Freezing

I saw this article on NPR that advocated freezer jams for those who are afraid of canning. On one hand, I like the idea. I'm a big advocate of the freezer. On the other hand, this isn't just for those who are afraid of canning. Here are five reasons why I might prefer to make freezer jam over the alternative:

1. Lack of Canning Equipment: I have a pressure cooker, but it is relatively small. I've used my largest stock pot for canning, but it was only big enough for smallish jars.
2. Available Storage Space: You've seen my kitchen. I don't have huge amounts of cupboard space. I do, however, have a chest freezer.
3. Taste and texture: This is a subjective one, but frozen fruit feels tastes more like real fruit to me than cooked fruit does.
4. Convenience: Yes, it is more convenient to open a jar of canned fruit than it is to open a jar of frozen fruit. On the other hand, I'm more likely to buckle down and go through the simple process of making the frozen stuff than I am to go through the more involved canning process.
5. I don't need jars: You can put some of your freezer jam into zipper bags. Not only does this mean that I can store it flat, but it also means that if I fold the full bag before it freezes, I get nicely perforated bits that I can break off as needed.

I saw these ridiculously-named freezer bags mentioned at The Kitchn, and they got me to thinking.

Labeling when food goes into a freezer is a good idea, though I think these bags take it a bit too far. Does it matter what time of day you freeze something? The big problem with labeling food, though, is that it doesn't ensure that you'll use it. When my grandfather died, we went through his freezer. Everything was meticulously labeled: even the 25-year-old jar of leftover clam juice.

None of us want 25-year-old clam juice in our freezer. Trust me on this. So how can we ensure that we use things we freeze?

Given a dedicated freezer (I have a chest freezer), why not create dated time capsules? Take about four boxes (at least shoebox size) that will fit into your freezer. Label each of them with an upcoming month. Now go through your freezer and split things up into the boxes. When you put something in the freezer, think about putting it in one (or more) of the boxes.

Now, when the month of one of the boxes comes along, bring that box to the front of your freezer and challenge yourself to use everything in that box in that month.

StillTasty is a potentially useful website that provides guidelines on how long your food will remain good to eat if kept in storage. It contains information on how long things will keep in the pantry, in the refrigerator, and in the freezer. It also contains storage tips.

Unfortunately, it doesn't contain individual citations indicating information sources. The only citation information that I see indicates that the information was gleaned primarily from a variety of U.S. government agencies.

To me, that suggested that the information was, perhaps, a bit overcautious. These are the agencies that decided to redefine the temperatures of what counts as rare and medium rare cooked beef so that they corresponded to traditional definitions of medium and medium well. I did a bit of poking around, and, yes, the information here is overcautious: they indicate that preserved foods such as beef jerky and pickles should be refrigerated if opened and have no safe pantry life (measured in days). Still, it is better to be overcautious when health is concerned.

Image by Marjon KruikEveryone has a weird pantry staple, something that they inexplicably always have on hand.

Me?

I always keep a bag of frozen spinach around.

Image by Shawn AllenFresh herbs are wonderful, but you can't always use them before they go bad. Luckily, you have some alternatives.

Over the weekend, I realized that my vegetable scrap box was getting full, so I made some stock.

I also noticed that I had some frozen chicken bones, so I tossed those in and ended up with chicken soup for dinner.

Usually, when I make stock or soup I stash leftovers in freezer safe containers. This time, I reserved some and froze it in an ice cube tray.

Blueberries are generally considered a superfood. According to Kitchen Table Medicine, freezing blueberries increases the bioavailability of the antioxidant proanthocyanin. I'll still take fresh blueberries over frozen when they are available, but this is good news. Frozen blueberries are available year-round and reasonably tasty.