Can you freeze without ziploc bags?

[crunchy_mommy]

Is there another effective way to store things without using the bags? I will give in & use them if I have to (and I know I can wash & reuse them) but I'd really love to avoid it if possible!! I tried tupperware & that didn't work so well...

[goldenwillow]

We actually use mason jars.  Be sure to leave room for expansion. 

[rhianna813]

Originally Posted by Xantho 

We actually use mason jars.  Be sure to leave room for expansion. 

Yes! I have been freezing foods in various sized jars for a couple of years now. It works great! You can use store type jars or mason jars. Leave a LOT of room for expansion, especially for liquids. If in doubt freeze without the lid and add it after the food is frozen.

You can also freeze meats and perhaps other solid items in butcher paper.

Rhianna

[crunchy_mommy]

OK I'm a bit terrified to try it... picturing broken glass all over my freezer!!! But it sounds better than all that ziploc...

[CherryBombMama]

 

Originally Posted by rhianna813 

Yes! I have been freezing foods in various sized jars for a couple of years now. It works great! You can use store type jars or mason jars. Leave a LOT of room for expansion, especially for liquids. If in doubt freeze without the lid and add it after the food is frozen.

You can also freeze meats and perhaps other solid items in butcher paper.

Rhianna

sorry, im gonna thread crash - what about freezer burn? and how long can meat in butcher paper last? 

[goldenwillow]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

OK I'm a bit terrified to try it... picturing broken glass all over my freezer!!! But it sounds better than all that ziploc...

I'd say 1 out of 20 breaks.  Not often.  When it does it doesn't (in my experience) break like a window would, usually one big chunk. 

[goldenwillow]

Originally Posted by CherryBombMama 

sorry, im gonna thread crash - what about freezer burn? and how long can meat in butcher paper last? 

We haven't experienced freezer burn, maybe we use our frozen goods quickly....  I am curious now for longer durations.  We have a fairly small freezer *sigh*. 

We eat our meats fairly quick too.  My Dad just gave us a bunch of venison and elk that was from 1 and 2 years ago.  The 2 year was burned.. badly.  Cooked for my pup and he loved it.  The 1 year was just fine. 

[robugmum]

So, for those mason jars...

What exactly have you used them for?

Can you use them to freeze berries and other fruits and veg.?  No freezer burn?

I would so like to give up the zip-loc habit but I also love how little space they take up!

[yummus]

Subbing and bumping! I am very interested in this as well. Could you spread out berries/fruits/whathaveyou on a baking sheet, freeze, and then toss them in a jar?

[CCJWGM]

I freeze in mason jars of varying sizes and have never had a problem with breakage.  Not a one to my knowledge. 

Leave at least 1" headspace for straight sided jars such as wide mouth pints and jelly jars.  Any jar with a shoulder you must make sure to have headspace below the shoulder.  Liquid can't expand past the shoulder and that is why it breaks.  I put my jars in the freezer for 24 hours without a lid and then add the lid. 

Anything that would stick together horribly if frozen (fruits, berries, cut celery, cut peppers, etc) then I flat freeze on a cookie sheet for 12-24 hours and then put them in a container just as Yummus described.  They are all frozen when you put them in the mason jar and can better control how much you take out and you won't have to take out the whole batch. 

You can also freeze meat in pyrex glass dishes with lids if you don't want to try butcher paper.  I've stored meat in double wrapped butcher paper before but always use it within 6 months.  Usually less.  I've never had a problem with freezer burn in the chest freezer doing that. 

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by yummus 

Subbing and bumping! I am very interested in this as well. Could you spread out berries/fruits/whathaveyou on a baking sheet, freeze, and then toss them in a jar?

You can definitely do that. Berries, diced sweet peppers, etc. Which reminds me, we have some fruit and veg frozen that way from last season that we need to use up... :-)

[Caneel]

Concerning the butcher paper - our beef comes wrapped in butcher paper and the first time I saw this, I expressed concern but we have not had any problems at all with freezer burn.  I was told, and would love to hear opinions on this, that in a deep freezer that is openned infrequently (apparently this is the key) that butcher paper is better than freezer bags and as good a vac sealed packaging.

[laohaire]

Concerning the jars - and I've started freezing a few things in them, but only a few (homemade hummus and sauce so far) - you can buy mason jars, but you can consider reusing store jars too. Our peanut butter comes in glass jars, and we just run every empty jar through the dishwasher. Pasta sauce jars and other jars work too. I use them for tons of things:

- Canned items I don't finish all of at once (such as a can of black olives, beans, sauce)

- Storage of nuts (in or out of the fridge)

- Storage of quinoa, buckwheat, flax seeds

- Storage of certain kinds of leftovers, like a bit of soup or whatever

- Containers to carry snacks on the go

- Drink containers for on the go - I have a couple of Kleen Kanteens but when they are not enough (and I can't afford to buy more), I am not above putting water in a jar, screwing the lid on, and bringing it along.

So far I haven't had one break on me, though I don't doubt it will happen every now and then. The peanut butter jars are great for me because they are also wide mouth, very convenient.

[Arduinna]

I don't freeze in glass mason jars anymore, not worth the risk of breakage. I use plastic freezer jars for some things and vacuum seal bags for others. I do use ziplocks for select items that won't be in the freezer a long time, like freezing fruit for smoothies.

[Arduinna]

Originally Posted by yummus 

Subbing and bumping! I am very interested in this as well. Could you spread out berries/fruits/whathaveyou on a baking sheet, freeze, and then toss them in a jar?

I do this. In my chest freezer they are usually done with in a few hours and able to be transferred.

[TheGirls]

My father has always frozen venison in butcher paper.  It's fine for at least a year.  By two years it is almost always burned.  So somewhere in the 1-2 year range.  It is frozen in an upright freezer, but it's a standalone freezer in the basement - very rarely opened.  If it starts getting toward summer and they have any left they give it to us because they know I'll eat it up before it hits the 1-year mark. :-D 

[robugmum]

So really?  No freezer burn when freezing in jars?  

That's my main concern.  It would seem that in order to leave enough room to avoid breakage, you'd be leaving a lot of air in the jar.  No?

[rhianna813]

Originally Posted by robugmum 

So really?  No freezer burn when freezing in jars?  

That's my main concern.  It would seem that in order to leave enough room to avoid breakage, you'd be leaving a lot of air in the jar.  No?

My MIL was putting a small circle of wax paper on top of her freezer jams and there was no ice build up. This might help for freezer burn too.

Rhianna

[Shantimama]

Where do you live? Milk comes in bags rather than plastic jugs here and I always cut open the top of the empty ones and wash them out to use as freezer bags. The plastic is sturdy and it saves them going into the garbage and it means I don't have to buy ziploc bags. I use a lot of jars too, especially for leftovers and soups.