More Freezing Facts (this time from an expert)

At half price books, I was looking threw several books about preserves, and I came across one that went into detail of not only canning jelly, jams and pickles, but also oven-drying, air-drying, crystallizing, and freezing. I bought the book.

It's called Perfect Preserves by Hilaire Walden.

Having recently posted about freezing, I found her section about freezing fascinating, particularly two points.

1. Foods that do not freeze successfully

• Whole strawberries
• Whole tomatoes
• Garlic
• Eggs in the shell
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Creams with a fat content below 40 per cent
• Emulsion sauces such as mayonnaise
• Recipes with sauces thickened with eggs
• Potatoes
• Cooked joints of meat

I am disappointed that the author didn't go into detail about why these foods, particularly whole strawberries, don't freeze well. Grocery stores sell frozen whole strawberries all the time. However, frozen whole strawberries don't thaw very prettily. They don't keep their shape or color.

2. I thought it was fun reading though the shelf life (or freezer life if you will)

Uncooked meats

• Beef: 8 months
• Pork: 6 months
• Sausages: 3 months
• Freshly minced meat: 3 months
• Ham and other smoked meats: 1 to 2 months
• Chicken: 12 months
• Turkey: 6 months

Cooked meat

• Casseroles, stews, etc.: 2 months

Dairy Produce

• Butter, unsalted: 6 months
• Butter, salted: 3 months
• Cream, above 40% fat: 3 months
• Soft cheeses: 6 weeks
• Hard cheeses: 3 months
• Hard cheeses, grated: 6 months
• Milk: 1 month

Baked Good

• Bread and rolls, crisp: 1 month
• Bread, white and brown: 6 months
• Cakes, uncooked: 1 month
• Cakes, cooked and undecorated: 4 months
• Pastry, unbaked: 3 months
• Pastry, baked: 6 months

Vegetables

• Most vegetables: 12 months
• Mushrooms, raw: 1 month
• Mushrooms, cooked: 3 months
• Onions: 3 months
• Herbs: 6 months

The author says that if you're freezing more than 2 lb of food, turn the freezer thermostat to "fast-freeze," until the food is officially frozen. Then, turn the thermostat back to the normal setting. She says that "foods should be frozen quickly to prevent the formation of large ice crystals that damage cell walls" causing the food to loose its liquid and collapse. This obviously makes the most sense when thinking of fruit or food items with a large water content. I doubt any kind of meat ever collapses, but I'm guessing that meat might be drier when cooked if you don't freeze it quickly. Also, I know that bread is usually drier after its been frozen. Maybe it would be less dry if the freezer freezes it quicker than normal. I'm not completely sure. The author doesn't go into detail beyond what I've written concerning why food needs to be frozen quickly (I was surprised freezing was in a book about preserves in the first place), but we'll see!

Anyway...Happy Food Preserving!!!