What Not To Freeze

Freezers are wonderful inventions. They save us time and money. How many times do we head for the freezer when it's time to think about a meal? And for many of us, the freezer houses much of our emergency supply of food.

But some things freeze better than others. We thought we would give you a partial listing of things that don't freeze well.

• Fried foods (especially deep fried foods): They taste stale
• Gravies and sauces with wheat in them: They tend to separate.
• High water content vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, celery, etc.): They get limp.
• Raw fruit: They turn dark or get mushy unless blanched.
• Potatoes: They get grainy and soft.
• Cooked pasta (unless very firm): Tends to get soft and mushy.
• Crumb toppings on casseroles: They tend to get soggy.
• Soft cake frostings: They tend to get tacky.
• Sage: It tends to get bitter.
• Cloves: It tends to get sharper in the freezer.
• Garlic: The flavor tends to get stronger when frozen.
• Salt: It tends to loose savor when frozen.
• Onions: They tend to loose their flavor.
• Green peppers: They tend to get stronger tasting when frozen
• Artificial sweeteners: they tend to lose their effectiveness once frozen.

Most spices and many extracts are altered by freezing, some getting stronger and some losing flavor. The longer they are stored, the more pronounced the change.

If you use light weight plastic bags for freezing, use the food within a few weeks. Plastic film has a high oxygen transfer rate; the thinner the plastic, the higher the rate. Because oxygen passes through the film, freezer burn occurs readily. Your food will last much longer when wrapped in freezer paper or foil.

For convenience, you may choose to pack in plastic bags. Simply add a layer of foil or freezer paper as an outer wrap.

Incidentally, most baked goods freeze well. You can freeze breads, cookies, and cookie dough and enjoy them later.

Keep using that freezer—but not for the things that don’t freeze well.