Your First Recipes and What Doesn't Freeze Well
* Converting Recipes means making them suitable for freezing - Luckily you will find that many of your favorite dishes will probably be fine already. At the most a little bit of preplanning is all that may be needed. Any questionable ingredients can be omitted and added during re-warming or just before serving.For instance, soups can be frozen without milk or half and half requiring you only to add it later once the item is thawed. Soups containing pasta can be frozen before the addition of the pasta and you can toss it in fresh when it is reheated. Or it could be as simple as freezing the shredded cheese in a separate bag and not putting it on top of the dish until the last few minutes of baking. Beef stroganoff can be frozen without the sour cream which can be easily stirred in just before serving.
Starting with you family's favorites before trying a lot of new recipes will make it much easier to rate the outcome. Since it is one of your favorites you already know what it is supposed to taste like!
* Foods That Don't Freeze Well Include:
1) Meringues and icings that incorporate whipped egg whites to create a fluffy consistency.
2) Cooked eggs tend to become rubbery (but raw eggs freeze well).
3) Raw vegetables lose their firmness, but are still good for soups, stews, stir fry's, and omelet's. It is best to sauté or blanch them first.
4) Gravies and sauces may separate and thicken. Use a hand blender or mixer to reintegrate them, adding additional liquid as needed.
5) Cream Puffs, Custard Pies, and anything with a creamy filling may become lumpy or separate.
6) Soft fillings in sandwiches may soak into the bread.
7) Cheese changes texture. Hard cheese turn crumbly, which makes it okay for grating, but not for slicing.
8) Mayonnaise based fillings (like egg salad) may separate.
9) Fried foods, or those with a crunchy batter coating, lose their crispness.
10) Pasta can soak up too much moisture even when frozen. Under cook it to be safe.
11) Potatoes in soups or stews become grainy and mushy. Under cook them or add them later.
12) Sour cream may separate and become watery.
Got To "Easy OAMC Part 2 - Proper Preparation For Freezing"
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