Re: Re: freezing adventures

[Guest guest]

The company claims that vacuum sealing cuts down on freezer burn and the food lasts a lot longer. They recommend using it for freezing portions that can be heated later by placing in water at temperature just below a boil. Kind of reminds me of the old cooking bags we ate when we were kids. I used it for freezing portions of bean soup. I put portions into plastic containers and froze them, popped them into a food saver bag and vacuum sealed them. A few days later, I cut open the package, popped out one of the portions into a soup mug to microwave, and resealed the package. I've only been using it since Christmas, so don't know for sure if it really lasts longer or prevents freezer burn. My husband's reason for getting it was so that I could package the gf mixes that I make (muffins, bread, etc.), but I haven't tried it for that yet.

Re: freezing adventures

I have been experimenting more with freezing foods with great success-we naturally have more of a rice menu than a bread menu at our house, so it takes me a while to eat a whole loaf of bread. Anyway, I slice loaves and put them in Ziploc gallon freezer bags, then just take them out and pop them in the toaster. It works great- but what are the advantages of vacuum sealing or just sealing the bags? Less ice crystals? Do they "keep" longer? And what can you use vacuum sealing for? We've been freezing cookie dough for ages- since there is just two of us, if we make a whole batch it is way too much. So, we put about half or more of the dough in the freezer and it seems to keep for quite a while. Good to pull out of the freezer on a bad or busy day.I also tried freezing lasagna, which was ok, and I always freeze up my pizzas (just microwave and you're good to go). I don't like the texture of frozen tofu afterwards so much so I haven't really frozen those kinds of dishes. Also, my Japanese friend often makes extra rice and freezes it in little pouches in the freezer, which seems like a good idea to me, although I usually save extra rice in my refrigerator and make fried rice the next day with it. I do buy Trader Joe's frozen rice- it's perfect for me and my husband on a busy work/ school day.Anyway, the freezer is my friend. Curious if the food saver things would be a good purchase or not. >> I have an older Food Saver model that you can not stop the vacuum > sealing. If I want to seal a crushable item like bread, I have to use > one of the canisters, or my jar sealer attachment. I ususally just put > my loaves of baked bread in freezer bags and stick them right in the > freezer. They do get cystals of ice on them (which doesn't happen in > vacuum sealed foods) but we don't notice them once we toast the bread.> > Cheryl in Colorado>