A freezer could also be a couponer or impulse purchaser’s finest pal for its spectacular storage capabilities, nevertheless it does not make an appropriate dwelling for all sorts of meals. In truth, it could possibly have the alternative impact of preservation by inducing freezer burn or utterly altering a meals’s bodily state after thawing.
To forestall a mass clean-out of expensive groceries, we have rounded up six widespread meals that ought to by no means, underneath any circumstance, be bought in bulk and positioned within the freezer. Take pleasure in these recent or after a while within the fridge however not when uncovered to the weather of utmost chilly.
Milk and cream
Maintain your dairy out of the freezer or it should separate and curdle.
Most dairy merchandise cannot be frozen and can turn into inedible if they’re. Milk, cream, yogurt and bitter cream are likely to separate when frozen. As soon as they do, there is no returning them to their former state and the thawed consequence might be grainy, watery and even curdled. Nut milks, alternatively, will be frozen extra efficiently.
Ice cream is the exception, in fact, because of its excessive sugar content material that lowers the freezing level and retains the product mushy and palatable.
Potatoes
Potatoes should not even be refrigerated, by no means thoughts frozen.
America’s favourite carb turns mushy and grainy when thawed, a bodily state that’s no bueno to be used in something from mashed potatoes to french fries. It is because the water separates from the tuber’s starch, leading to a gag-inducing texture that not even trash-foraging critters like raccoons can abdomen. That mentioned, freezing cooked or partially cooked potatoes (sometimes parboiled) is a-OK, as a lot of the water content material is extracted in the course of the cooking course of.
Cheese
There are methods to retailer all sorts of cheese that may maintain them recent for longer however the freezer is not certainly one of them.
Pesky ice crystals kind in frozen cheese, which utterly modifications its taste and texture profile. This primarily applies to mushy and moldy cheeses, although some onerous varieties comparable to cheddar and jack can stand up to the constant blast of chilly air if grated first and laid flat in a plastic storage bag.
Learn extra: Store Cheese Properly and You’ll Extend Its Life by Days, Even Weeks. Here’s How
Fried meals
Unfortunetly, that leftover pal rooster cannot be frozen for later.
One of the best a part of fried food is, in fact, its crunchy breading. When positioned in a freezer, this batter or crumb absorbs the equipment’s moisture and makes the meals turn into soggy. Moreover, fried meals is chock-full of — you guessed it — oil, which does not freeze utterly and might spoil earlier than the meat or vegetable it has been cooked into. This could result in foul-tasting meals but in addition an unlucky and doubtlessly harmful bout of meals poisoning.
Eggs
Eggs have a reasonably lengthy shelf life within the fridge so that you should not must freeze them.
Should you take pleasure in your scrambled eggs rubbery, stick them within the freezer earlier than preparation. This is because of a course of referred to as “gelation” the place the yolk’s protein molecules clump and make the liquid more durable. Egg content material additionally expands when frozen, which causes entire eggs to crack and leak. After all, avoiding eggs within the freezer means you should additionally keep away from egg-based condiments, as effectively, comparable to mayonnaise, which get lumpy and unspreadable.
Salad-friendly vegatables and fruits
Leftover salad elements comparable to avocado, lettuce and cucumbers ought to by no means be frozen.
If it is a fruit or vegetable and might go right into a typical salad, it will not maintain up within the freezer. This consists of any produce with excessive water content material comparable to lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and celery. The beloved avocado can even not fare effectively in extraordinarily low temperatures. Because it thaws, it should instantly start to brown. And no one needs to dip their method by means of brown guacamole.
Citrus
Your finest with an extra of citrus is to juice the fruit and freeze the juice for recipes and cocktails in a while.
Some dense fruits comparable to berries and mango do effectively within the freezer, however citrus will not maintain kind fairly so effectively. Complete citrus fruit will turn into mealy after thawing it out. In case you have an abundance of lemons, limes or oranges, your finest wager is to juice them and freeze the juice for later.
Cooked pasta and rice
Leftover cooked rice and pasta will be frozen safely however they’re going to lose a lot of their construction and toothsomeness upon reheating.
When you definitely *can* freeze cooked pasta and rice, it does not imply that you simply *ought to*. The water content material causes the cells in noodles and grains to actually burst, leading to a pasty, gloopy leftover that may’t be salvaged with even probably the most scrumptious of sauces.
Bottled or canned drinks
We have all tried to quick-chill a beer or soda within the freezer earlier than.
Who amongst us hasn’t tried to cheat time by chilling a lukewarm beer can or bottle, forgot about it and returned to discover a frozen, effervescent catastrophe. If you are going to use the freezer to relax canned or bottled drinks, you would be smart to set a timer for 10 minutes so they do not freeze stable and explode.
