Essential Freezing And Defrosting Tips That Will Save You Time And Money
It's so frustrating to have to throw away good food and hard-earned money just because groceries go bad. We've all stood in front of the fridge feeling that exact guilt. However, these freezing and defrosting hacks are absolute lifesavers when it comes to preventing food waste.
With these simple hacks, you can stop wasting meals and make your daily cooking routine much smoother.
Purée avocados before freezing
Avocados go bad incredibly quickly. Freezing whole avocados can give them a squishy texture, but there's a clever workaround for this. The key is to purée them in a food processor first.
Add a teaspoon of lemon or lime juice for every avocado to keep the mixture from turning brown. Store the purée in an airtight container, and it will last for months in the freezer.
Freeze herbs with olive oil
Buying a whole bunch of parsley or thyme when you only need a little sprig is so wasteful. The leaves always turn into a wilted mess in the fridge drawer. Instead, chop up your leftover fresh herbs and pack them into an empty ice cube tray.
Pour olive oil over the top until they are covered and put the tray in the freezer. You can drop these frozen herb cubes directly a hot pan for instant flavor.
Soften frozen butter
Forgetting to take butter out of the fridge before making toast is a classic mistake. I've definitely ripped my bread trying to spread cold butter. Here's a brilliant fix. Fill a glass with hot water until the glass feels warm.
Dump the water out, dry the glass quickly, and place it upside down over your cold butter. After about a minute, the butter will be perfectly soft and ready to spread.
Freeze your milk before traveling
It always happens when you're packing for a trip. You suddenly realize there's a full gallon of milk sitting in the fridge. Instead of letting it go to waste, you can actually freeze it.
Just remember to pour a little bit out first because milk expands as it turns to ice. It can stay in your freezer for three months. When you get back, let it thaw in the fridge for a couple of days.
Rescue rock hard ice cream
We all know the struggle of bending a spoon in a carton of rock hard ice cream. Instead of waiting for it to melt, try running a sharp knife under warm water. Make shallow cuts across the top of the ice cream in a grid pattern.
This exposes more surface area to the warm air, which helps it soften up so much faster. Run your scoop under warm water next, and you'll be able to scoop it effortlessly.
Freeze bacon grease in an ice cube tray
Cooking bacon on a lazy weekend morning is the best, but dealing with the leftover grease can be annoying. I started pouring the cooled fat into an ice cube tray instead of throwing it away.
Just freeze the tray and save those flavor cubes. During the week, you can melt a cube to fry potatoes or add a savory kick to vegetables.
Grate ginger straight from the freezer
I used to throw away so many shriveled pieces of fresh ginger root. It's really hard to use up a whole piece before it goes bad on the counter. The best solution is to toss the entire leftover root directly into your freezer inside a small bag.
When a recipe calls for it, take the frozen ginger out and run it over a grater. It actually grates so much easier when it's frozen solid.
Freeze ground beef in square portions
Defrosting a huge block of ground beef takes forever. To fix this, put your fresh ground beef inside a plastic freezer bag and flatten it out with a rolling pin. Then, grab a chopstick and press grid lines into the meat to create small square portions.
When you need to cook dinner, you can just break off the exact amount of squares you want.
Freeze berries on a baking sheet
Have you ever frozen berries in a bag only to find a giant mushy clump later? The trick is to lay them out flat on a baking sheet first. Just pop the sheet in the freezer until the berries are solid.
This freezes them fast and stops big ice crystals from ruining their texture. Once they're frozen solid, you can toss them into a bag with ease.
Making the most of your freezer is such a practical way to show yourself some kindness during a busy week. It reduces the stress of wondering what's for dinner and helps your grocery budget go much further.
It takes a little practice to get these habits down, but the peace of mind you get is totally worth the effort.