Roughly a third of all the food produced for human consumption around the world is wasted every year. This equates to approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of food being chucked away for no reason. With the cost of living increasing and summer temperatures forcing food to go off quicker than usual, This is Fresh has revealed 20 freezer hacks to help you cut your food waste and save money.
Foods that you didn’t know you could freeze!
1.Milk
The trick is to pour the milk into ice cube trays – meaning you defrost just enough for each cup of tea.
As an extra trick, if your milk has gone slightly off – it can be mixed 50/50 with water and put on plants as well!
2.Wine
Bottle of vino left out overnight and doesn’t smell great? Freeze it (in ice cube trays again) and use it for sauces. (You can also pour leftover red wine into your bath as the antioxidants are good for your skin, a la Courteney Cox).
3.Cheese
Did you know you can freeze almost any cheese? The harder the cheese the easier it is to freeze. Put it straight in the freezer in its packaging or cut it into snack-size portions and defrost just what you need.
For soft cheeses or cheeses that live in water, like mozzarella or ricotta, drain the water off first and then place it in the freezer inside an airtight bag.
4.Tofu
A bit like cheese, some tofu you can throw straight in the freezer in its packaging, others you need to drain. Check the label as some are not suitable for freezing – and if that’s the case you can cook it as part of a meal first and then freeze the meals in portions for easy dinners.
5.Fruit
You can freeze almost all fruit but you shouldn’t just chuck it in the freezer. Citrus fruits should be frozen whole, whilst you should peel bananas, apples, pears before you freeze it in airtight containers. For brown bananas throw them in a blender with a bit of honey and/ or peanut butter then freeze for a healthy alternative to ice cream.
6.Nuts
Raw nuts can go off if they are left for too long or if they get too hot. Freeze them and then use in cooking.
7.Herbs
Fresh herbs can be frozen as well as dried. Bought some fresh basil that you have no chance of using it all up? Cut it up small and put it in an airtight bag for future use.
- Butter
You can freeze both salted and unsalted butters. Salted should be used within 4 months, whilst unsalted lasts twice as long – so it is worth thinking about if you can afford to buy in bulk.
- Fruit juice
Store-bought or freshly made at home fruit juices can be frozen as ice lollies or in smaller freezer-friendly bottles to get ice cold juice on the go!
- Baby food
Half way through a pouch of baby food? Check the label. If it says it’s freezer-friendly screw the top back on again and pop it in the freezer. Alternatively, you can spoon baby food into ice cube trays and then save the cubes in a container to defrost at a later date – this is a great way to get kids to try different food combinations – bonus!
- Hummus / Dips
Hummus freezes really well but don’t leave it for too long as it can affect the texture and taste. You can freeze salsa and vegetable-based dips too, but dips containing soured cream should be avoided as it can go lumpy when defrosting.
- Eggs
This can work whether they’re cooked or raw. If they’re raw make sure that they are cracked into individual containers.
- Flour
Worried about weevils? Put your flour in a container and use it directly from the freezer, no need to defrost.
- Bread
This one is fairly obvious and many people do this already, however for those that don’t: All bread freezes well as long as it’s in an airtight bag. For whole loaves cut them into slices first, consider your toaster slots size and avoid squashing your loaf into your packed freezer as a wonky piece of frozen bread won’t toast evenly.
- Coconut water
This can really compromise the taste so if you like the sweet taste of coconut water you’ll have to add some sugar or syrup when you defrost it.
- Watermelon
Cut into triangles to create a refreshing natural ice lolly!
- Pizza Dough
Bought some fresh dough or made some of your own? Freeze it in airtight bags. The key to defrosting pizza dough is letting it defrost overnight in the fridge and then leaving it for an hour at room temperature before you try to use it. You can freeze homemade pizza too, just put it straight in the oven from the freezer at 150C for 5-10 mins for an easy dinner.
- Gravy
Have some left over from your Sunday lunch? Freeze them in ice cube trays again, pop a couple in a pan and reheat whenever you need them.
- Ginger
If it’s going soft make sure you peel it first and either chop it into slices first or freeze it whole and grate it straight from the freezer.
- Icing / Frosting
Butter cream and cream cheese icing freezes really well. Freeze in small batches and allow to thaw at room temperature – then whisk to restore its consistency.
For more top tips and life hacks from This is Fresh click here.
