One of my favorite things to do with my veggies and fruits before winter is freeze them. I just really love the taste of fresh fruits and veggies in the summer. So when it is snowing like crazy outside and I am missing summer so badly I pull out my frozen squash, zucchini from the garden and make yummy squash casserole or grab the frozen raspberries, peaches and mangoes and make a smoothie. Here are some important things to remember when freezing veggies and fruits:
- Make sure you use good quality food if it’s not from your garden.
- Keep the air out and moisture in. You can buy a food sealer or what we do since we are on a low budget is get a straw and a sandwich bag, put the food in the bag, close almost all the way leaving a little hole for the straw and suck the air out and close the bag.
- Double bag. It really does work!
Some things that are great to freeze: Bread dough, cookie dough, bread crumbs, fruits (bananas in the skin, they come out perfectly for mashing and making bread!), veggies, nuts, and precooked meals. If you know you won’t use all of the food at once, try flash freezing. This is when you lay out the food on parchment paper freeze, then package. The food won’t be all stuck together. This is great for blueberries (yummy pancakes!), raspberries, zucchini, peppers, etc. Freezing food is safe and great, but for the quality of the food here is a little chart…
- bacon & sausage: 1-2 months
- casseroles: 2-3 months
- egg whites or egg substitutes: 12 months
- frozen dinners: 3-4 months
- gravy, meat, or poultry: 2-3 months
- ham, hotdogs, and lunchmeats: 1-2 months
- meat, uncooked steaks or chops: 4-12 months
- meat uncooked ground: 3-4 months
- cooked meat: 2-3 months
- uncooked poultry: 12 months
- cooked poultry: 4 months
- soups and stews: 2-3 months
What are your favorite things to freeze?
I was excited to see how long fruits and veggies can be frozen, but don’t see it. How long can fruits and vegetables stay frozen before they go bad??