Episode 165 Freezer Cooking That Is Delicious with Rachel Tiemeyer of Thriving Home

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This week Rachel Tiemeyer of Thriving Home joins me and we talk all things freezer cooking. Rachel and her business partner, Polly, are freezer cooking experts! They know how to make freezer food that tastes good. Rachel was on episode 63 and it was a joy to have her back. 

Rachel and I geek out about food safety and best practices for freezer cooking. 

Foods that do not freeze well:

Dairy- You can freeze hard cheeses and milk, but soft cheeses and food like sour cream and cottage cheese do not freeze well unless they are mixed into a sauce. 

Potatoes- You can freeze them, but you want to make sure they are completely submerged in liquid or they will become discolored and unappetizing.

Leftovers- Many lean meats, fried foods, and pastas do not do well in the freezer. The texture degrades.

Seafood in marinades- Seafood freezes well, but keep the marinade separate. Seafood only needs about 30 minutes in the marinade and if you freeze it with the marinade the proteins can start to denature and the texture will be compromised. 

Liquids in containers that are not designed for freezing- Eggs in the shell (crack them and put them in a container) Wine in a bottle (pour it into a freezer container or mason jar but be sure to leave room for it to expand.) Canned food.

Best Practices for Freezing Food:

Make sure you are using high quality ingredients.

Make sure you are cooling food completely before freezing. It is not good to freeze hot food because it can warm up your freezer, effect foods around it, and promote bacterial growth.

Keep air away from the food as much as possible. One trick Marie and Rachel both use is to put plastic wrap on the surface of the food before putting on the lid. It keeps the air away from the food better than the lid alone.

Keep your freezer at Zero degrees. You want it to be below the 32 degree freezing point for best results.

Freezer food will degrade in flavor and texture over time, but is safe to eat indefinitely.

Best Containers for Freezing Food:

BPA free zip bags (Marie and Rachel are both big fans of zip bags)

Rachel will be testing other freezer containers in the future.

Best Practices for Thawing Food:

Thaw slowly in the refrigerator overnight.

Thaw in a cold water bath changing the water every 30 minutes.

Thaw in the microwave (this may cause the edges of the food to start cooking)

Cook directly from frozen. Rachel shares a great tip for cooking from frozen. She follows America’s Test Kitchen’s tip of adding a frozen (oven safe) container of food to a cold oven. Then slowly preheat the oven. The glass will come up to temp as the oven comes up to temp and you will avoid breaking the glass in the hot oven. 

Get the 1 Hour Freezer Prep Sessions from Thriving Home!

Follow the link and use the code Marie20 to get 20% off any of their amazing 1 hour freezer prep sessions. They are well-tested and designed for busy families. Each 1 hour session yields 6 freezer meals. 

 

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Marie Fiebach is a married mother of four active teens. She helps busy families plan and execute weeknight dinner so they can recapture a little calm in the crazy. Check out her YouTube Channel or listen to the Feed Your Family Tonight Podcast.

For a transcript click here.