LITMIR.BIZ

      CHAPTER 3

      Freezing: Flexible Food Preservation

      Now that we have all of the background behind us, we’re ready to start putting away some food. Because the goal of this book is to keep things simple, we’re going to start with freezing, which is far and away the easiest and most flexible method of food preservation. Here is a short list of the advantages of freezing (one of which is that you can freeze apple rings for future pies):

       Freezing is the ideal first step for beginners.

       It’s quicker, easier, and requires less preparation than canning.

       Food will taste better and have a better consistency than it would with most other types of food preservation.

       Generally, more nutrients are preserved with freezing.

       Food safety is less of an issue; there are no worries about botulism growing in a closed jar.

       It works well with a range of food: fruits and vegetables, meats and seafoods, breads and pastries, and entire meals.

       Almost anyone with a refrigerator/freezer and ordinary food-preparation and storage utensils can freeze food.

       Freezer meals are ideal for busy families—and not-so-busy families—and for folks on special diets who will want to stock up on their specialized dishes.

       You can easily control portion size because of the variety of storage options.

       WHAT CAN YOU FREEZE?

      The short, easy answer to that question is, “just about anything.” Unlike other methods of food preservation, freezing doesn’t depend upon eliminating or killing spoiling agents such as bacteria. If a particular food was safe to eat when you froze it and—this is very important—you keep it frozen at a steady 0 degrees Fahrenheit, it will be safe almost indefinitely. Of course, while the foods may be safe to eat, you may not want to eat them. Simply stated, some foods don’t freeze well and should either only be eaten fresh or be preserved in other ways. See the sidebar “Don’t Freeze These” for the short list of foods that don’t freeze well. The long list of foods that do freeze well includes the following:

       Fruits

       Vegetables

       Meats and seafood

       Breads and pastries

       Meals

       Jams and jellies specifically formulated for freezing

       Almost any food stuff for which you want to extend the shelf life. For example, when your favorite orange juice is on sale, stock up and stick the half-gallons in the freezer.

      We’ll go into specific how-tos for each major type of food category. But first, let’s look at some general guidelines and guidance.