then, there have been many new products introduced for this sort of application. some of the starches used in pie fillings have good freeze-thaw characteristics. No reason why they can't be used for other things. IIRC, one of the Clear Jel starches is for that. I distantly recall that Therm-Flo (sp) starches can be used as well. Bulk food stores generally carry them. We used them in roughly the same quantity levels as conventional corn starches, depending on the finished dish. Roux-based sauces will break upon thawing. They can't be reconstituted by whisking or any other mechanical process. Most egg-based sauces will break, as well. Likewise when cheeses are used as the body ingredients. Some gums will help, but, again, they're difficult for the home cook to find. Pastorio > There are lots of commercially frozen meals that include creamy sauces. I > imagine the two tricks they use are 1) assure that all air is removed from the > packaging so ice crystals don't form on the surface; 2) they are flash frozen > to inhibit ice crystals from forming. > > I'm going to guess that at home you would want the sauce to be as tight/thick > as possible so when defrosted the added water won't thin it overly much. There > is also the problem of breaking if eggs and cream are used and it's defrosted > and reheated in the microwave. You might want to defrost it slowly in the > refrigerator and then heat it gently in a bain marie or heavy bottomed > saucepan. Oh, and freezing this sort of sauce with very al dente pasta might > help - the pasta will absorb the excess liquid. Experiment until you find the > results you like then you can do it all the time. > > I freeze chili, soups and spagetti sauce frequently. Usually just using freezer > bags (I ziplock them almost all the way with a straw inserted where I suck out > the air so it seals tightly - I know, sounds weird, but it works!) or in > tupperware, or containers from other products like the sort cottage cheese > comes in. Great way to recycle and if they get stained, no worries, you can > toss them after you've gotten additional service from them. I defrost them just > long enough to remove it from the container, then add to a saucepan and gently > heat. > > I used to make my own tv dinners - portioning out meatloaf or turkey in gravy, > with mashed potatoes and lightly cooked vegies, and while the results weren't > as good as freshly prepared they were tasty and made good use of leftovers. In > the middle of a busy workday, one of these meals really hit the spot. In fact I > really looked forward to them. Back before microwave safe containers were > available I made my own out of aluminum foil...shaping them into packets and > double wrapping then reheating in a 325 oven. Really stretched the food budget. > > > I might be crazy, but I think homemade lasagna actually tasted better after > freezing. > > I make/bake the lasagna according to my recipe - making sure that the noodles > still have a good bite to them, plus I spread a goodly amount of marinara on > the bottom of the pan before assembling. > > I freeze 8 x 8 pans of lasagna, then remove them from the pans the next day, > and repackage with a layer of plastic wrap next to the lasagna, and then > wrapped tightly in foil. When I'm ready to use one, I unwrap it and place the > frozen "brick" back in the pan it was originally cooked in, with a bit more > fresh sauce spread in the bottom of the pan. A good reason to freeze one cup > measures of homemade marinara (excellent for quicky Boboli pizzas too) or even > use Newmans Tomato Basil jarred sauce. Baked from frozen takes about an hour > for a whole pan, and boy is it good. For some reason the flavors meld in a way > that they don't when made fresh and eaten right away. > > I also think banana, carrot and zucchini breads taste better after freezing. I > don't know why, but they are moister and more flavorful. Wonderful to have on > hand for quick breakfasts or snacks. Defrost overnight and VOILA, your cooking > frenzy pays off in a big way. > > Ellen > > > |
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