Tips on making your freezer work for you

February 1, 2025 by
 |  6 Comments  |  Leave Comment

The freezer may be the most undersung appliance. They have become so ubiquitous that it is difficult to imagine not having one, but they only became available just a few generations ago for most people. While most of us use the freezer as a place to chuck ready made items like frozen pizza or to make and store ice cubes, freezers are a great tool to save money and time in the kitchen. The Guardian recently snagged 28 tips on how to make the most of your freezer from author Suzanne Mulholland, aka “The Batch Lady”.

Mulholland sings the praises of freezers, comparing them to the air fryers of today – a real game changer. She also provides an analogy of how you can use the freezer to cut back on meal prep: “Years ago you would have to wait for the adverts, and then you’d go running out to make a cup of tea,” she says. “Now we watch whatever programmes we want, we pause it, and we come back to it whenever we want. And that is what your freezer is allowing you to do.”

The Batch Lady Rapid Dinners: No-fuss Grab and Cook Meals for the Whole Week in Just 30 Minutes is out February 13 in the UK

You don’t have to commit to a week’s worth of meal prep to start taking advantage of the freezer, says Mulholland. Her advice is to start small, doubling a batch of whatever you were going to make for dinner and freezing half. In no time you will have several meals that take almost no time to make. Also, you don’t have to worry about whether you are keeping your freezer full. Modern appliances are energy efficient, and the cost and energy savings between a partially full and completely full freezer are minimal. Another great tip is to open freeze items before putting them into bags or containers. This works especially well with fruits. Freezing them on a rimmed baking sheet first keeps them from clumping together in the freezer.

Category: Book News

Post a comment

6 Comments

  • TeresaRenee  on  February 2, 2025

    We sometimes refer to the freezer as “magic”. When we arrive home late after a busy, exhausting day, a delicious dinner can be ready in 15 minutes by simply thawing something. It’s faster than having food delivered!

    A recent innovation for me was freezing extra amounts of raw ingredients like the other 7 tablespoons of tomato paste (in 1 T portions), lemon juice from partially used lemons, lemon zest when the recipe only calls for juice, Parmesan rinds, etc. I no longer have half empty cans of food going bad in the refrigerator and generating guilt.

  • Rinshin  on  February 2, 2025

    I freeze mushrooms especially the Japanese ones like shiitake, shimeji, maetake, and others all the time i also freeze portabella, button and others. They are my frozen goldmine. Not for fresh use. Much better than letting them dry out or get gooey in the refrigerator.

  • KatieK1  on  February 2, 2025

    I freeze pomegranate seeds when pomegranates are in season. Then I have them when they are called for, e.g., in Persian or Ottolenghi recipes.

  • breakthroughc  on  February 2, 2025

    Invest in inexpensive vacuum sealer. I love mine. When I cook beans I always cook extra and then portion them in 1 1/2 cups portions which is the equivalent of a can of beans, It is only my husband and me so I often freeze half of a recipe for another meal. My Mom called them “plan ahead” not leftovers. Canning jars work well for freezing, just don’t fill them as they will crack. I leave a good two inches space from the top.

  • eliza  on  February 6, 2025

    The article in the Guardian is interesting. Since I grow a garden, I freeze many of my crops. I flash freeze blackberries for baking and jam, I make pesto dressing (recipe from Fine Cooking) with my basil and freeze in small mason jars, and I roast tomatoes and freeze in containers. I’m interested to know how Rinshin freezes mushrooms…I’m assuming raw.

  • Ganga108  on  February 14, 2025

    The freezer is the most used appliance (after the fridge) in the kitchen. It is always full – a veggie garden and fruit trees ensure that. Bags of strawberries for smoothies. Lemon wedges for cool drinks and smoothies. Chunked tomatoes for winter cooking, uncooked chunks of butternut for soups. Bases for curries, cooked lentils and beans. Tofu, paneer. Herb pastes. Wilted spinach. Honestly, it is a goldmine when I don’t have any inspiration for dinner.

Seen anything interesting? Let us know & we'll share it!

Categories

Archives