What to freeze things in?

[dylan1984]

There's probably a very simple and elegant answer to this but I am drawing a blank - I'm trying to get away from plastic bags but don't know what to freeze meat etc in? Any suggestions?

[mikaela]

If you're looking for glass, you can freeze Pyrex containers and canning jars. Pyrex makes shallow, rectangle dishes that should work for meat.

m.

[laohaire]

I think we've all been either taught or brainwashed - dunno which - that proper food storage has the absolute minimum air in a container. Right?

So plastic wrap seems to be the only thing that really meets that.

Can anyone weigh in on whether there is some truth, but hey life's a compromise - or if this is utter BS and we can use just regular glass or reusable plastic tupperware-like containers to store everything?

I KNOW people used to use only these; doesn't necessarily mean that plastic wrap isn't technically an improvement... but I'd like to hear that it's not

[dylan1984]

Yeah, I guess there isn't such a definite solution - I thought for sure I'd get some duh, use this repsonses, but not so far... I am curious too if the amount of air in a pyrex container would make for yucky meat like I assume it would, or if that is as you say "brainwashing" Last night I was thinking I can just start transferring the food to a pyrex when I go to defrost, then letting the bag get to room temp and then washing it as I wash dishes then reusing....but not sure about this with meat? and what exactly to use to wash them with (esp for meat), and how long they could be reused, and will this not be getting all the plastic chemicals into the food. Sigh...so many questions for such a little topic.

[BedHead]

I don't know anything about how much air, but once my ziplocs are gone I am going to try a variation on the butchers paper (that brown paper that's shiny on the inside?) and try using wax paper and brown paper to wrap my meat in.

I am assuming that wax paper is better than plastic, but I may very well be mistaken.

[russianthistle]

I've tried mason jars and pyrex containers. And they work...just not as well as ziplocs:. As far as room goes, ziplocs seem to be the only solution in my experience. I don't do meat, but I forage and freeze like crazy. I freeze everything on cookie sheets, first, then transfer the food to the ziplocs...it makes me feel better if I'm not freezing my food in the plastic.

[Manonash]

I was just thinking about this last night. I want to freeze a lot of stuff from the garden this year, and don't want to use that many ziplocks. I even get bothered by the meat I get from our butcher being in vacuum packed bags.

I'm thinking what I may do is what a pp suggested, freeze on cookie sheets and put in to large zip locks from there that can be washed depending on what was in them. I may use pyrex for some cooked meats and such. I want to put up a bunch of tomaotes and remember someone telling me to blanch them, remove the skins, and then freeze them on cookie sheets and freeze them whole, then throw them into large ziplocks or some other container.

Meats do seem to do poorly with air contact. Mine has always freezer burned really badly when this happens.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by BedHead

I don't know anything about how much air, but once my ziplocs are gone I am going to try a variation on the butchers paper (that brown paper that's shiny on the inside?) and try using wax paper and brown paper to wrap my meat in.

The shiny portion of that butchers paper... that's usually plastic. Which makes it not compostable, nor is it reusable.

Wax paper is a better choice - in that it is compostable, but it does not stand up to dampness well at all.

If you can get real old-fashioned butcher's paper, that doesn't have the plastic lining, but like wax paper, it doesn't withstand dampness either.

Not real sure what the solution is.

[glorified_rice]

I use lots of canning jars for leftovers, mainly. Dh takes leftover meals to work, so we use those up pretty quickly and I find that they are just fine in jars. I use the food saver for things like grains, flours, etc... (plastic, yes I know, but there really are not other good options for freezing things like that that won't cause damage to the food over a longer period of time) and I also use zip-locks. The thing I'm really careful about w/plastic is just making sure the food I'm putting in isn't really acidic and has had ample time to cool...preferably it has been chilled first. I'm not sure how much of a difference that makes, but I like to think it at least makes some

Oh, forgot to mention that you could wrap things in butcher's paper first, then do something like the food saver for longer-term storage. That way you would get an airtight seal, but the food wouldn't be touching the plastic. I'm wondering how parchment paper would work to wrap? I've never tried it.

[wetcement101]

[/QUOTE] Oh, forgot to mention that you could wrap things in butcher's paper first, then do something like the food saver for longer-term storage. That way you would get an airtight seal, but the food wouldn't be touching the plastic. I'm wondering how parchment paper would work to wrap? I've never tried it.[/QUOTE]

About parchment paper and wax paper- they haven't worked for me. I get an icy char between the paper and the item. I guess it's because it doesn't bind to the food tightly and prevent moisture.