Freezers and Food Storage

Freezers are a wonderful asset to home food storage.

Many foods can be frozen and stored for later use.
Some examples of foods that freeze well include meat (raw or cooked), bread, tortillas, cheese, many fruits and vegetables, yeast, even chocolate chips!

Look in the frozen foods section of a grocery store to see examples of a wide variety of foods that can be frozen in many different forms.

If you have a garden, summer is a great time to freeze extra produce for use in the winter. If you don't have a garden, you will still be able to find good prices on produce that are in season now. Check grocery stores, farmer's markets and farms or orchards that sell directly to customers.

Food can last quite a while in a freezer and can then be used for ordinary meals year-round. It will also be available in an emergency.

If power is lost, food that is kept in the freezer can still be eaten for 1-2 days. (A full freezer will stay frozen for two days and a half-full freezer will last one day). Obviously, meat would need to be eaten first. A fully stocked deep freeze might hold more than one family could consume in a few days, but there would be plenty to share with friends and neighbors.

In a winter storm or emergency, frozen food could be kept frozen outside.

Food Safety Guidelines:

• Freezer food may be safely refrozen when power is restored, if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40 F or below.
• As food thaws, separate raw meat products from other items.
• Refrigerated foods, such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy products should be discarded if power is out more than four hours.
• Hard or processed cheeses, butter, margarine, peanut butter, jelly, whole fruit or vegetables and vinegar-based salad dressings should be safe.

The "Food Safety Guidelines" are taken from an Emergency Preparedness pamphlet published by The Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee in the greater Kansas City area. Click here for a link to their website.

Frozen fruit tutorial

Many fruits can be frozen and stored in a freezer for later use. Frozen fruits can be used in many ways:

Chilled salads
Combine frozen peach slices, frozen grapes or blueberries, frozen melon slices (such as honeydew melon or cantaloupe) and frozen strawberry or pineapple slices. Allow them to thaw on a counter for 20-30 minutes before serving

Smoothies and slushies
Combine frozen fruit with milk, water or juice and crushed ice or ice cream for a refreshing summer smoothie or slushie drink. The possible combinations are almost endless.

Baking
Frozen fruit can be added to pancake batter, oatmeal or cream of wheat, or cooked in a pie or crisp.

To freeze fruit:

Wash fruit.

Remove leaves, peels, or stems. (Some peels, such as peach skins, are easier to remove if the fruit is submerged in boiling water for a few seconds. Then the skin will be easy to remove, but the fruit will not be cooked).

Slice.

Place on a baking sheet.

Place in freezer for 10-30 minutes. This "quick freezing" will allow the fruit to freeze individually (instead of freezing in a clump).



Remove the fruit from the freezer, then place in a storage container, such as a resealable plastic bag or a plastic container. Label, then return to the freezer until you are ready to use it. Fruit that has been "quick frozen" this way will be easy to use in small portions later--just remove the amount needed for a recipe, and return the remainder to the freezer.