Questions Re: Freezing Food

[Let It Be]

Hello ladies! I need a crash course in stocking a freezer. I have about 6 months to prepare for some potentially tight times, and I would like to begin spending some extra $ at the grocery store building up our pantry and freezer stash.

Problem is, I have no idea where to begin. Can you freeze cheese? Lunch meat? How long would it be good for? How long would frozen chicken/beef/ground turkey meat/fish be good in a freezer?

Have any of you done this? I'll take any advice I can get!

[velochic]

Do you want to freeze the ingredients or the final product?

[Knittin' in the Shade]

here's an extension page that has some great info on freezing
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/askext/freezing.htm

and another (the USDA site on freezing) http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets...zing/index.asp

for pre-made frozen foods, check out the book frozen assets it's got great tips on freezing casseroles, etc and lots of recipes.

When I'm making any sort of soup or sauce (like tomato sauce, cheese sauce, onion soup, beef barley, etc) I make a double batch and freeze half.

[MomToKandE]

I haven't tried it yet but I was told recently that you can freeze cheese. When you thaw it the cheese will be crumbly so it's not good for slicing but I'm told that it will melt normally and is fine for cooking.

I've frozen meat for well over a year before. (not on purpose, it just got lost in the back of the freezer) I've never tried it in the "main" freezer in our fridge. That gets opened and closed a lot so it might not work as well. In my upright freezer that doesn't see as much traffic it was fine. I had some stew beef that had been in there for probably 2 years. It looked a little freezer burned but I used it in some chili and it was fine for that.

From what I understand the main concern with freezing is usually food quality, not food safety. So, it might not be as good but it won't hurt you even if you do it "wrong".

[Let It Be]

Originally Posted by velochic

Do you want to freeze the ingredients or the final product?

At this point, just the ingredients.

Thanks for the responses!

[hlkm2e]

Originally Posted by Let It Be

Problem is, I have no idea where to begin. Can you freeze cheese? Lunch meat? How long would it be good for? How long would frozen chicken/beef/ground turkey meat/fish be good in a freezer?

Have any of you done this? I'll take any advice I can get!

Can you freeze cheese? Yes, but it won't slice well afterwards. It taste the same. I usually grate it up first because it is a pain to do later, it gets all crumbly. So you would freeze it to use in recipes. I buy bulk cheese the freeze it in portions I use for pizza, tacos, casseroles, etc. About 1 cup portions, maybe 1.5 cups.


Lunch meat? Yep, you can freeze this too. It may be cheaper to buy a whole ham or turkey, cook it yourself and slice it and freeze. I'm thinking packs of deli meat are $3-5 a piece, I saw huge whole spiral hams at my grocery for $25 today. It would definitely be way more than a few packs of deli meat and less additives, too.

How long would frozen chicken/beef/ground turkey meat/fish be good in a freezer? A long time I try to use it within 3 months, but I know it's good longer. I agree with the pp that it is more about quality than safety. I bet you could google it and find out.