I love my freezer. I believe this is a very useful kitchen appliance.
I recommend having a drawer for each of the different food types (eg in my freezer, the top two shelves are for prepared meals, then there is a drawer for vegetables, one for meat/fish, one for bread/potato-based items and one for fruits/puddings). Also make sure to label everything with a description of the dish and the date so that items can be properly rotated.
Below are examples of dishes you can freeze :
- homemade soups -freeze them flat in a plastic bag, lay a square of foil between each bag so that they don’t stick.
- vegetables – I buy bags of frozen sweetcorn, peas and spinach. These vegetables are just as good frozen as they are fresh in my opinion and save a lot of time (trust me, I have de-podded peas and by the time they get to the store they are not that fresh anymore and they are certainly not quick to prepare).
- meat : joints of meat with the marinade, pasties
- fish : when it comes to fresh fish I actually buy it frozen for the same reason as the vegetables (my husband doesn’t like fish and the smell is actually less strong if cooked from frozen rather than fresh). I also freeze smoked salmon and hot smoked salmon in individual portions.
- fruits which I buy frozen, apple compote (to add to porridge or make a quick apple crumble)
- slices of bread (when I make bread I will actually make two loaves so that I can slice and freeze one, it also makes the most out of the oven space), cinnamon rolls, breakfast brioche buns, chocolate cake (all frozen in individual portions).
- I also freeze water with slices of lemon and ginger or lime and mint in muffin pans. Once frozen I decant them into a ziploc bag.
I found that some things don’t freeze well :
- potatoes – I found that raw potatoes turn black once frozen, the same is true for sweet potatoes
- prepared vegetables for slow-cooker meals, I find the final product tasteless and I don’t particularly like the texture. Instead I cook the dish in the slow-cooker then freeze it in meal portions.
- leeks – I find they go watery
Wholewheat 'n' Natural 