Freezer Tips For How To Store Food Safely

How to store food in the freezer may not be something you give much thought to, however, knowing how to do it properly will save you money on your grocery bill. When freezing food you also need to think about how long before you may eat it, or if you are going to cook it first. You want to use your freezer to save money, but you also want your food to be safe to eat, and not have freezer burn.

A lot of what I share here on this site is things I learned from my mom, and how to freeze things properly is one of them.

Can You Freeze anything?

Almost any type of food can be frozen except things like lettuce, mayonnaise, and cream type sauces. Stop and think about all the types of foods you have seen in TV dinners, and other frozen foods at the store, and this will give you a good idea.

How To Store Food In The Freezer

To Prevent Freezer Burn

First, what is freezer burn? When food loses moisture, resulting in greyish, or white patches, it gets freezer burn. Depending on how bad it is, you can salvage the food many times. If you don’t wrap things really tight the ice crystal molecules are able to escape. This condition can also happen when food is left in the freezer past a safe time.  Many times you can cut the discolored part off of meat and cook the rest. This is perfectly safe to do and will keep you from throwing perfectly good food out. There are several ways to store food, from foil, plastic containers, vacuum sealers, or butcher paper.

How To Store Food In The Freezer

In Plastic Containers and Plastic Bags

Plastic containers are a great say to store leftovers in the freezer, but you need to be sure you leave a little space at the top to allow for expansion. These sturdy containers are great for liquids, but will hold vegetables and meats. They also stack up easily which helps to save room.

Plastic freezer bags are great as long as you get all the air out of them before freezing. If you have a vacuum sealer you don’t have to worry about air, but if not, you have to get the excess air out. You can do this by placing a straw in the corner of the bag and sucking the air out. Quickly seal the bag. This is not completely airtight, but it helps the food stay good in the freezer a lot longer.

How To Store Food In The Freezer

In Foil And Paper

Freezer paper, or butcher paper as it is sometimes called, is great for wrapping meat or large bulky items for freezing. This type of paper is much thicker and one side is coated with a layer of plastic. When freezing your foods, place the food on the side of the paper that is slick with the plastic coating.

Wrap tightly, getting all the air out if you can. You can label the dull outside layer of paper with a permanent marker. When you label the package, be sure and put the date on the paper as well.

Aluminum foil is great to use because it protects against freezer burn by keeping any molecules or moisture from escaping. If you are wrapping anything acidic, be sure and wrap in plastic before putting the foil around it, to avoid giving the food a tin taste.

Pyrex Glass For Food Storage

 Pyrex is great for freezing because this special glass is made to go right from the freezer to the oven, and then the table. If you don’t want big clunky pieces of glassware in your freezer you can pop the frozen food out of the glass dishes, after it’s completely frozen, by running a little water over the bottom of the dish. Once the frozen food pops out, you can store in something that takes up less room.

 Once you know how to store food in the freezer the correct way, you can use this knowledge to save money at the grocery store. Usually if you buy a larger package of meat, you get a discount on the price per pound. Cook the large portion, then freeze in one of the methods above, or freeze up portions of uncooked meat. Either way, just remember to label everything and use the oldest foods in the freezer first. Never again will you have a problem because now you know how to store food properly.