Complete Guide: What to Freeze and How

Ever tossed a moldy loaf of bread or a forgotten container of leftovers? Your freezer might be the most underrated tool in your kitchen for cutting food waste. Here's the complete guide to what freezes well, what doesn't, and how to do it right, whether you're in Montreal, Toronto or anywhere in between.

The Golden Rules of Freezing

Before we talk about specific foods, nail these basics. They're the difference between a meal that tastes fresh and a frosty gray block.

• Keep your freezer at 0 °F (-18 °C) or colder. A cheap freezer thermometer is worth every penny.
• Cool cooked food before freezing. Hot dishes raise the freezer's temperature and create ice crystals.
• Remove as much air as possible. Air causes freezer burn. Use zip-top bags and press them flat.
• Freeze liquids and sauces flat in bags. They freeze faster, stack like books and thaw quickly.
• Label everything with the contents and date. You think you'll remember, but in three months that orange soup and the chili will look identical.
• Freeze in portions that match how you eat. A cup of soup for lunch, a one-pound bag of ground beef for dinner.

What Freezes Beautifully

The list is longer than most people think.

Meat and fish. Raw ground meat keeps 3 to 4 months, steaks and roasts 6 to 12 months, and chicken pieces about 9 months. Lean fish lasts up to 6 months, fatty fish like salmon 2 to 3 months. Split family-size packs into meal-sized portions before they go in the freezer.

Bread and baked goods. Sliced bread freezes for 3 months, and you can pull out just the slices you need. Muffins, bagels and pancakes work too. Pop them in the toaster straight from frozen.

Fruit. Overripe bananas (peeled, whole or sliced) are perfect for smoothies and banana bread. Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries should be frozen on a baking sheet first, then bagged, so they don't clump into one giant block. They keep 8 to 12 months.

Vegetables. Most need blanching: a few minutes in boiling water (2 to 3 minutes for green beans and broccoli), then an ice bath. This stops the enzymes that ruin color and flavor. Peppers, onions and mushrooms can go in raw and sliced.

Cooked meals. Soups, chili, pasta sauce, shepherd's pie, lasagna and meatballs all freeze well for 2 to 3 months. This is the foundation of good meal prep.

Dairy and eggs. Shredded cheese lasts 3 to 4 months and butter 6 to 9 months. Milk freezes for up to 3 months, but leave room in the container because it expands. For eggs, never freeze them in the shell. Crack them, beat lightly and pour them into an ice cube tray.

What Doesn't Freeze Well (and Workarounds)

Foods with high water content turn mushy or grainy after thawing:

• Lettuce, cucumber, radishes and raw celery
• Raw potatoes (they darken and turn spongy)
• Mayonnaise, sour cream and creamy dressings (they separate)
• Hard-boiled eggs (the whites turn rubbery)
• Plain yogurt (texture changes, but it's fine in smoothies)

The good news is that many of these "no-gos" have workarounds. Potatoes freeze well once cooked, as mashed potatoes or hash browns. Limp celery can go straight into soup or stock. And tomato paste? Drop tablespoons onto a tray, freeze, then bag the little pucks. You'll never open a whole can for one spoonful again.

Another tip: freeze fresh herbs chopped in an ice cube tray with a little olive oil. You get flavor cubes ready to toss in a hot pan. Fresh ginger can be grated straight from frozen.

Thawing Safely

Food safety is non-negotiable. Three safe methods:

1. In the fridge: the safest option. Plan on about 24 hours per 4 to 5 pounds of meat, so think ahead.
2. In cold water: leakproof bag submerged, water changed every 30 minutes. Cook right after.
3. In the microwave: only when you'll cook immediately afterward.

Never on the counter. The outside warms into the danger zone while the inside is still frozen. Food thawed in the fridge can be refrozen if it never sat at room temperature, though quality will suffer. It's usually better to cook it and freeze the finished dish.

Many soups, sauces and stews can be reheated straight from frozen in a saucepan over low heat, which is a lifesaver on busy weeknights.

Make Freezing Part of Your Plan

A freezer pays off most when it's part of your strategy, not just a last-minute rescue. The idea is simple: buy more when prices are low, then freeze the extra. Meat, seasonal fruit and basic vegetables are great candidates. A tool like JustShoppingSmart compares the flyers of 7 grocery stores in your area to help you spot good opportunities, with savings calculated on your own list.

Its grocery list also remembers your frequent purchases and suggests them automatically. You quickly see what you always rebuy (bread, ground beef, berries) and what deserves a spot in the freezer. If you have little ones, freezing homemade purées or small portions of age-appropriate meals saves a lot of time.

Think seasonally too. In Quebec, that means corn and strawberries in late summer, blueberries in July and squash in the fall. Freezing local produce when it's plentiful keeps a taste of summer on hand through the long winters, and the same goes for much of Canada. With a free meal planner like JustShoppingSmart, you can then build your menus around what's already in your freezer instead of buying it twice.

The Bottom Line

Freezing is easy once you follow a few rules: cool, remove air, label, and thaw in the fridge. Do a freezer inventory once a month, use the oldest items first ("first in, first out") and tape a running list to the freezer door. Start small with a loaf of bread, some bananas and a double batch of soup, and you'll be hooked.

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