In an effort to preserve the freshness of food, many housewives freeze it for several days or even weeks in order to cook it later. But it is strictly not recommended to store some food in the freezer for a long time, since sub-zero temperatures negatively affect its taste and negate its beneficial properties.
Let's look at what foods can be frozen and how to do it correctly, and which ones should not be sent to the freezer.
20 foods that should not be frozen
What should not be frozen:
- Canned food. There is no need to freeze because they will not spoil at room temperature. In the freezer, on the contrary, cans will swell and their contents will no longer be edible.
- Eggs. This applies to both boiled and raw eggs in the shell. After sub-zero temperatures, the product will lose its taste and acquire an unpleasant aroma.
- Meat that has previously been defrosted. If re-frozen, it will not only lose its taste, but will also become a source of many pathogenic bacteria.
- Tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage. These vegetables contain a large amount of water, so after freezing they will lose their original taste and aroma.
- Strawberry, watermelon. Such berries will also spoil after prolonged subzero temperatures.
- Yogurt, kefir, sour cream. These fermented milk products can spoil even in the freezer and become a source of intestinal infections.
- Boiled pasta. Once frozen, finished pasta is not suitable for consumption.
- Sauces with high flour content. The consistency of the product will deteriorate at sub-zero temperatures.
- Soft cheeses. After defrosting, pathogenic bacteria may begin to multiply in them.
- Melted ice cream. Such a product will not only lose its taste, but can also cause food poisoning.
- Coffee beans. After thawing, it can no longer be brewed, since the drink will not have its characteristic aroma.
- Mayonnaise. In the future, it cannot be used for cooking, because the consistency will be loose and not thick enough.
- Crackers. It is not advisable to freeze such flour products, as their texture will become too soft, and therefore the products will be unsuitable for consumption.
- Reheated dishes. The steam that comes from hot food will spoil other foods in the freezer.
- Honey. The product will quickly become sugary and lose its beneficial properties.
- Onion and garlic. Firstly, they will become soft and unfit for consumption, and secondly, frost kills the vitamins contained in them.
- Chocolate. An ice coating forms on it, which, when melted, will spoil the product.
- Spices. In the cold they will lose their flavor.
- Ginger root. All the beneficial properties that made the plant so popular disappear at sub-zero temperatures.
- Products in unsealed packaging. The food you put in the freezer must be sealed in thick plastic containers, otherwise the food will not only spoil quickly, but will also transfer its odors to each other.
20 foods that can be frozen
What foods can be frozen:
- Dough. If you still have dough left after making the flour goodies, you can freeze it on parchment paper and use it later.
- Chips. They must be frozen in the same packaging in which they were sold so that the product does not lose its taste.
- Hard cheese. After thawing, it will not spoil, and it will be easier to cut.
- Fruits and berries with low water content - bananas, pears, raspberries and others. In the winter season, you can make an assortment of vitamins from pieces of these products, since they do not lose their beneficial properties when frozen.
- Pancakes with filling. You can prepare a tray of pancakes in advance and then fry them as needed without even defrosting, or reheat them in the microwave.
- Meat in marinade. It can be stored in the freezer for several months in a row. The main thing is to cook it immediately after defrosting.
- Curd casseroles. It will be enough to heat the product in the oven or microwave, after which it can be eaten.
- Cooked rice In the future, it can be used as a side dish by frying it in a frying pan.
- Pie. On weekends, you can make more pie and store the remaining pieces in the freezer and reheat in the microwave if necessary.
- Herbs. They can be frozen either fresh or dried, and added to soups and broths throughout the year.
- Milk. It should be stored in a bottle that is not completely filled with liquid, since the volume of liquid increases when frozen.
- Juices. Drinks will not lose their taste and aroma at sub-zero temperatures, but it is also worth remembering that you need to pour the liquid into a large bottle.
- Chopped vegetables. Pre-prepared peppers or eggplant from the freezer will help you prepare soup and other dishes as quickly as possible.
- Lemons or oranges. These fruits can be cut into slices and saved for making desserts.
- Bread. It can be stored in the freezer for no more than a week. After seven days it will be unfit for consumption.
- Tomato paste. The finished product can be poured into a bag to store liquid, and later used for making soups.
- Mashed potatoes. There is no need to throw away the leftovers of this dish - it can be stored in the freezer for 1-2 months.
- Fish fingers. They can be stored at sub-zero temperatures for quite a long time. After defrosting, fry them in sunflower oil and serve.
- Waffles. To make them crispy again after defrosting, just reheat them in the oven or microwave.
- Fried pies. They can be stored at sub-zero temperatures for no more than a month - after that they lose their taste.
How to freeze food correctly: useful tips
Before putting food in the freezer, you need to prepare it, because incorrect actions on your part can lead to rapid spoilage of food.
Here are some tips for freezing various foods:
- Before freezing, it is better to cut meat and fish into large pieces - after defrosting they will be easier to cook, but as for fish, cutting the carcass after freezing will be much more difficult.
- Before freezing, the meat must be washed and then dried with a towel.
- Before freezing, mushrooms, vegetables and fruits should also be thoroughly rinsed under running water and then dried on a kitchen towel.
- Products should be packaged in airtight containers or bags to prevent them from spoiling in the same freezer.
- In bottles containing juice, milk or other liquid, leave about three-quarters of the space free.
- The finished dough must be frozen on parchment paper, as it may stick to the bag.
- Vegetables should be cut into pieces immediately - in the future you can instantly use them to prepare various dishes without waiting for defrosting.
- Fresh herbs are especially important in winter. How to freeze it? Chop your favorite dill, parsley and other herbs, distribute into ice cube trays and fill with water - such cubes will be convenient to take out for adding, for example, to soups.
- Hard cheese needs to be cut and placed in a container, adding a little starch between the slices so that they do not stick together.
- Ready-made baby puree cannot be frozen in glass jars - it is better to pour it into a small plastic container and close it with an airtight lid.
This is how you can easily prepare your favorite products at any time of the year. With proper preparation and freezing, you can keep your food fresh without spoiling it.
No matter how much modern producers tempt us with “winter strawberries,” housewives still continue to can, dry, candied juicy fruits, and make fragrant jam from fruits, berries and even vegetables all summer long. But sometimes, for seemingly incomprehensible reasons, this delicacy becomes moldy, bloated and sour. To avoid such unpleasant incidents, you just need to store the jam correctly.
Preparing jam for storage
The safety of the finished jam largely depends on how correctly the canning process is carried out. It is believed that this product is best poured into half-liter glass jars. Naturally, before this they should be sterilized using hot steam or boiling water. After sterilization, the container must be dried by turning it upside down on a towel or keeping it in a heated oven.
It also matters how correctly the lid is chosen. It should be intact, with an even coating. White tin lids are more resistant to oxidation. Threaded screws will last 2-3 seasons, and vacuum ones can be used until they are completely worn out. For jam that will be used in the coming months, simple plastic lids will also work.
As for the composition of the product, jam that contains a little acid lasts the longest. To do this, shortly before cooking with sugary fruits, such as pears, you can add lemon juice. Also, dense and thick jam is stored better than liquid jam.
Where to properly store jam
Every housewife has her own secrets about where to store jam. The most optimal temperature for this is considered to be from +12 to +17 ℃. The jar should be in a dry, dark place, protected from sunlight. It is quite possible to store such preservation in a dark, frost-free pantry with a temperature no higher than +20 ℃. But the cellar is not suitable for storing jars, since there the jam can freeze, the lid can rust, and the jar can burst.
Many housewives consider the refrigerator to be the best place to store canned goods. But let’s remember how much jam is produced per season! It’s unlikely to fit there... Therefore, it only makes sense to store raw berries, ground with sugar, there. Moreover, the question of whether it is possible to store jam in the refrigerator is quite controversial. Indeed, at very low temperatures there are more conditions for its sugaring.
The jam is not frozen. You can place fresh berries or berries ground with sugar in the freezer.
At the same time, in an ordinary apartment, if properly prepared, the product is preserved perfectly. In the same way, you can store “five-minute” jam, which takes only 5 minutes to prepare. But such heat treatment is enough to ensure the sterility of the resulting product and its storage for 3 years.
Properly prepared “five-minute” jam is prepared very quickly and can last on the pantry shelf for up to 3 years
How long does jam last?
If the jam was prepared and preserved, according to technology, from seedless fruits, then it can be stored for several years. In this case, you need to check the condition of the covers. If rust or swelling appears, the product can no longer be used. You should also periodically inspect the jam against the light, and if mold is found, discard it immediately.
It is especially important to follow the rules regarding how long you can store jam from fruits with seeds. Indeed, during long-term storage, a toxic substance – hydrocyanic acid or hydrogen cyanide – is released from the nucleoli contained in them into the product. After six months of storage of such preservation, the concentration of poison becomes dangerous to human health. Therefore, jam from cherry, plum, apricot and peach fruits with pits cannot be stored for longer than 6 months. Also, you should use raspberry jam no more than six months in advance.
Storing jam in PVC containers
Glass jars are very fragile containers that often break, burst due to contrasting temperatures, and chip at the neck. Therefore, many thrifty housewives are looking for cheaper and more durable dishes. As a result, they choose the most affordable, but far from the safest option - PVC cookware (marked with the PVC sign).
Experts have long said an unequivocal “no” to the question of whether it is possible to store jam in plastic bottles. After all, PVC dishes, filled even with cold contents, very quickly saturate the product with harmful carcinogens in the form of vinyl chloride. In addition, plastic is poorly resistant to sunlight and hot temperatures, which can cause it to melt and crack. That is why, to enhance its strength, special stabilizers are added to it, which are also very toxic.
Moreover, such bottles cannot be filled with hot foods, but the jam is spilled immediately after removal from the heat. In addition, very sweet foods when hot have a plastic deformation temperature, which at the same time saturates them with various toxic chemicals. Even polystyrene (PS), which does not react with cold foods, releases a particularly toxic substance, styrene, from hot liquids. Therefore, it is better to do it the old fashioned way - use safe glass jars.
How nice it is to taste jam made in the summer in the cold. The taste of berries and fruits will remind you of warm days on winter evenings. In addition, the dessert preserves the vitamins we need all year round. Let's figure out how to store jam in order to preserve all its beneficial properties. After all, it’s a shame to find, instead of a fragrant product, a jar with a swollen lid and a layer of mold underneath.
The shelf life of jam depends on the preparation method. First of all, the presence of seeds in the berries is taken into account. Over time, they produce hydrocyanic acid, which causes serious poisoning. Therefore, cherry, apricot and other types of products with pits must be consumed within 1 year from the date of canning. Seedless fruit and berry jam can be stored longer.
Berries and fruits can be preserved by boiling them with. But this method significantly reduces the amount of useful substances. There is a method without cooking, when washed and well-dried berries are ground with sugar. This method preserves not only vitamins, but also the taste of nature’s gifts.
The shelf life of the jam is listed in the table:
How long can jam be stored depending on the cooking method?
Secrets of long-term storage
- Glass jars must be used as containers. Housewives usually pour it into half-liter and liter containers, although other options are also acceptable.
- The container must be sterilized. The method of steam treatment or boiling in water is suitable for this.
- The jar must be completely dry from the inside. After sterilization, it should be placed upside down on a cotton towel or dried in the oven at a temperature not exceeding 50 °C.
- The cover must be clean, free from rust and damage. Threaded and vacuum models are ideal. If the jam is to be stored for up to six months, it is enough to close the jar with a regular plastic lid.
- In storage with high humidity, metal lids quickly rust and begin to leak air, which leads to rapid deterioration of the contents. If you treat the outside of the lids with Vaseline, you can prevent them from oxidizing.
- An alternative to iron lids is parchment. You need to cut out rounds and squares of the required size, 3 pieces each. each form. Then place them one by one on top of the jar. Wrap the edges of the paper around the neck and tie it tightly around it with twine soaked in hot water. When dry, the tourniquet will tighten tightly, and the jam will be hermetically sealed.
Tip of the day
Sugar is a good preservative, but too much can lead to sugaring. And its deficiency will lead to spoilage of the jam. Stick to the recipe and measure all ingredients with extreme precision.
Home storage: conditions, place, container
Where to store
If we are talking about classic jam, which is made by cooking, then it should be stored at a temperature of 0-25 ° C. Humidity should be within 75%. In an apartment, it is best to keep a home-made product in a dark closet. If it is missing, you can pay attention to the place under the bed, the niche under the window, but not near the battery.
- jars should be kept away from heating radiators and stoves;
- the place must be dry enough so that condensation does not form inside the container, which causes the development of mold;
- you need to protect the jars from sudden temperature changes so that they do not get damaged;
- the temperature should be above zero, but not higher than 25 °C.
If you are wondering whether it is possible to store jam on the balcony in winter, the answer is no. Storage conditions will be violated, since the temperature there drops below zero. In addition, dampness cannot be avoided on the balcony. For the same reason, it is not recommended to keep the product in the basement. An exception may be a dry, well-ventilated cellar or loggia.
The so-called “cold jam”, that is, raw fruit ground with sugar, must be stored in the refrigerator.
- Permissible temperature is within 2-8 °C.
- Shelf life is limited to 3 months.
- The ratio of fruit and preservative is 1 to 2.
Failure to comply with these requirements will lead to rapid damage. Dessert will not be eaten.
If you want to use less sugar, you need to lower the storage temperature. To do this, the sweet preparation can be placed in a food-grade plastic container and placed in the freezer. The container must be kept closed to avoid contact with other products, including.
“Cold” or “raw” jam makes excellent fruit drinks, compote, and is suitable for baking
What to store in
If you decide to pour boiled jam into plastic bottles, this will be a mistake. Only glass containers should be used as containers. There are jars of various sizes on the market that are screwed on with metal lids. They are convenient to store in the refrigerator or pantry; they do not take up much space.
For unsterilized jam, the use of thermoplastic polymer materials is acceptable. Their volume should not exceed 0.5 liters. But it is worth remembering that polymaterials are made from synthetic raw materials; over time, they begin to release toxic substances that accumulate in the workpiece. It is better to stick to the classics and store products in glass containers.
Note to the hostess
If the jam was bought in a supermarket, then you need to keep it in containers from the manufacturer.
The jam has spoiled. What to do?
You can know how long the jam can be stored and adhere to all the preservation rules, but this does not always protect it from spoilage. Safety depends on air humidity and other external factors that cannot always be controlled.
If something goes wrong, the product becomes sugary, moldy or begins to ferment. What should I do?
Of course, if the jam has become sugary and has been open for some time, you can throw it away. It's another matter if you find sugar inside several jars. It’s a pity for the money and effort spent, so the housewives came up with a trick. The problem is solved using a water bath or microwave. The mass warms up, the preservative melts - and the product is ready for consumption.
What to do if mold appears on the jam? It seems that you just need to remove the affected layer with a spoon and everything is fine. But that's not true. Harmful microflora is present throughout the jar. There is nothing you can do with dessert. The only way out is to recycle and try to understand the reason why the damage occurred.
Another trouble is a fermented product. Such jam is often visible by the swollen lid. It should also not be eaten and should be thrown away.
Do you know that…
Modern sealing lids are not particularly reliable. This causes air to get inside and provoke the fermentation process. When canning, you should give preference to reliable products.
Once we have figured out how much and how different types of jam are stored, we can prepare them in a certain quantity. So that their shelf life does not expire before the dessert is eaten. Then you won’t have to regret wasted time and money.
Store correctly and be healthy!
6The summer season is very rich in berries; throughout the summer months we can enjoy delicious desserts and nourish our body with vitamins and other beneficial substances that berries are rich in. We collect berries in the forest, buy them at the market or grow them in our country plot and, of course, we want to save them for the winter so that we can benefit from these delicious gifts of summer in winter too. Today, dear readers, we will talk about the simplest, most convenient way to store berries for the winter for a long time - freezing.
This year, my husband and I bought a large freezing chest, and now we are slowly freezing everything that grows in our dacha, buying something, and also preparing it so that later, in the fall, winter and spring, we can eat and cook everything from frozen products.
We didn’t have enough freezers for this, so we bought a chest like this. When they started choosing it, we saw different models. We bought a fairly voluminous one, it looks similar in appearance to how we buy ice cream in a store, only the top is closed and opaque.
We have already frozen strawberries, some wild strawberries, started freezing black currants, cherries, sweet cherries, greens, tried freezing watermelon, we really liked the result, we decided to use it for this method during the season - my husband and I love smoothies, and then all these berries let's let him do such a pleasantly useful thing. And, of course, we’ll freeze mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplants and something else.
During the long winter months, frozen berries will replace fresh ones and will help maintain the necessary balance of vitamins and minerals in the body. They can be added to porridge, cottage cheese, yogurt, ice cream, prepared from them into cocktails, mousses and other desserts, cooked compotes, fruit drinks, jelly, sauces. Frozen berries can be used to make delicious and healthy fillings for dumplings, pies and pancakes. And even though our recipes are not always very healthy, they give a unique aroma and create home comfort.
The benefits of frozen berries
If we talk about the benefits of berries that we store for the winter, then frozen berries are the most useful compared to other types of storage.
Experts found only 10% less vitamins in frozen berries than in fresh berries.
I think these numbers are impressive, right? After all, the summer season is so short, but we want to get vitamins all year round.
What type of harvesting of berries for the winter is better?
When cooking jam, vitamins are completely destroyed; when drying berries, many substances partially lose their properties, and only deep freezing allows you to preserve the largest amount of vitamins and other useful substances in the berries.
We draw our own conclusion: what do we want to get? Just pampering yourself and your loved ones with something tasty is one thing, but getting the benefit is another matter. We choose what is closer to you.
In winter, frozen berries are much healthier than fresh berries brought from distant countries, no matter how beautiful they look. During transportation and storage, most of the vitamins for which we value berries so much are destroyed. And fresh berries stored in your own refrigerator will not only help you survive the harsh winter months without any health problems, but also add variety to your table.
For many, it is also important that frozen berries do not have a high calorie content; they retain the same calories as fresh berries. Therefore, this storage method is preferable to jam for everyone who cares about their figure.
Of course, we can buy frozen berries in supermarkets. They are sold all year round and are not that expensive. The only thing that always worries me is the moment of transportation of products - after all, all conditions are often not met. And again, the advantage of freezing your berries is cost-effectiveness. We preserve the harvest for the benefit of the whole family! And again, if we have our own berries, then we know that they are grown without chemicals.
At the end of the article, I will also share my thoughts on preparing berries for future use.
How to freeze berries for the winter
The greatest amount of nutrients is preserved in berries during quick and deep freezing, for example, in industrial freezers the temperature is reduced to 60 degrees Celsius and with such freezing, almost 100 percent of the vitamins are retained in the berries.
However, modern household separate freezers are equipped with a quick deep freezing function, so many housewives prefer to purchase just such chambers in addition to the refrigerator in order to freeze as many vegetables, fruits and berries for the winter as possible and preserve their maximum nutritional value. The freezer compartment of a regular refrigerator also copes well with this task and keeps food at a temperature of -18 degrees. Freezing allows you to keep berries frozen for eight months to a year.
Freezing berries for the winter at home
There are a number of certain rules when freezing berries at home, following which you can achieve maximum benefit from frozen foods.
What kind of berries should be frozen?
Berries should be frozen as soon as possible after they have been picked, since some of the vitamins in them are destroyed during storage. The fresher the berries, the better.
Berries for freezing must be ripe and undamaged, otherwise their quality will decrease during storage. It is also important that the berries for freezing are not overripe or softened. If we freeze very ripe, overripe berries, they will lose their shape and “spread.”
Therefore, it is very important to grasp that delicate moment between ripeness and resistance of berries to freezing.
Preparing the berries
Before freezing, the berries must be sorted, freed from debris and cuttings, rinsed with cold running water in a colander and preferably dried a little so that there is no excess moisture. This is the most convenient way to do it. spreading them out on paper towels in a thin layer.
The only exceptions are raspberries and blackberries; these berries have a soft structure and after washing they soften even more, so they are not washed at all. These berries are simply carefully sorted, removing all debris.
Strawberries and wild strawberries are first washed together with the cuttings, and then the cuttings are torn off, thus preserving the maximum amount of juice in the berries.
It is very important to dry the berries before freezing, because ice crystals in the cold tend to destroy everything around them.
Berry to berry
So that the berries do not stick together during the freezing process and can be easily separated, it is advisable to place them in one layer on any flat tray or baking sheet and place them in the freezer for a couple of hours. Once the berries are frozen, they can be placed in plastic trays or plastic bags. In this case, we freeze everything so that we get berry after berry.
Temperature
The optimal temperature for freezing berries for the winter is minus 18-minus 23 degrees. This way the berries will be preserved reliably and will be stored for up to a year. We'll have enough until next season.
Which container to choose
Most of us don’t have huge freezers, so the main question is how to save space and place all our frozen berries more compactly.
You can use regular plastic bags for this, as well as plastic containers with lids. You can puree the berries and freeze them that way.
We pay attention to how many berries we put in the bag or container. It all depends on the number of family members. You must always understand that if you live alone, then it is best to freeze everything in very small portions; if you have a large family, then you can take larger bags and containers.
Advice: it is better to freeze the berries in very small portions; if necessary, you can then take two or three bags of berries. I always freeze berries in minimal doses so that I can take everything just for one time.
- Any containers with frozen berries must be tightly sealed; this will prevent the berries from losing natural moisture and accumulating ice.
- For the most delicate berries - raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, it is better to use plastic containers rather than bags, in which the berries will not lose their shape.
How to store frozen berries?
Frozen berries should not be stored next to meat or fish products, as odors can mix in the confined space of the freezer, and such proximity can spoil the taste of the berries. It is best to allocate a separate shelf or shelves in the freezer for this.
Is it possible to repeatedly defrost and freeze berries?
Berries from the freezer cannot be re-frozen after defrosting; they will lose their shape, taste, and vitamins.
Freezing berries for the winter for making compotes and jelly
The berries that you will use to prepare compotes and jelly do not need to be laid out on flat trays for pre-freezing. You need to let the water drain, and then immediately put the berries in containers or bags. But in this case, it is better to calculate the portions in advance, so as not to separate some of the berries from the container, but to use all the berries from the package.
What berries to freeze for the winter
You can freeze absolutely any berries for the winter. When frozen, the following berries retain their taste perfectly:
- strawberry,
- blueberry,
- blueberry,
- raspberries,
- blackberry,
- cherry,
- cherries,
- currant,
- gooseberry,
- cowberry,
- cranberry.
I have come across an opinion online that red currants do not tolerate freezing well, but from my many years of experience I can safely say that the taste of red currants is not lost when frozen. Of course, these berries are not suitable for desserts due to their hard seeds. But red currants make delicious aromatic compotes and jelly. I even once baked a pie with frozen red currants when I had no other berries. We all really liked its slight sourness, and even the seeds didn't hurt.
Frozen berries with sugar
In addition to regular freezing, freezing of berries rolled in sugar or powdered sugar is also used. For this method, you can take raspberries, strawberries, pitted cherries; sugar helps preserve the juice and shape of these berries and prevents them from sticking together. And after defrosting, you get a ready-made dessert.
Berries for freezing using the “sweet” method are sprinkled with sugar or powdered sugar, gently mixed so that all the gaps between the berries are filled, and placed in containers.
You can do it another way: grind the berries to a puree and mix with granulated sugar, then put them in containers. Per kilogram of berries usually take 500 grams of sugar.
Instead of sugar, you can prepare sugar syrup from a liter of water and 500 grams of granulated sugar. In this case, the berries are dipped in syrup, then the excess is allowed to drain off and then placed in containers.
How long to store frozen berries
Frozen berries can be stored until a new harvest appears. Strawberries, wild strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and blueberries retain their aroma, taste and beneficial properties for 8 months. But cherries, currants, lingonberries, and cranberries can be stored for up to a year, but provided that the berries are not re-frozen.
I also invite you to watch a video about whether frozen berries are beneficial and how to properly freeze berries for the winter.
How to properly defrost frozen berries?
Many people use a microwave to defrost berries, some defrost berries in the refrigerator, and you can also hear methods for defrosting berries in cold and even hot water.
When defrosting in the microwave, the berries often burst, their appearance deteriorates, and a lot of juice appears. And this can be compared, perhaps, if we drank hot tea after ice cream. Often it even cramps my teeth. And also when defrosting in the microwave, vitamins are destroyed.
Hot water is completely excluded from defrosting options. It is also not very good to defrost berries in cold water.
It is best to defrost berries on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or at room temperature for a very short time.