Those who freeze food

[freeazabird]

What are some of the recipes and/or ingredients that freeze particularly well?

[jeninco]

Oh golly. 
Frozen veggies are cheap and easy to use (and low-waste, as you can just thaw the amount you want).
Anything largely- or mostly-liquid will freeze well: all manner of sauces and stews and chilis.
You can cook large amounts of dried beans and freeze them, and then just use what you need when you need it.

This is a pretty general question: have you searched the internet at all?

[reeshau]

When our smoker is fired up, we stuff it full and freeze quite a bit.  We always have a feast the day of, but if reheated with care (and for brisket, some assistance with juiciness) meats come back quite well.

My brother vacuum seals his.  I wrap mine in foil, then just roll the air out of a regular freezer bag.

[Ron Scott]

I always try to freeze raw meats, at least a few days before meal time. Same with thick fish, like Salmon. Makes them tender (Learned about the fish from the head chef at Nobu in Manhattan.)

Stock and soups seem to last a very long time frozen.

I freeze breads and bagels. Just pop them in the toaster and perfect every time.

No complete meals, although some love it.

Cigars!

[NotJen]

I freeze literally everything.

Raw veggies.  Cooked veggies.  Raw meat.  Cooked meat.  Cooked beans.  Homemade frozen pizza, burritos, and pocket sandwiches.  Leftover meals.  Soups.  Bread.  Deserts.  Homemade jam.  Cheese.  Dairy and eggs that might go bad before I can use them up.  It all tastes perfectly fine to me coming out of the freezer.

I don't do anything special.  I use a mixture of glass and plastic containers (I prefer glass for reheating, but haven't replaced all my plastic yet), or plastic freezer bags.

For leftovers, they go directly in the freezer the day the meal is made, they don't sit around in the fridge for a while.  I also portion them out into single servings.

[englishteacheralex]

It actually narrows it down more to ask what food DOESN'T freeze well. Some answers:

1. Raw broccoli. (Many raw veggies have this problem.) Par-boil it first, shock it, and then freeze it.
2. Greens such as salad (but spinach can be frozen raw, without even par-boiling).
3. Some dairy products...cream cheese gets a little grainy, but still perfectly edible and still 100% fine to use for baking purposes
4. Anything that was already frozen and thawed. Freezing twice is a no-no.

[Loren Ver]

I'm with NotJen on this, I freeze all kinds of things.  DH and I are a family of two so we chop up and freeze things that come in that are too big to eat in a reasonable timeframe.  Then when the big batch is cooked, I freeze a section for later consumption.

Items that are more saucy - chilis, meatballs in sauce etc. I just put in a container and freeze.
If it is more 'exposed' and will be in the freezer longer (like part of a raw porkloin) I'll make sure to pack it tighter (removing air).

I don't worry too much about breads since I toast them.  Leafy greens just get the air pushed out, as do bananas (they end up brown eventually but I put in almost no effort).

The only real 'fail' I've really had was milk for drinking, it did not come out the same.  It should be fine for cooking, but for other uses not so much.

Loren

[GuitarStv]

Anything with sauce or lots of liquid tends to freeze really really well.  Pasta sauces of all sorts, butter chicken, stew, chili, soups, etc.

I mean we freeze pretty much everything . . . but you can't really tell it has been frozen for those things listed.

[charis]

We freeze so much. Stock pile frozen veggies, breads, shredded or sliced cheese, all meat cuts or sliced sandwich meat, chicken, fish, pizza dough, obviously any items sold frozen.

[comicguy]

I freeze my spag sauce, full lasangas, enchillada mix and sauce, chilli, soups, of course bulk raw meat/chicken/fish but sorted in to packets of 2 as there are usually only 2 of us for dinner now

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

It actually narrows it down more to ask what food DOESN'T freeze well. Some answers:

1. Raw broccoli. (Many raw veggies have this problem.) Par-boil it first, shock it, and then freeze it.
2. Greens such as salad (but spinach can be frozen raw, without even par-boiling).
3. Some dairy products...cream cheese gets a little grainy, but still perfectly edible and still 100% fine to use for baking purposes
4. Anything that was already frozen and thawed. Freezing twice is a no-no.

Is 4 true if it's cooked between times? I do that all the time, as I rarely cook fresh meat because I buy it when it's on sale and freeze it, and then I freeze the prepared meal when I make too much which is almost always.

[GuitarStv]

It actually narrows it down more to ask what food DOESN'T freeze well. Some answers:

1. Raw broccoli. (Many raw veggies have this problem.) Par-boil it first, shock it, and then freeze it.
2. Greens such as salad (but spinach can be frozen raw, without even par-boiling).
3. Some dairy products...cream cheese gets a little grainy, but still perfectly edible and still 100% fine to use for baking purposes
4. Anything that was already frozen and thawed. Freezing twice is a no-no.

Is 4 true if it's cooked between times? I do that all the time, as I rarely cook fresh meat because I buy it when it's on sale and freeze it, and then I freeze the prepared meal when I make too much which is almost always.

Depends how it was thawed.  If you're thawing in the 'fridge, you're probably OK (although I wouldn't try this three times).  If you're thawing on the counter/in the sink then definitely no - too much time at too warm a temperature.

[roomtempmayo]

It actually narrows it down more to ask what food DOESN'T freeze well. Some answers:

1. Raw broccoli. (Many raw veggies have this problem.) Par-boil it first, shock it, and then freeze it.
2. Greens such as salad (but spinach can be frozen raw, without even par-boiling).
3. Some dairy products...cream cheese gets a little grainy, but still perfectly edible and still 100% fine to use for baking purposes
4. Anything that was already frozen and thawed. Freezing twice is a no-no.

Is 4 true if it's cooked between times? I do that all the time, as I rarely cook fresh meat because I buy it when it's on sale and freeze it, and then I freeze the prepared meal when I make too much which is almost always.

I've been told by guys at the meat counter that beef, pork, and chicken are fine to re-freeze, but fish isn't.  I'm not sure exactly why, but I've been told multiple times by different fishmongers not to freeze the fish I'm buying.

[charis]

It actually narrows it down more to ask what food DOESN'T freeze well. Some answers:

1. Raw broccoli. (Many raw veggies have this problem.) Par-boil it first, shock it, and then freeze it.
2. Greens such as salad (but spinach can be frozen raw, without even par-boiling).
3. Some dairy products...cream cheese gets a little grainy, but still perfectly edible and still 100% fine to use for baking purposes
4. Anything that was already frozen and thawed. Freezing twice is a no-no.

Is 4 true if it's cooked between times? I do that all the time, as I rarely cook fresh meat because I buy it when it's on sale and freeze it, and then I freeze the prepared meal when I make too much which is almost always.

Depends how it was thawed.  If you're thawing in the 'fridge, you're probably OK (although I wouldn't try this three times).  If you're thawing on the counter/in the sink then definitely no - too much time at too warm a temperature.

I have frozen leftovers cooked with thawed meat (fridge, counter, defrosted in microwave) repeatedly for the last two decades and never had a single ill effect.

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

It actually narrows it down more to ask what food DOESN'T freeze well. Some answers:

1. Raw broccoli. (Many raw veggies have this problem.) Par-boil it first, shock it, and then freeze it.
2. Greens such as salad (but spinach can be frozen raw, without even par-boiling).
3. Some dairy products...cream cheese gets a little grainy, but still perfectly edible and still 100% fine to use for baking purposes
4. Anything that was already frozen and thawed. Freezing twice is a no-no.

Is 4 true if it's cooked between times? I do that all the time, as I rarely cook fresh meat because I buy it when it's on sale and freeze it, and then I freeze the prepared meal when I make too much which is almost always.

Depends how it was thawed.  If you're thawing in the 'fridge, you're probably OK (although I wouldn't try this three times).  If you're thawing on the counter/in the sink then definitely no - too much time at too warm a temperature.

Ah yes. I pretty much never count thaw. I use the fridge.

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

It actually narrows it down more to ask what food DOESN'T freeze well. Some answers:

1. Raw broccoli. (Many raw veggies have this problem.) Par-boil it first, shock it, and then freeze it.
2. Greens such as salad (but spinach can be frozen raw, without even par-boiling).
3. Some dairy products...cream cheese gets a little grainy, but still perfectly edible and still 100% fine to use for baking purposes
4. Anything that was already frozen and thawed. Freezing twice is a no-no.

Is 4 true if it's cooked between times? I do that all the time, as I rarely cook fresh meat because I buy it when it's on sale and freeze it, and then I freeze the prepared meal when I make too much which is almost always.

I've been told by guys at the meat counter that beef, pork, and chicken are fine to re-freeze, but fish isn't.  I'm not sure exactly why, but I've been told multiple times by different fishmongers not to freeze the fish I'm buying.

it isn't fine to refreeze frozen then thawed fish or it isn't fine to freeze the fish at all?

[uniwelder]

Chopped celery!  We only use a stalk or two in a recipe, but had always resorted to buying a whole head, which then withers away. Now we just chop it and freeze, then scoop out what’s needed.

[RetiredAt63]

It actually narrows it down more to ask what food DOESN'T freeze well. Some answers:

1. Raw broccoli. (Many raw veggies have this problem.) Par-boil it first, shock it, and then freeze it.
2. Greens such as salad (but spinach can be frozen raw, without even par-boiling).
3. Some dairy products...cream cheese gets a little grainy, but still perfectly edible and still 100% fine to use for baking purposes
4. Anything that was already frozen and thawed. Freezing twice is a no-no.

Is 4 true if it's cooked between times? I do that all the time, as I rarely cook fresh meat because I buy it when it's on sale and freeze it, and then I freeze the prepared meal when I make too much which is almost always.

I've been told by guys at the meat counter that beef, pork, and chicken are fine to re-freeze, but fish isn't.  I'm not sure exactly why, but I've been told multiple times by different fishmongers not to freeze the fish I'm buying.

it isn't fine to refreeze frozen then thawed fish or it isn't fine to freeze the fish at all?

Fish is fine to freeze from fresh.  There is lots of frozen fish at the grocery store.

I think the don't freeze twice is mostly for texture, fish is more delicate.

[Raenia]

Soups, stews, curries, and sauces are the easiest to freeze. I almost always have 3-4 kinds of soups/curries in the freezer for nights we don't want to cook. If it's a noodle soup, it's best to freeze without the noodles and add them when you thaw, but I frequently don't follow that rule and it's totally fine, just slightly odd texture.

Most fruits freeze well, just lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet until frozen, then pour them into a bag, so they don't stick together in a blob. Strawberries, blueberries, bananas, cherries, grapes all freeze well. The texture won't be the same, though, so use for cooking/baking, smoothies, or eat frozen.

Most meats freeze fine, cooked or uncooked. I don't freeze fish that didn't come frozen, because the texture will suffer. Fish that you buy frozen was flash frozen to minimize damage to the cell structure, the slower freezing in a home freezer can make the fish mushy.

Bread freezes well, just make sure it is fully cooled before freezing so there's no extra moisture, and wrap it well to prevent freezer burn. Take it out, thaw, and toast, and you'll barely notice the difference. Pizza dough also freezes beautifully, just give it plenty of time to come to room temp before stretching.

Certain cheeses can have texture issues after freezing, but no problem if they're being used in cooking. Probably wouldn't use on crackers, though.

[sixwings]

When our smoker is fired up, we stuff it full and freeze quite a bit.  We always have a feast the day of, but if reheated with care (and for brisket, some assistance with juiciness) meats come back quite well.

My brother vacuum seals his.  I wrap mine in foil, then just roll the air out of a regular freezer bag.

This is what I do too and then I can wash and reuse and freezer bag. I have a big old smoked pork butt I'm working my through. I add it to things like beans and rice, tacos, whatever I feel like.

Generally though I don't often make things specifically for freezing, I freeze leftovers in single serve containers and then use those for my work lunches. I just take a container out of the freezer and there I have lunch. I find if I freeze things in large quantities, for whatever reason I am much less likely to eat it and it languishes in my freezer forever. Freezing it in serving sizes makes it super super easy for me to take with me to work and eat for lunch, etc.

I'll also freeze bones like after I roast chickens until I have enough to make a nice stock, make the stock, and then freeze that.

[Raenia]

I find if I freeze things in large quantities, for whatever reason I am much less likely to eat it and it languishes in my freezer forever. Freezing it in serving sizes makes it super super easy for me to take with me to work and eat for lunch, etc.

This is a really good point. I find that in my household, freezing a meal like chili or soup in quarts works because it gives us one dinner, plus 1-3 lunch portions that DH and I will eat in a day or two. But sauces I freeze in smaller amounts - pints or even half pints for pesto - to ensure we use it in a week max from thawing. No point making big batches and freezing if the food sits forever in the freezer, or goes bad in the fridge after thawing!

[RetiredAt63]

I find if I freeze things in large quantities, for whatever reason I am much less likely to eat it and it languishes in my freezer forever. Freezing it in serving sizes makes it super super easy for me to take with me to work and eat for lunch, etc.

This is a really good point. I find that in my household, freezing a meal like chili or soup in quarts works because it gives us one dinner, plus 1-3 lunch portions that DH and I will eat in a day or two. But sauces I freeze in smaller amounts - pints or even half pints for pesto - to ensure we use it in a week max from thawing. No point making big batches and freezing if the food sits forever in the freezer, or goes bad in the fridge after thawing!

I do that with meat too.  No point freezing a huge chunk of ground meat, or a big cut of meat.  I cut it into smaller more usable portions and then freeze.

Back when I was working it was lovely to open the freezer and grab a pre-made lunch that was ready to go, just one meals's worth.

[Sibley]

I don't like to freeze pasta or rice. The texture changes after defrosting and then I have a hard time with it, especially the pasta. But I also have a hard time with refrigerated pasta too, so ymmv.

[Cranky]

I don't like to freeze pasta or rice. The texture changes after defrosting and then I have a hard time with it, especially the pasta. But I also have a hard time with refrigerated pasta too, so ymmv.

But I do freeze leftover white rice so that I can use it in stuffed cabbage or peppers. It works great for that!

[Frugal Lizard]

I have gotten into more ingredient freezing with this summer's garden.

I wash, chop and freeze garlic, garlic scapes, onions (some caramelized, some raw) celery, peppers (some roasted, some raw, diced or sliced), basil, parsley, dill, cilantro. Making dinner is so much faster if I have prepped a number of the ingredients. Frozen herbs go in during the cooking process. I will use dehydrated herbs for garnish as they aren't gooey from freezing. But for flavouring: I use the frozen herbs as it is much easier to freeze a large volume than to get the dehydrated.

I also freeze single serving sizes of peanut sauce, cranberry sauce and cheese sauce. Heating them after thawing seems to work for whisking them back to smooth.

I am with @Sibley with pasta texture. I think it is worse with gluten free texture.

I have also been experimenting with freezing meat in a marinade. Defrost in the fridge for at least 24 hours but usually 48 before cooking. I will also grill a lot of chicken and freeze on a sheet pan so that I can add a 'garnish' of meat to any variety of meals and my carnivore family feels loved.

I love pulling a frozen shepherd's pie out of the freezer and slowly / cook / thaw / warm the house on a cold or busy day. I guess broiling or toasting the potato topping overrides the change in texture.

[merula]

Question on freezing pasta: do you mean that you freeze it after cooking and then microwave it or whatever? Or freezing fresh pasta and then boiling it like normal? I do the latter with those giant packages of ravioli from costco and it works great; I don't thaw anything, just throw it frozen into boiling water.

I freeze seasonal produce most often: chopped rhubarb, cranberries, squash puree, shredded zucchini, chopped peppers/onions. I also currently have a bunch of frozen berries from the summer; I didn't want to can jam when it was already hot and humid.

I'll also freeze sauces when freezing the seasonal produce in the sauce doesn't work as well, most often marinara and pesto. Also apple butter, but that was because my husband made it and wasn't tracking the sugar/acid so I wasn't sure enough to water-bath can it.

I freeze bread all the time. Everything from entire loaves of sandwich bread (thaw in the fridge, no issues with sogginess) to stale baguette (use for soups, bread crumbs, french toast, etc.), to cubing up larger loaves for bread puddings or stuffing. Oh, and you know the annoying thing where you never have the right number of hamburger/hot dog buns? I throw the extras in the freezer and if I get to them within a month or two they're good as new, but if not they can be bread crumbs/stuffing/etc.

We generally don't do freeze a lot of fully-cooked meals, but if there's a soup or curry that ended up being too big of a batch or we won't be able to eat before going out of town or something, I'll freeze it. I stay away from anything with dairy or pasta, so no minestrone or chicken tikka, but red lentils, chilis and beans-based things do great. Right now I've got about one meal worth of red lentil soup frozen along with a bunch of costco mini naans ready to be thawed whenever we don't feel like cooking.

Oh and stock. Always freeze homemade stock.

[Sibley]

I do not enjoy cooking. I buy my pasta at the store, in a box. Freezing would apply after I've cooked it.

[RedmondStash]

I'll freeze anything, except raw eggs, and apparently there are even ways of freezing raw egg whites & egg yolks. I haven't tried freezing mayo yet, but it's only a matter of time. Oh, and freezing avocado doesn't work, but freezing guacamole does. Go figure.

I'll defrost and refreeze fish, raw or cooked. I even once froze a Subway sandwich, lettuce & tomato and all, to bring on a plane the next day. Did the texture suffer? Sure, but not as much as I expected, since lettuce tends to wilt and get soggy from mayo pretty quickly anyway.

But I also don't defrost things on the counter, or in the fridge. For me, things like veggies and meat go from the store, to cleaned & prepped & chopped (if appropriate), to frozen, to dumped into a pot or baking pan to be cooked. Then as soon as they're cool enough, any leftovers go back into the freezer.

It kind of depends on your tolerance for compromised textures. Defrosted cooked mushrooms can get rubbery. Defrosted potatoes can get mealy.

Pro tip: chop and roast potatoes, and then as soon as they're barely cool enough to touch, freeze 'em. Yeah, it strains the freezer a bit by putting hot food into it, but it preserves the potatoes' texture.

My advice is to experiment. See which foods suffer from defrosting in ways you don't like. See if there's a way around it -- if you chop mushrooms finely and make soup from them, the rubbery texture is obscured. Freeze a raw egg. Why not? See what happens. (Do it in a container, though, in case it cracks and leaks.)

I have yet to get sick from eating something that I froze even 3 times. And I rarely throw away food -- though I will admit that there are some questionable old containers in the back of my freezer that should probably be dumped, lol.

More tips?

Buy or grow fresh herbs, then clean, chop, dump into a container, and freeze. Then you can add a handful to things you're cooking.

Juice lemons, limes, oranges, and freeze the juice in ice cube trays (tiny cubes for the lemons & limes). Dump the cubes into a container. You can add them to your dishes, or defrost in a bowl if you want them liquid.

If you freeze roast potatoes or sweet potatoes, you can sometimes crisp up their outsides in the oven instead of the microwave.

[GuitarStv]

Oh, I forgot one of my favourites.  I like the occasional spicey dish but my wife and son don't.  So we'll have something only every once in a while and if I buy a pack of hot peppers 95% of them would go bad in the fridge . . . so I just chop them up and freeze 'em in a plastic container.  Then I can scoop out any amount that I need in the future.

[jeninco]

Also, we buy 1/4 steer each fall, and it's frozen when I pick it up and goes directly into our chest freezer. Freezing meat is a great way to get a deal on a larger quantity and keep it safe until you're ready to use it.

I do actually fully empty, defrost, and wipe out the chest freezer every fall before the next steer goes in. Better safe than sorry...

[oneday]

Strawberries, blueberries, bananas, cherries, grapes all freeze well. The texture won't be the same, though, so use for cooking/baking, smoothies, or eat frozen.

I'm glad Raenia mentioned this, because it a surprise when I experimented with freezing berries. They basically turned to mush. In my mind, that is "not freezing well". Because the don't come out the same (or nearly the same) as when they went in, and are now limited to only certain purposes (smoothies, etc).

[lhamo]

Strawberries, blueberries, bananas, cherries, grapes all freeze well. The texture won't be the same, though, so use for cooking/baking, smoothies, or eat frozen.

I'm glad Raenia mentioned this, because it a surprise when I experimented with freezing berries. They basically turned to mush. In my mind, that is "not freezing well". Because the don't come out the same (or nearly the same) as when they went in, and are now limited to only certain purposes (smoothies, etc).

If you want to use frozen berries in baked goods the trick is to freeze them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then when they are frozen solid still in their nice berry shape you can throw them in a freezer bag and they won’t stick together. Add them to your baked good recipe while they are still frozen — an easy way to do it is to pour out roughly 1/2 the batter or dough, then add a layer of berries, then top with more batter or dough.

I made several batches of scones this way with frozen berries, should also work with muffins, cake, and other sweet breads.

Or make berry pie, again mixing the berries with the sugar and other pie filling ingredients while still frozen will help them retain their structure

[FireLane]

My top freezer hacks are:

Shredded mozzarella: I buy this in 5-pound bags from Costco for making pizzas. I portion it into 8-ounce bags with a kitchen scale. It freezes beautifully.

Celery: Only comes in big bundles, and I rarely need more than three stalks at a time for soup bases. Frozen works just as well as fresh - just throw it into the pot.

Tomato paste: Same issue as celery - you need to buy a whole can even when you only need 1 tablespoon for pasta sauce or soup. I scoop the rest into a bag and freeze it.

Lemons and limes: If I have extra citrus, I slice them in half and freeze them. It's just as good as fresh for juicing or zesting.

Bread: Big loaves of sliced whole-wheat bread freeze well. If I always have one extra in the freezer, I never need to worry about running out. You don't even have to thaw it in advance if you're making toast.

Edit: And bananas! Never throw out a mushy banana. Freeze them for banana bread.

[sonofsven]

Strawberries, blueberries, bananas, cherries, grapes all freeze well. The texture won't be the same, though, so use for cooking/baking, smoothies, or eat frozen.

I'm glad Raenia mentioned this, because it a surprise when I experimented with freezing berries. They basically turned to mush. In my mind, that is "not freezing well". Because the don't come out the same (or nearly the same) as when they went in, and are now limited to only certain purposes (smoothies, etc).

If you want to use frozen berries in baked goods the trick is to freeze them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then when they are frozen solid still in their nice berry shape you can throw them in a freezer bag and they won’t stick together. Add them to your baked good recipe while they are still frozen — an easy way to do it is to pour out roughly 1/2 the batter or dough, then add a layer of berries, then top with more batter or dough.

I made several batches of scones this way with frozen berries, should also work with muffins, cake, and other sweet breads.

Or make berry pie, again mixing the berries with the sugar and other pie filling ingredients while still frozen will help them retain their structure

Thats what I do for berries. My fridge freezer has a thin drawer for ice cube trays that I've repurposed into a berry freezing tray.

Once they're frozen I vacuum bag and date them and move most out to my bigger chest freezer.

I use my vacuum bagger a lot for freezing meat, fish, butter, etc. I consider it an essential item for maintaining good quality in the freezer.

[Frugal Lizard]

I forgot to mention: All the onion skins, carrot peels and cut offs, celery leaves, herb stems go in a bag I keep in the kitchen fridge freezer for stock. I wash the whole item before chopping so that any parts I don't use in the meal go into the freezer ready for stock.

[JupiterGreen]

Great thread. I freeze a lot of the stuff already mentioned so I won't repeat those, but I do have a question for all of you who do a lot of freezing. Aside from plastic bags and plastic containers, does anyone have specific brand/variety recommendations for non-plastic freezer containers? Maybe glass or some other material? Those people who make a whole pizza and freeze it, what the heck do you store it in?

[englishteacheralex]

I use only plastic for the freezer, though I'm conscious of that choice not being ideal. The Frugal Girl's blog has a few posts about freezing with glass. She frequently uses Mason jars to freeze things.

I avoid glass for freezing because it's more expensive, heavier, and breaks more easily. Also I hate how when I take it out of the freezer it almost immediately gets slippery because of the condensation. So I use big Glad brand plastic containers for soups/stews/sauces. When it's time to reheat, I put the containers into warm water to loosen up the contents and then dump the ice block of stew or whatever into a pan. That way the plastic isn't being heated with the leftovers and supposedly that avoids the chemical leaching issue to some extent. Microwaving plastic containers seems to degrade them more quickly, I've noticed--they warp or get stained--so I avoid microwaving the containers in order to be able to re-use them for longer.

[Raenia]

I mostly freeze in plastic as well, mostly yogurt containers and the pint/quart containers that Chinese or Indian takeout comes in. Especially for soups and sauces, glass is too likely to break during expansion.

I do use glass mason jars for certain things like pesto (just leave plenty of headspace) and small stuff like bread yeast or chili peppers, where I'm only taking out small amounts at a time rather than a whole container.

For pizza dough, I happen to have a pair of plastic tupperware that perfectly fits a dough ball. If you don't have that, just wrap it really well in plastic wrap and/or a ziplock bag.

[ender]

Once you make freezer jam you will never be able to go back to canned jam.

[GuitarStv]

We re-use tons of plastic containers for freezing.  Margarine, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, all that rocks for freezing.  Always let them thaw on the counter or in the fridge to get the stuff out and then heat in a pot on the stove or a bowl in the microwave though because those plastic containers aren't good to microwave.

[RetiredAt63]

For somewhat larger quantities the fully plastic ice cream containers are good.  Plus you get the pleasure of eating the ice cream.

Back in the day there was freezer paper and freezer tape (mostly for meat).  I almost never see them them available now.

[sonofsven]

For somewhat larger quantities the fully plastic ice cream containers are good.  Plus you get the pleasure of eating the ice cream.

Back in the day there was freezer paper and freezer tape (mostly for meat).  I almost never see them them available now.

Vacuum bagging works so much better; I don't know anyone that freezes a lot of meat, game, and fish that still uses freezer paper.

[ender]

For somewhat larger quantities the fully plastic ice cream containers are good.  Plus you get the pleasure of eating the ice cream.

Back in the day there was freezer paper and freezer tape (mostly for meat).  I almost never see them them available now.

Vacuum bagging works so much better; I don't know anyone that freezes a lot of meat, game, and fish that still uses freezer paper.

We've gotten around 4 beef quarters and 3/4 of them were packaged with freezer paper (we paid extra for the one which was vacuum frozen).

[RetiredAt63]

For somewhat larger quantities the fully plastic ice cream containers are good.  Plus you get the pleasure of eating the ice cream.

Back in the day there was freezer paper and freezer tape (mostly for meat).  I almost never see them them available now.

Vacuum bagging works so much better; I don't know anyone that freezes a lot of meat, game, and fish that still uses freezer paper.

We've gotten around 4 beef quarters and 3/4 of them were packaged with freezer paper (we paid extra for the one which was vacuum frozen).

I haven't seen this in years, I thought freezer paper had joined the passenger pigeon and the dodo in the great beyond.  Which was why I wrote "back in the day", as in, not in this day and age.

[MinouMinou]

Great thread. I freeze a lot of the stuff already mentioned so I won't repeat those, but I do have a question for all of you who do a lot of freezing. Aside from plastic bags and plastic containers, does anyone have specific brand/variety recommendations for non-plastic freezer containers? Maybe glass or some other material? Those people who make a whole pizza and freeze it, what the heck do you store it in?

I freeze quite a few things in Adams Peanut Butter jars (glass). We have a very large number of them and use for bulk foods as well (over the years we ate a lot of peanut butter). One jar will freeze enough soup for a 2 person dinner and a 1 person lunch. Two jars is enough chopped apples for a pie.

[Frugal Lizard]

I think freezer paper is now plastic on the inside.

[ender]

I think freezer paper is now plastic on the inside.

yep this is how ours were, wrapped first in plastic (but not sealed) and then in butcher/freezer paper

[jnw]

Pork Loin. Whole pork loins freeze well. We buy them by the case at Sam's club.  We take out a couple every so often and thaw out a bit, enough to still be semi-frozen but able to slice on the meat slicer.   We quarter them and start slicing, when we get down to the last 1/2" or so we leave them as boneless pork loin chops.   So each loin gives us a bunch of sliced meat and 4 chops.  We weigh the slices in 7 oz portions and plastic wrap then threw in gallon zip lock, then into the freezer.   We wrap the chops in pairs with plastic wrap and throw in gallon zip lock in freezer.  [Pork slices are great for Pho, jerky, stir fry etc.]

Ground Beef. We buy the 10 lb rolls and portion into 7 oz and do the same as above, wrap in plastic wrap and throw them in gallon zip lock into freezer.

Ground Pork.  We buy whole pork butts by the case at Sam's.   Freeze them whole like we do with the loins.   We let them thaw and either bbq them or cut up and coarsely grind them into ground pork.   Once we are down near the bone we just throw that in a stock pot and make a pork soup with it.   We wrap and store them in freezer the same as the ground beef.

Pork Stew Meat.  We alternatively cut the pork butt above into cubes for stew meat.  Tastes as good as beef stew meat.  We make stews with herbs de provence and say a little white wine.

Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks.   We buy in bulk and we thaw them out enough to break them up and then divvy up and store in gallon zip lock in the freezer.

Tomato Paste.  We scoop out a rounded tablespoon and wipe onto plastic wrap, close it up and throw in sandwich baggy in the fridge.. great for those dishes which might need a tbsp of tomato sauce like Indian chicken curry we make.

Broth.  We pour homemade broth (from leftover bones, etc.) into silicone muffin pan and freeze.  We then pop out and put in gallon zip lock.

Beans.  We cook dry beans and then portion in sandwich baggies and freeze in a stack.

Berries.  We buy all our berries frozen.  Taste great and are more affordable than fresh.

Ground flax seed, Almond Flour and Shredded Coconut.  Most often for Noatmeal -- low carb version of Oatmeal.

[TimCFJ40]

Pizza - We make our own, but also this applies to take out pizza as well.  Once cooked the first time, Pizza can be bagged and frozen for a few months, and if reheated in the oven it is 99% as good as it was the first time.  Way better than store bought frozen pizza (assuming the original product was good).   Once we over-ordered pizza for a kids birthday party and had 4 large cheese pizzas for the freezer.  Pull one out, add fresh toppings and bake to perfection. 

Soups - My wife loves to make soups, and always makes a big pot of whatever.  We freeze it in gallon bags, and lay them flat on a cookie sheet until they freeze solid.  Then the bags lay nicely on top of one another.  Usually if we need a quick dinner, we'll pull out a bag of soup and make up a salad. 

Bread - As others mentioned, all sorts of bread freeze great and last a long time.  We make small dinner rolls, and then just pull out a handful as we need them.

[Louise]

For somewhat larger quantities the fully plastic ice cream containers are good.  Plus you get the pleasure of eating the ice cream.

Back in the day there was freezer paper and freezer tape (mostly for meat).  I almost never see them them available now.

I bought meat from a farmer last year and everything was processed at the butcher in paper and tape. It seems to keep for a long time. I just had some venison that was wrapped in paper from a few years back and it was fine.