I've been making food in larger batches and freezing the meals in
reusable containers. It's working okay for the most part, but it could
use some improvement.

How do you prevent freezerburn? I can't get all the air out of the
container, so there is always a surface open to the air when it
freezes.

I read somewhere to freeze it, then remove it from the container and
put it in a baggy or something. But what would be the best way to wrap
the blocks so that they stay airtight? Saran wrap? Wax paper?

I'm considering getting one of those food saver things? Is it cost
effective for storing individual meal pouches? Or would the bags be
spendy for a bunch of small stuff. Normally, they are are used for
larger packages.

Right now, I am using gladware/tupperware type containers, and I get
2-3 meals out of one container, so when I pick something, I have to eat
it for 2-3 days. If I find a better way i could do smaller, actual
individual meals, and have a bit more variety as well as preventing the
freezerburn.

For those of you who freeze meals, what containers and methods do you
prefer?

On 28 Mar 2006 21:28:31 -0800, "
wrote:

I'm considering getting one of those food saver things? Is it cost
effective for storing individual meal pouches? Or would the bags be

I just got one and I don't think it'll be too spendy for individual meal
pouches. I haven't even used mine yet, but I got it based on
recommendations here and from a coworker who uses her constantly.

--
Siobhan Perricone
One trend that bothers me is the glorification of
stupidity, that the media is reassuring people it's
all right not to know anything.... That to me is
far more dangerous than a little pornography
on the Internet. - Carl Sagan

wrote:

I've been making food in larger batches and freezing the meals in
reusable containers. It's working okay for the most part, but it could
use some improvement.

How do you prevent freezerburn? I can't get all the air out of the
container, so there is always a surface open to the air when it
freezes.

Make sure you leave the correct amount of air space and no more. Air
removal is key so make sure you burp your containers. Put the lid on
then with one hand creating pressue in the centre lift one corner and
reseal.


I read somewhere to freeze it, then remove it from the container and
put it in a baggy or something. But what would be the best way to wrap
the blocks so that they stay airtight? Saran wrap? Wax paper?

That is one way. Put the block in a freezer bag, suck the air out with
a straw and seal.


I'm considering getting one of those food saver things? Is it cost
effective for storing individual meal pouches? Or would the bags be
spendy for a bunch of small stuff. Normally, they are are used for
larger packages.

I have an off brand vacuum sealer that cost me about $20. The thing has
more than paid for itself. Meal pouches work too.


Right now, I am using gladware/tupperware type containers, and I get
2-3 meals out of one container, so when I pick something, I have to eat
it for 2-3 days. If I find a better way i could do smaller, actual
individual meals, and have a bit more variety as well as preventing the
freezerburn.

Use smaller containers. Seriously, use ones that will give you 1 meal.


For those of you who freeze meals, what containers and methods do you
prefer?

Individual meals - ziploc containers, vacuum pouches
entrees - ziploc containers or foil trays depending on the amount
casseroles - foil trays
meal components - ziploc bags, vacuum bags
bulk meats - freezer paper
fish - dipped in water, froze then put into ziploc bags

A rule of thumb, anything that you freeze but wouldn't use the whole
amount at one time like strawberries, blueberries, corn, broccoli etc,
use ziploc freezer bags. Close until a drinking straw will just fit in
one corner. Suck the air out and seal the bag.

wrote:
I've been making food in larger batches and freezing the meals in
reusable containers. It's working okay for the most part, but it could
use some improvement.

How do you prevent freezerburn? I can't get all the air out of the
container, so there is always a surface open to the air when it
freezes.

You're confusing freezer burn for frost accumulation... with very rare
exceptions (eggs) cooked foods don't get freezer burn. Raw meat is
suseptible to freezer burn... and only very rarely will folks freeze
meat that's been cooked rare enough to be susceptible to freezer
burn... not too often do folks freeze half a rare roast beef sammich...
the trick of course to prevent freezer burn is to cover cooked foods
with liquids (gravy/sauce), even plain water, and the vast majority of
cooked foods folks freeze are already semi-liquid (soups/stews).
Freezer burn is nothing more than the loss of water from food over time
due to evaporation (not dangerous). If you refer to the shelf-life
lists for frozen foods you will discover that none are recommended to
be stored frozen long enough for freezer burn to occur... so how long
are you planning to store that fercocktah scoop of left over dehy
mashed potatoes.

Sheldon

I assume you must live alone, otherwise you wouldn't have the problem of
thawing something then having to eat it over several days (when I had a
family around, when I thawed something it got eaten up).

I live alone and cook for one --I have wrestled with the exact same problem
for years. I have quit making large recipes with intentions to spread
leftovers out over time because unless you are obsessively fastidious about
your freezer a lot of food gets tossed out even if it is still good.

The only exception is something that you can completely fill a container
with, like chili or soup (some), so when you take it out and defrost it you
don't mind eating it all for a day or two. Completely filling the container
(expansion allowance or freeze it open then cover) helps prevent the frost.

The best thing is to cook as small a recipe as practical because otherwise
no matter what your intentions, the reality is you are going to waste a lot.

A lot depends on how domestic you are. In my case, I love good food and good
cooking but my other important interests supercede being home much except on
weekends, when domestic chores are done, including some cooking.

After years of hassling with it I am at a point where if I lived in a city I
would eat three meals a day at a restaurant during the week (a good
restaurant) --it would cost about the same overall. If you can do this and
you cook for one, save the time, money, and the aggravation of shopping for
one.

I have tried several sealing gadgets --they all work OK, esp. for a
family-sized quantities. For uncooked fish it is better to just cover with
water in a portion-size container, same with chicken breasts.

The point is, be realistic. If after a short while with a system you are
tossing stuff out a lot, or don't feel like following through with the
frozen dish you made two weeks ago, whatever, don't think that buying a new
gadget will solve the problem. The problem amounts to quantity control --
less is more.
--
Lefty

Life is for learning
The worst I ever had was wonderful.




wrote in message
oups.com...
I've been making food in larger batches and freezing the meals in
reusable containers. It's working okay for the most part, but it could
use some improvement.

How do you prevent freezerburn? I can't get all the air out of the
container, so there is always a surface open to the air when it
freezes.

I read somewhere to freeze it, then remove it from the container and
put it in a baggy or something. But what would be the best way to wrap
the blocks so that they stay airtight? Saran wrap? Wax paper?

I'm considering getting one of those food saver things? Is it cost
effective for storing individual meal pouches? Or would the bags be
spendy for a bunch of small stuff. Normally, they are are used for
larger packages.

Right now, I am using gladware/tupperware type containers, and I get
2-3 meals out of one container, so when I pick something, I have to eat
it for 2-3 days. If I find a better way i could do smaller, actual
individual meals, and have a bit more variety as well as preventing the
freezerburn.

For those of you who freeze meals, what containers and methods do you
prefer?

Jude wrote:

~patches~ wrote:


I read somewhere to freeze it, then remove it from the container and
put it in a baggy or something. But what would be the best way to wrap
the blocks so that they stay airtight? Saran wrap? Wax paper?

That is one way. Put the block in a freezer bag, suck the air out with
a straw and seal.



A rule of thumb, anything that you freeze but wouldn't use the whole
amount at one time like strawberries, blueberries, corn, broccoli etc,
use ziploc freezer bags. Close until a drinking straw will just fit in
one corner. Suck the air out and seal the bag.



Ah, the old pot-smokers trick. I've never used a straw - back in
college, I got quite adept at putting my lips to the corner of the
baggie and sucking out all the air. I can create ziplocs that look
almost as if they've been vacuum sealed with my suck!! Guests look at
me kinda funny when they see me packaging up lefotvers fter dinner,
though =)

Never thought of using a straw. Musta been too stoned!!


LOL! I've never heard the method refered to as that. And I've never
smoked anything legal or illegal. I learned the straw trick years ago.
It's a little more sanitary then trying to suck the air out with your
mouth on the bag. Another trick for vacuum sealing ziploc bags is to
leave them sealed on the zipper end, slice the bottom end, then fill
with your food. Place on the vacuum sealer and seal.

Sheldon wrote:

You're confusing freezer burn for frost accumulation... with very rare
exceptions (eggs) cooked foods don't get freezer burn.

My big problem as far as freezder burn seems to be bread and baked
goods. I wrap em in Saran, then toss them into a Ziploc freezer bag,
but they still seem to get that nasty whitish crust. What can you tell
me about freezder burn on baked (obviously, that means cooked!) goods?

On 28 Mar 2006 21:28:31 -0800, "
wrote:

Right now, I am using gladware/tupperware type containers, and I get
2-3 meals out of one container, so when I pick something, I have to eat
it for 2-3 days. If I find a better way i could do smaller, actual
individual meals, and have a bit more variety as well as preventing the
freezerburn.

For those of you who freeze meals, what containers and methods do you
prefer?

I package our meat in small ziplock bags in two-person sizes. The
exception is if it's something that I'm going to want to slow-cook in
bulk (chicken drumsticks etc) and then refreeze...

Bread just gets tossed in the freezer in the bag it came in (with only
two of us we don't use the bread fast enough to avoid it going stale
and gross, or worse mouldy!) I preslice the bread so it's easy to pull
out a few slices and stick them in the toaster - toasting makes up for
any dryness, or else I make them into french toast for breakfast and
the egg/milk remoisturises them.

I very rarely bother to freeze leftovers any more because DH doesn't
like eating them, and we only have a small freezer so there's no room
for more than half a dozen containers. But when I do, I put it in
individual serve plastic containers and don't worry about the extra
air in them. They're not going to be there long enough to dry out.

Since DH HATES eating leftovers I try to only make enough for one meal
at a time, or one meal for him and a lunch for me. Otherwise I end up
eating the same thing every day for the rest of the week and it gets
boring, or else we throw out perfectly good food!

The foodsaver sounds like a handy gizmo and I've often thought I'd
like one... let us know if it works out!

In article .com,
" wrote:

I've been making food in larger batches and freezing the meals in
reusable containers. It's working okay for the most part, but it could
use some improvement.

How do you prevent freezerburn? I can't get all the air out of the
container, so there is always a surface open to the air when it
freezes.

I read somewhere to freeze it, then remove it from the container and
put it in a baggy or something. But what would be the best way to wrap
the blocks so that they stay airtight? Saran wrap? Wax paper?

I'm considering getting one of those food saver things? Is it cost
effective for storing individual meal pouches? Or would the bags be
spendy for a bunch of small stuff. Normally, they are are used for
larger packages.

Right now, I am using gladware/tupperware type containers, and I get
2-3 meals out of one container, so when I pick something, I have to eat
it for 2-3 days. If I find a better way i could do smaller, actual
individual meals, and have a bit more variety as well as preventing the
freezerburn.

For those of you who freeze meals, what containers and methods do you
prefer?

I do individual things in small tupperware type containers. Before I
put on the lid I lay a piece of plastic wrap on the food, press it down
so that it's in contact with the food and then put the lid on. Help
prevent all the ice crystals.

marcella

I use plastic containers for one-person meals and have never had a
problem with freezer burn. So you actually experience it?

BTW, raw meat goes into freezer bags that I press the air out of. It
never stays in freezer for more than a month. no freezer burn there, either.

I find freezing meals for more than one day unpractical, because it
means I defrost the whole thing on day one and am still eating it a few
days later. After defrosting, one ought to eat the most foods within 24
hours. I think fats aren't as tricky, but I'm not sure.

Jude wrote:
Sheldon wrote:

You're confusing freezer burn for frost accumulation... with very rare
exceptions (eggs) cooked foods don't get freezer burn.

My big problem as far as freezder burn seems to be bread and baked
goods. I wrap em in Saran, then toss them into a Ziploc freezer bag,
but they still seem to get that nasty whitish crust. What can you tell
me about freezder burn on baked (obviously, that means cooked!) goods?

I freeze all sorts of baked goods, breads, cakes, cookies, etc.,
although I try not to to and not too much when I do... I don't really
like bread that's been frozen nor do I like wasting valuable freezer
space on bread, although frozen cakes and cookies taste fine, in fact
freezing improves anything chocolate, especially when eaten still
frozen. hehe I've never seen any freezer burn on baked goods and I
don't do any special wrapping, usually just what it came packaged in
from the store... if it's something I baked it's usually all eaten way
before it's left overs, but if it's a small amount a zip-loc works
fine.
I've seen frost accumulation occasionally but no freezer burn. Of
course I don't keep baked goods in my freezer more than like 4 months
at the most, usually less than 2 months... chocolate chip cookies and
chocolate brownies are lucky to last a week, two days is typical... in
fact I'll toss those into the freezer for just a few hours only because
they'll taste better that evening.. So for how many years do you
store cheapo white bread in your freezer?

Btw, regardless how fancily wrapped to protect from freezer burn the
texture of tender steaks will still be drastically compromised from
freezing (and I just know none of yoose can flash freeze at home), so
only a pinhead will stock up on expensive tender beef just because it's
a few pennies cheaper on sale only to toss it in their freezer.

And that's another reason why when I grind meat I'll plan to cook like
six big burgers all at once, or I'll do a meat loaf (meat loaf freezes
really well), because freezing raw ground meat really ruins it... I can
rewarm my cooked burgers without it losing its juicyness, but your
frozen crap lost all its juicyness during thawing... of course yoose
what only eat pre ground mystery meat have no way to know the
difference.

Actually a little freezer burn is no biggie, certainly not worth
investing hundreds of dollars into special equipment and all that time
and effort wrapping... just slice that spot off same like a bit of mold
from cheese. Much better to invest a buck on a freezer pen so you can
mark the date, and then don't save stuff so friggin' long.

Sheldon

In article ,
Siobhan Perricone wrote:

I just got one and I don't think it'll be too spendy for individual meal
pouches. I haven't even used mine yet, but I got it based on
recommendations here and from a coworker who uses her constantly.

Which model did you get, Siobbhan? I've got a bead on one for $20,
NITB. I'm thinking that at that price I'm morally obligated to purchase
it, even if I never use it. . . . :-)
--
-Barb
http://jamlady.eboard.com Updated 3-27-2006 It Can Can!

"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

jake wrote:
I use plastic containers for one-person meals and have never had a
problem with freezer burn. So you actually experience it?

BTW, raw meat goes into freezer bags that I press the air out of. It
never stays in freezer for more than a month. no freezer burn there, either.

Perfect, no one in the US needs two years worth of frozen meats, two
months worth tops is all that's necessary... it's not like there's a
shortage of food in the US... most any single stupidmarket in the US
contains more food than an entire third world country.

I find freezing meals for more than one day unpractical, because it
means I defrost the whole thing on day one and am still eating it a few
days later. After defrosting, one ought to eat the most foods within 24
hours. I think fats aren't as tricky, but I'm not sure.

I don't mind left overs, so I will prepare enough for 2-3 days and that
much again to freeze for another 2-3 days worth. Like yesterday I
prepared a huge pot of great northen bean soup; 3 pounds dried beans,
with onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and sesonings.. also a mess of
smoked ham hocks, filled a ten quart pot... was excellent for dinner
yesterday. But today on my travels I spotted fresh turnip greens on
sale (.99/lb, cleaned/bagged), tossed half of em into the pot today as
it was heating slowly... impressive. I also cook large quantities
because I will usually share with neighbors, etc., like tomorrow I'm
going to visit an elderly relative of a neighbor, she's in a nursing
home and I was told she will love my beans, so I have a quart container
in the fridge all ready to go. That's one of the things I enjoy
doing, visiting someone who can use the company and a home cooked
dish... conversations with the elderly is the best learning experience
there is, especially about food.

Sheldon

"Karen AKA Kajikit" wrote in message
...
On 28 Mar 2006 21:28:31 -0800, "
wrote:

Right now, I am using gladware/tupperware type containers, and I get
2-3 meals out of one container, so when I pick something, I have to eat
it for 2-3 days. If I find a better way i could do smaller, actual
individual meals, and have a bit more variety as well as preventing the
freezerburn.

For those of you who freeze meals, what containers and methods do you
prefer?

I package our meat in small ziplock bags in two-person sizes. The
exception is if it's something that I'm going to want to slow-cook in
bulk (chicken drumsticks etc) and then refreeze...

Bread just gets tossed in the freezer in the bag it came in (with only
two of us we don't use the bread fast enough to avoid it going stale
and gross, or worse mouldy!) I preslice the bread so it's easy to pull
out a few slices and stick them in the toaster - toasting makes up for
any dryness, or else I make them into french toast for breakfast and
the egg/milk remoisturises them.

I very rarely bother to freeze leftovers any more because DH doesn't
like eating them, and we only have a small freezer so there's no room
for more than half a dozen containers. But when I do, I put it in
individual serve plastic containers and don't worry about the extra
air in them. They're not going to be there long enough to dry out.

Since DH HATES eating leftovers I try to only make enough for one meal
at a time, or one meal for him and a lunch for me. Otherwise I end up
eating the same thing every day for the rest of the week and it gets
boring, or else we throw out perfectly good food!

The foodsaver sounds like a handy gizmo and I've often thought I'd
like one... let us know if it works out!

I got a foodsaver a while back, and I really like it. Besides the obvious
better preservation, there are a couple of other benefits that I hadn't
thought about before I got it. For one thing, you can see through the bags
really well, so you can tell what's in there, even if you can't read your
smudged handwriting. For another, things take less space because you don't
have the extra packaging and airspace taking up room. Last, it's kind of
nice to freeze things like spaghetti sauce with the package laying flat.
Easy to store, but it also thaws much faster than if you have a brick-sized
thing.

Donna

I got a foodsaver a while back, and I really like it. Besides the obvious
better preservation, there are a couple of other benefits that I hadn't
thought about before I got it. For one thing, you can see through the bags
really well, so you can tell what's in there, even if you can't read your
smudged handwriting. For another, things take less space because you don't
have the extra packaging and airspace taking up room. Last, it's kind of
nice to freeze things like spaghetti sauce with the package laying flat.
Easy to store, but it also thaws much faster than if you have a
brick-sized thing.

Donna


I got a foodsaver a month ago and love it. The bags are reusable, so it's
not as expensive as it might seem.

Carol