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12 Food Items You Didn’t Know You Can Freeze

Freezer Containers

Sometimes you can get a great deal on some groceries, but you may be afraid to stock up on it since it is dairy, perishable or near expiration date. But don’t be scared to take advantage of a great deal when you find one, because freezing is incredibly efficient, and eliminates so much waste! Here a list of top ingredients you may not think of, but you can actually freeze at home. Just in case you find one of those great deals you can’t pass up!

Banana
When bananas become overly ripe, just squeeze them out of their peel into a bag, then freeze. You can use them for banana breads and, off course smoothies! Another method is to freeze a bunch at a time: Peel and cut the same number of pieces from each banana, so you can convert easily from any recipe calling for « 1 banana ». Freeze them on a sheet pan before tossing them in the zip bag to avoid freezing in big chunks, they will be easy to throw in the blender.

Butter
Just found a great sale on butter? Pop the entire package in the freezer and take out when you’re ready to use. The Holidays are known for their amazing sales on baking items.

cooking zestCitrus Zest
Ever have a recipe that calls for lime, lemon, or orange zest, and you have a bunch left over? Don’t throw it away — freeze it! Just wrap in aluminum foil and place in a zip bag.

Grapes
If you haven’t tried frozen grapes yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. They are such a yummy afternoon snack! You can also use them to chill white wine without diluting with ice cubes. Try also with blueberries: Just like grape, these little berries that can spoil or dry out pretty easily make the BEST summer snack once you freeze them.

Milk
Many will advise not to freeze milk, but it turns out you totally can! Here’s great method for when you find milk on sale and don’t want it to spoil: Use a measuring cup and a normal size muffin pan. Pour 1/4 cup of pre-measured milk in each muffin pan cavities (should fill up to 3/4 volume). Pop into freezer for about 2-3 hours until completely frozen. Pull the muffin pan out of the freezer and run bottoms under warm water to release the milk pucks. Then fill a freezer bag full of frozen milk blocks and label. Now you can use these blocks for smoothies, in soups, and even to thaw and use for baking as they are all pre-measured. Now you don’t have to let any of your milk go to waste, no matter when it expires!

soda-bread-recipeBread
Bread lasts almost perfectly in the freezer. Many restaurants do this. Just lightly toast it to thaw. For instance, if you usually don’t go through sandwich bread very often, you can freeze the entire loaf to keep it from getting moldy.

Tortillas/pita/bagels
Just like bread, keep them in the freezer in a freezer bag and just take one out and heat it on the burner or oven when you need it.

Shredded Cheese
Buying bags of shredded cheese are almost always more expensive than a block. It’s way better to buy cheese in bulk and shred your own. Just make sure to freeze cheese spread onto a baking sheet to avoid large clumps, then seal in a zip bag.

Hummus
Just stick the entire container in the freezer and pop it out, thawing in the fridge and it will be like brand new! Hummus is back on the menu!

Tomato paste
There’s always recipes that call for 1 tablespoon of paste, and then you’re wasting the rest in the can. So buy it in larger cans, putting a tablespoon or two into bits of plastic and wrapping them up and freezing. Once frozen you can whip the plastic off clean and use the tomato paste in your recipe. No scraping of moldy tomato paste out of the bottom of the little tins anymore!

Avocado
Mash avocado with a little bit of lime to prevent browning, freeze in muffin pan, then zip and keep in a ziplock!

vegetable freezer package ideasAlmost all vegetables
Tomatoes, peppers and what not… First you have to cook or blanch them (i.e. steam or briefly boil), because they’ll be mushy when thawing. It’s an additional step but it’s way better than letting your produce go to waste! Check our tutorial for making vegetable freezer bags.

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