Freezing
combination main dishes
Vacant space in your freezer? Put some of it to use by freezing main dishes—prepared, ready to be heated or cooked and served. Days or weeks later you, your family, guests perhaps, can enjoy the results of your foresight.
Included in this publication are general directions for successful freezing of such main dishes as the stews, meat loaves, and casserole combinations made from recipes given on pages 6 to 19.
For tiptop quality and economical use of freezer space, plan your freezing and use of precooked main dishes so that they will be in the freezer no longer than 2 or 3 months. However, most of these foods if properly packaged and stored will not suffer serious quality loss if kept up to 6 months. After 6 months’ storage, quality often declines rapidly, but the food is still safe to eat.
Preparing the food
In general, prepare the food as you would if it were to be served right away. Do not overcook. Some ingredients in main dishes that must be reheated for serving are better if slightly underdone for freezing. If cooked well-done before freezing, foods such as vegetables and macaroni are likely to be too soft when reheated. They also may have a warmed-over taste.
Soups and sauces thickened with ordinary wheat flour may tend to separate or curdle on thawing. Frozen gravies, sauces, and soups may be somewhat thicker after thawing than when freshly prepared, but suitable liquid can be added to give the desired consistency. Commercially frozen soups, sauces, and gravies are often made with waxy rice flour, which results in a smoother product. If waxy rice flour is available, it is a good idea to use it. However, soups, sauces, and gravies made with ordinary flour can be satisfactory if they are quick-frozen and stored at 0° F. for only 2 to 3 months. Stirring during reheating helps to overcome separation, too.
Crumb or cheese toppings are best added when the food is reheated for serving.
Pastry crusts frozen unbaked are more tender and flaky and have a fresher flavor than those baked and then frozen.
Cooling
Quick cooling of the food immediately after it is cooked stops the cooking and so helps keep the natural flavor, color, and texture of the food. It also retards or prevents the growth of bacteria that may cause spoilage.
To cool, set uncovered pan of food in iced or very cold water; change the water to keep it cold. Or set pan on ice. Or put the uncovered pan of food in a cold place.
Packaging
As soon as the food is cool, put it promptly into freezer containers of moisture-vapor-proof or moisture-vapor-resistant packaging material. Pack the food tightly into the container to reduce the amount of air in the package.
In quart containers, the food may be separated into two or three layers by a double thickness of water-resistant material such as cellophane between the layers. This makes it possible to separate the frozen block of food easily to shorten the reheating time.
Choose a size of container that holds only enough for one meal for your family. Quart containers hold 4 to 6 servings; pints, 2 to 3. Use only containers with wide top openings so the food does not have to be thawed completely to remove it from the container.
Containers and materials. Many combination main dishes are semiliquid in consistency and are best packaged in rigid containers made of moisture-vapor-proof materials such as aluminum, glass, pottery, plastic, plain or enameled tin, or moisture-vapor-resistant material such as heavily waxed cardboard.
Some prepared foods, like meat pies and casserole dishes, may be frozen in the containers in which they were baked, ready for reheating at time of using.
Bags of suitable material can be used for semiliquid foods but are less convenient than rigid containers. They are well adapted to less moist foods. Sheets of freezer packaging materials are used for wrapping foods that hold their shape.
Bags and sheets are made of moisture-vapor-resistant cellophane, heavy aluminum foil, pliofilm, polyethylene, or laminated papers consisting of combinations of paper, metal foil, glassine, cellophane, or other materials.
Unwaxed folding cardboard cartons are often used to hold foods packaged in bags or sheets for protection against tearing and for easy stacking in the freezer. Sheets of packaging material may be used as outer wraps for unwaxed cardboard cartons containing unwrapped foods. The sheets are sealed with freezer tape, or with a warm iron if they are heat-sealing on both sides.
Ordinary waxed papers, household aluminum foil, and cartons designed for cottage cheese and ice cream are not sufficiently moisture-vapor-resistant to be suitable for packaging foods to be frozen and held more than a few days.
Head space. Since liquid expands as it freezes, allow ample head space when packing liquid and semiliquid foods. Most freezer containers have a mark or line to show how much head space to leave. For a tall, straight or slightly flared container and for bags, ½ inch is generally recommended for pints and 1 inch for quarts. For low, broad containers less head space is needed, about ¼ inch for pints and ½ inch for quarts. To assure a good closure, keep sealing edges free from moisture or food.
When packaging foods with freezer sheet material, wrap them as tightly as possible.
Sealing. Seal rigid freezer containers by adjusting the lids as required for the type of package used. Casseroles made of ovenproof material can be covered and then sealed with freezer tape or wrapped as needed.
Bags can be sealed by twisting and folding back the top and securing with a string or with a paper-covered metal strip or rubber band that may come with the bag. Some bags and sheets may be heat-sealed with a warm household iron or one of the special sealing irons available on the market. Others may be sealed with freezer tape.
Freezing
Freeze prepared foods as soon as they are packed. Freeze and store at 0° F. or below.
Reheating for serving
Most precooked frozen foods can be reheated either in the oven or on top of the range. Reheating in the oven takes little of the cook’s attention and usually keeps the texture of the food better. Reheating on top of the range in a double boiler or saucepan is faster.
When using a double boiler, start with warm, not hot, water in the lower pan so the thawing food won’t stick.
Reheating over direct heat requires considerable attention because the food must be stirred often. The stirring may result in less desirable texture.
If heating several blocks of frozen food, don’t stack them—use a wider pan.
Generally it is better to reheat frozen cooked main dishes without thawing. However, to transfer the food to another container for reheating or to remove cellophane between layers, you will need to partially thaw the food. Do this by placing the package in lukewarm water for a few minutes.
If you thaw food completely before reheating, it is usually best to thaw in the refrigerator. Thawing at room temperature is not recommended. Once food is thawed, use it immediately.
