Some things just aren't good for freezing - I've never and never will freeze eggs in their shells. Lettuce goes pathetically limp so i wouldn't advise at all, tried it, not nice! And some sauces like mayo just don't do that well in the freezer either.
As a student milk and bread were two essentials for freezing as I never remembered to pick up fresh on the way home and a morning without a coffee or cup of tea and toast just wasn't right. I'd end up spending extra cash in the canteen before going into my studio.
Raw meat and cooked meat you can freeze but if you have cooked meat DON'T leave it out too long to cool before putting it into the freezer. More sensible to put it into the fridge after a short spell out cooling and then into the freezer.
Get some freezer bags/sandwich bags or plastic food containers (wilkinsons do great kitchen stuff and so cheap) and a marker pen. Write what it is you are freezing and the date it went into the freezer. I have a limit to any frozen food as i'm a bit finiky about the quality of the food I eat. If it hasn't been eaten within 3 months I get a bit wary so it ends up getting wasted. So don't forget what you have frozen and build it into next weeks meals when you plan.
If making a meal just for yourself make it for 2 and freeze a portion, you'll be so pleased you did when you really don't feel like cooking one day next week (and you will feel like that believe me)
Try to keep food in the freezer that will accompany a meal, garlic bread, naan bread etc
And NO freezing doesn't kill off bacteria and parasites, it puts them to sleep so when you are defrosting don't leave meats out all day on the kitchen top to defrost. Put them into the fridge to thaw and try and plan ahead, some foods will defrost overnight in the fridge or leave all day in the fridge. If there still seems to be some ice and you want the food quickly you can put the food into a bag (sandwich bag/freeezer bag) and put it into a bowl of cold water to get rid of the last bits of ice.
If you have a microwave life is easy - simply defrost according to the instructions.
If you want to refreeze cooked food MAKE SURE it has thawed in a fridge and not spent time at any stage out on the top at room temperature.
When you are reheating meals that contain meat you MUST heat them through thoroughly!
Freezing does not really affect the nutrients in the food so it's almost (almost) as good as fresh.
I found this storage chart that is a great help.
Freezer Storage Chart (0 °F)Note: Freezer storage is for quality only.
| Item | Months |
|---|---|
| Bacon and Sausage | 1 to 2 |
| Casseroles | 2 to 3 |
| Egg whites or egg substitutes | 12 |
| Frozen Dinners and Entrees | 3 to 4 |
| Gravy, meat or poultry | 2 to 3 |
| Ham, Hotdogs and Lunchmeats | 1 to 2 |
| Meat, uncooked roasts | 4 to 12 |
| Meat, uncooked steaks or chops | 4 to 12 |
| Meat, uncooked ground | 3 to 4 |
| Meat, cooked | 2 to 3 |
| Poultry, uncooked whole | 12 |
| Poultry, uncooked parts | 9 |
| Poultry, uncooked giblets | 3 to 4 |
| Poultry, cooked | 4 |
| Soups and Stews | 2 to 3 |
| Wild game, uncooked | 8 to 12 |
I hope this helps with freezing your food but any questions are most welcome so get in touch and just ask.
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