I’ve gotten several questions lately about whether or not this or that can be frozen.
I’m happy to answer these questions if I know the answer, but sometimes I don’t!
And the interwebs in general are a good place to check for help with this, but sometimes the item in question is so specific, it’s hard to find good information.
In cases such as these, I recommend freezing a small test sample and then thawing it to see how it turns out.
For instance, a reader wondered if she could freeze cooked fish cakes that she makes from my recipe.
(Here’s the fish cake recipe!)
I’ve never tried freezing them before, but I suggested that next time she makes them, she could set aside one cake, freeze it for a day or two, and then thaw it and see if the results are acceptable.
That way she wouldn’t be potentially wasting a whole batch of fish cakes, and she’ll know for sure whether or not she wants to freeze a big batch in the future.
So.
If a good google search doesn’t deliver a clear answer to you, freeze a little sample and test it out yourself. Then you’ll know for sure!
Deidre
Saturday 8th of December 2018
My favourite freezer tip I learned from a friend; when cooking with store bought frozen vegetables place in a large heatproof bowl/saucepan & fill with boiling water from the kettle. Leave for 3 minutes before draining then cook as desired. This is AMAZING! As my friend says it washes away the frozen ice water taste & defrosts for quicker more even cooking & the vegies taste SO much nicer & the texture is improved.
Julia
Wednesday 5th of December 2018
I often make extra salmon cakes and freeze them for easy meals. I’ve frozen milk when we have extra, frozen eggs (you have to crack them open and toss the shell) and used for baking. Some things change texture. Luckily my family is not too picky. I really don’t like frozen potatoes such as in a roast or stew. They tend to be really mushy. I often make cupcakes and freeze half, unfrosted, so we can pull them out whenever.
Kristyna
Tuesday 4th of December 2018
Love this advice! Sometimes it's the simplest solutions that we never can think of.
jan
Tuesday 4th of December 2018
Not exactly on point, but my favorite freezing tip is to invest in some silicone ice cube trays--the big ones where the volume of each cube is 1/3 cup or 1/2 cup. I also have a silicone candy making mold and each cube is about 1 TBSP. Once the cubes are frozen, I transfer them to freezer bags. So when I have leftovers (typically canned pumpkin, canned coconut milk, broth, etc) I freeze them in those molds in the most useful amount. The cubes are so easy to use in recipes! Actually I weigh the stuff using a kitchen scale with a tare function as I load the trays so I know--for example--that I have 90 g of pumpkin puree which is exactly what is needed for my favorite pumpkin pancake recipe. I got the 1/2 cup trays on a half-price sale after Christmas last year from Teavana of all places. They have a rigid frame and a cover and are perfect for freezing broth especially. This morning I made an extra batch of cranberry sauce because I love it year-round, and froze it in the 1/3 cup trays to have on hand without having to find cranberries out of season. The candy mold is great for freezing leftover tomato paste--there's always some!
Kristen
Friday 7th of December 2018
Great tip!
JD
Tuesday 4th of December 2018
I have heard of freezing cream, but I've been told the fat causes it to come out grainy, for lack of a better word. I've heard of folks whipping it first, but I've heard some say it still ends up grainy. The taste is fine, just the texture. I've also had frozen non-pasteurized milk in which the fat ended up feeling grainy. I freeze a lot of things, but I've had some nasty frozen cooked potatoes in stew that made me fish every single potato chunk out just so I could eat the stew. It may be that the variety of potato matters? I've frozen a lot of cookies, but never frosted ones -- I just assumed that wouldn't work, so now I'll have to try that. I freeze just about everything else, though, and I always freeze pasta, meals and flours for a few days, just in case there are incipient weevils or moths in there, which is pretty disgusting when you think about it. I try not to think about it.