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I enjoyed Mark Bittman's column yesterday on what we might call the new pantry, a reflection on how our staple items might be changing or should be, all of it a reflection of our increasing interest in cooking great food sensibly and efficiently (photo for The Times by Francesco Tonelli). He notes things such as bouillon cubes are out (or should be), and a simple stock of a carrot celery and onion boiled in 2 cups of water should replace it—so true. Better than canned chicken stock, too. Making your own vinaigrettes rather than buying bottled dressings, which he calls a ripoff (a decent olive oil, salt and a squeeze of lemon juice over crisp greens is far superior, in my opinion). Having parmigiano reggiano on hand (I ALWAYS have this—grated or shaved on pasta, on salads, seasoning for soups, finishing a gratin, no end to its uses), fish sauce, sherry vinegar (buy the good stuff it's worth it). One item I didn't agree with, or not whole heartedly at least. Canned tomato paste should be out, tubes of it in. He argues we seldom need a whole can. True. But whole cans are better quality and less expensive. What I've been doing for years is opening both ends of a can, pushing it out whole, slicing off what I need, wrapping the rest and freezing it. It keeps for months frozen and it's easy to slice off as much as you need. I always put some in stock, where I use it most. Nothing wrong with the tube, but it got me thinking what are the things I always want to have in my freezer?
—Tomato Paste, for sauces and stocks.
—Chicken stock, frozen in quart zip top bags, no end of uses (you always have a good meal at hand when you have some stock in the freezer).
—Slabs of bacon for lardons, for noon time frisee and poached egg salads, stews and soups and pastas (bacon, like most fat rich foods, freezes very well).
—Chipotles in adobo sauce, for the great smokey heat in anything tomato based.
—Thai curry pastes for last minute curries and dramatic seasoning.
—Dried red chilli peppers (I do at least one stir-fry a week and like them hotter than everyone else, so I fry them black in plenty of oil for and use both the oil and the chillis throughout the week).
—Ginger can be frozen and grated when you need it, so you always have it on hand.
—Phyllo dough and puff pastry to turn leftovers into elegant meals, tarts and pot pies.
—Baguettes from On the Rise Bakery (find a good bakery near you—don't rely on grocery store baguettes); good fresh baguettes freeze great.
Would love to hear what invaluable staples you keep in your freezer.
Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor
Hi,
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
I keep fresh frozen bread crumbs, ready to toast and toss, tomato paste in tablespoon portions, nuts, a whole butchered lamb from a local farmer, berries and stone fruits, ready for breakfast smoothies or clafoutis, cookies and brownies for lunches.
Frozen whole brussel sprouts for a quick tasty additive to soup, side dish with vegetables, or omlette where it beats spinach hands down.
Brilliant. LOVE the orientation to the freezer as a pantry. As a chef (2 months away from officially owning that title), I find that I use the freezer increasingly… and love that right now mine is absolutely bursting with stock of every variety. It cracks me up each time I open it.
Bones. My freezer looks like a morgue. Carcasses of chickens, ducks and cornish hens picked to the bone. Rib bones, T bones, and pork bones. All waiting patiently to be transformed into my best gelatinous stocks waiting alongside the finished and tastily accomplished liquified brethren. Light stocks, Rich stocks, fumees. Can you tell I believe in the power of Stock?
honey! as in, I keep it in my pantry..
for breakfast and dessert and salads and teas. all that and a moisturizer too!
Freezing coffee beans is very debatable. I personally do not recommend it. If coffee is something that you really enjoy, don’t do it, buy smaller quantities. If you can’t resist, separate your (hopefully whole) beans into small, air-tight bags and freeze individually. This way you don’t have to worry about thawing too many beans and refreezing (which is def a bad idea).
-
“Under Pressure” is ostensibly about sous vide, but the advice about storing food – refrigerated, frozen, or otherwise – is worth the price af the book alone.
Especially regarding the pathogen “danger zone” of temperatures.
After reading both this, and Bittman (Times, first, I will admit… sorry!) I decided to try my hand at veggie stock, since the boxed “organic” i’d been buying bright orange color freaked me out. I’m in love. 2 bags organic baby carrots, 1 bag organic celery hearts, 3 peeled organic onions, 1 head organic garlic, and 1 box of dried “royal” mushrooms, rehydrated covered with water in my 12 qt le creuset stock pot, simmered for hours… priceless! and delish! thanks, Michael, for the idea… my new go to stock – i drink it just as is for a snack
Jesus, the “Cooking Under Pressure Blog fell through tha crack….”….
Garbage in garbage out….. it seems. I am disapointed because after getting through some of the sous vide technique here and managing to push on through Kellers book I am finding recipes that are quite interesting and intriguing. On my timeline it will take a while for me to try these.. elements of these if you will and see what I see. Got to say though…” Cooking Under Pressure” by Keller is quite an interesting read….If the book wasn’t as big … I’d take it in to work and spend more time reading it… but…NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!……..The thing doesn’t even fit my backpack.
I tell you folks, once you cut through the sousvide junk….or technique… there are some solid recipes done in NEW ways that are WOWING THE BEJESUS OUTA ME…..
Still a Sam the cooking man at heart or a Phyllis Pellman fix it and forget type at heart. But I am NOT blind. Keller’s “Under Pressure is an Inspired Significant Book”.
He writes the book for the proffesional and yet he makes it clear that the home cook can play too. Not an easy thing to do for the old homy!….Still just like any other technique the real cook needs to know, understand and own. Everyone else can just take a powder and walk….away.Nothing wrong with grilling and bbquing….
1. Chicken stock/broth: absolutely required and I find making it to be easy and unburdensome. I make a lot at once, reduce to 3x strength, freeze in 2c. & 1 c. batches. nuke when needed. Must, must, must have it on hand.
2. See #1.
3. Other stocks/broths/liquids: made when I have scraps or remnants, deglazing liquids, etc. Right now my collection includes lamb stock, concentrated chicken braising liquid, and corn stock (made from corn cobs). Reduce to at least 3x strength, to save freezer space.
4. Tasty fats: bacon grease!, chicken fat, skimming from braising liquids, rendered salt pork for chowda, etc. For most recipes that call for bacon, I use the grease instead. It means there’s no bacon in the dish but it’s much faster than chopping the frozen bacon, sauteing it, straining it out, crumbling it, and *then* using the bacon grease. Plus, in my household the bacon never lasts to be put back into the dish anyway.
5. Ice. For rapid cooling and ice water baths. (If I didn’t have an ice maker I probably wouldn’t do this.)
6. Veggie scraps: onion peels, carrot & celery scraps, other scraps suitable for stock making. I also use onion peels to dye hardboiled eggs tan.
7. Flavorful meats: bacon, smoked turkey wing, ham hock or ear, it varies. I freeze the whole package (be it commercial/Hormel or butcher’s). To use I chop off bits from the end. Presto! Instant bacon bits.
8. Bulk herbs & spices: I keep a moderate amount in jars on my counter (actual amount depends on how often I use it), the rest in the cold, dark freezer to prolong shelf life.
9. Frozen shrimp, both cooked (for a fast meal) and raw. Not living right next to a shrimp farm I don’t have access to never-frozen-but-still-fresh shrimp. Shrimp frozen on site is the next best thing. I never buy unfrozen shrimp at the store since it’s all “thawed for your convenience.”
10. Other frozen & Food Savr’d meats: the meats and levels vary over time. The usual suspects include boneless skinless chix breasts, chix thighs w/ bone, pork chops/roasts/tenderloins, pork to grind, interesting sausages.
Looking over the list, I’m struck by what different people consider worth taking the time for, and what they don’t. I make stock in my sleep (sometimes literally), often grind meat, and never throw out a liquid – even liquid from a ham desalting bath, which can be used to boil dry beans. But I don’t render bacon fresh and I don’t process whole chickens even though I use most of the parts.
Go figure.
I try not to tell other cooks what to do but with regards to ginger I’m tempted. I find frozen ginger to be watery and tasteless when it’s defrosted. Instead I slice it thick and store in a jar of rice wine (or dry sherry) in the fridge. Very, very good for Asian dishes and keeps forever. As a bonus you get gingery rice wine as well.
While I agree that pounding your own spices usually yields the best flavor, cinnamon is the exception. Spice makers don’t expect anyone to grind cinnamon from scratch (there’s a reason: it’s really, really hard to get a fine enough powder without manufactoring-level equipment), stick cinnamon is low quality, just good enough to make mulled drinks with.
If you still want to grind your own, you crazy cook you, buy from Penzey’s or The Spice House. They’ll sell you good quality sticks. The supermarket, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, etc., never will.
Scraps for stock include bones, shrimp shells, corn cobs in the summer.
In response to Bittman on beans: I agree that home-cooked beans are far superior in taste & texture. Usually. Goya canned black beans, however, are at least as good as homemade. It’s easy to make homemade if you have a pressure cooker. It takes about 15 min from beginning to end, for any dried bean but chickpea: Put beans and a LOT of water in the cooker, bring to boil, bring to pressure, no more than 10 min. I like to quick presoak first (boil for 2 min, let sit an hour) but ya don’ gotta.
Aaron Kagan: basic corn stock is simmer cobs in lots of water for an hour or two. Drain. If you want to an extra step, let cobs cook then squeeze the liquid out of the cobs.
Emily: I freeze meals in Tellfresh storage containers (good pix on The Container Store’s website). It comes in many dimensions and sizes, all square or rectangular, which saves a lot of space. I put an erasable label on each (again, from The Container Store) so I can easily label each dish with contents and date. Both container and label are machine-washable. Since I have a really large freezer, I keep a list of what I have in it so it doesn’t get “lost.” I scribble on the list when I take something out, and every now and then go to the computer to update and print out a new list. Include the date bought on the list so nothing goes bad on you.
I buy big bags of limes and lemons, and if I can’t use them up quickly enough I squeeze the juice and keep in the freezer. I also have frozen herbs from my garden including basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, and tarragon. All of those freeze well and are great to toss into soup or stew in the winter.
Plum tomatoes from Coit Market in August, halved, slow-roasted with a dollop of pesto, and frozen in single layers so they’ll lie flat all winter long. Good in almost everything.
Many of the same ones that you keep, plus sesame seeds, Meyer lemon rinds, galangal, buttermilk, butter, homemade doughs, berries, pesto, parmesan rinds, bacon, sour cherries that I buy in the summer and freeze. I could go on, but I think you get the idea that the freezer is my friend!
Duck Fat, rendered liquid gold. More than a few uses beyond potatoes / Pommes Fondant.
Aside from the usual stocks and tomato sauce from my homegrown tomatoes, I keep our family’s heritage casserole in the freezer for six months. We are unable to find a sour head of cabbage in good, old, German Cincinnati for our Filtes Kraut, aka sarma, kupis kesili, etc. I have to order it from Cleveland in November; make enough batches to last the winter and freeze it for family celebrations.
Zippy – re: freezing cheese.
If you must, cheese that you can grate (cheddar, Monterey Jack, Gruyere, Parmesan etc) will freeze and thaw fine IF grated first- in my experience. Obviously, you’ll use the cheese in cooking… Grate cheese, and freeze in small sandwich zipper bag. Put small bags inside large freezer bags. Perfect for lasagna, pizza, fondue, grilled cheese sandwich, souffle etc.
Sylvie
Citrus Zests. I’d always rather have it fresh but I also hate wasting peel so when I eat an orange or need lemon juice, I zest the fruit and freeze it for later use in pastry doughs or soups or curries…or anything. I love the floral aroma it gives foods.
As I run my own business, I may not have time to make stocks as soon as I have the items to make them. So, I also freeze turkey breast and rotisserie chicken frames, and vegetable trimmings for later stock prep. (carrot chunks, interior stalks of celery that don’t make it into salads, squash ends, etc.)
Quick Asian ingredients for last-minute dinners: kaffir lime leaves, pre-chopped lemongrass, kamaboko (slices easily from frozen), various dumplings. Also chiles (raw and roasted) from last summer’s harvest, pecans (sent from parents in Tennessee), various flours and seeds which would go off in warm weather, last summer’s borlotti and black-eyed peas, pre-roasted tomatoes and wicked, wicked quantitites of gin.
My freezer is so small I can boast no great, funky supplies, but there is enough space to accomodate a tupperware box of parmesan rinds to chuck into soups and stews, a bag of frozen peas, ice cubes of chicken stock, at least 2 packets of butter and when I am in form some puff pastry and some precious fresh barlotti, shelled, bagged and ready for pasta fagioli.
Talking of the freezer, I think i could cram some more in if I could get around to defrosting,I have alot of ice and I am not talking about the G&T kind.
In the freezer:
shrimp shells (these are being saved for fish stock, if memory serves)
butter
bacon
sausages
several game hens
peas
nuts
whole wheat pastry dough
puff pastry dough
phyllo pastry dough
cookie dough
lemon juice in cubes
lime juice in cubes
pesto
curry paste
In the cupboards:
masa and cornmeal
flour
dried beans and lentils
rice
tomato paste
dried mushrooms
barley
pastas of various types
olive oil
dried herbs and spices
I’m actually working on killing the freezer contents so I’m not moving so much stuff when I move later this month!
There is nothing nicer than needing to only purchase a few fresh things at the market a couple times a week, rather than having lengthy shopping expeditions.
Also…Mr. Delgrosso, all due respect, but I wouldn’t encourage using a freezer to store things you need in the case of the end of days, cause, unless you have some technology we don’t have, you will need electricity to run that breast milk filled freezer of yours, and come Ark building time, I’m thinking that will be hard to come by! Here’s a good one, has anyone ever had a freezer (filled with fish!) lose power only to find a festering mess after a long time away from home…good times! Also, just to take Bob’s theme one step further, We just finally took my son’s placenta out of the freezer this summer and planted it under an apple tree…he just turned 9…Which brings me to an important caveat: when stashing stuff in the freezer, clear labeling is very important!
Frozen baguettes? I wouldn’t have thought they could come back out tasting fresh.
Well, Ruhlman, I am happy to say that I have most of the items previously mentioned in my freezer – bacon, ginger, chicken stock and tomato paste are a must. And I am notorious for opening a can of chipotle in adobo sauce and freezing the unused portion. I do like freezing herbs from my garden as well. This is the first year I have tried that and have been pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Coming from the midwest, my family thinks nothing can beat the taste of fresh corn on the cob, but frozen homegrown will do in a pinch. Saute along with some jalapeno and halved grape tomatoes and I’ve got a happy bunch. Thanks for the frozen baguette tip, I am definitley going to try that. And oh, yes, I can’t forget shrimp, I always keep a bag of ‘cheap’ precooked frozen shrimp in the freezer for the cat.
Fresh Yeast (hard to find except during Holidays)
Buttah
Diced Onions
Diced Peppers
Flour
Traci@soupof the day…pop that frozen bread into a 350 degree oven for 20 min or so…less time if you thaw it first…it’ll be so tasty you won’t believe it was frozen! Great with soup!
Zippy – Freezing dairy doesn’t tend to work well. The water and solids tend to separate when they thaw and in the case of cheese, the texture suffers.
That said, you CAN freeze skim milk if you must, and if cheese is cooked, it seems to be all right. If you freeze pizzas, the mozzarella is fine if it’s cooked first, but if you put it in before cooking it, the cheese will be mealy and won’t melt well. My mother-in-law has about half a dozen homemade lasagnas in the freezer at any given time. (That woman can easily feed fifteen people anywhere, any time on ten minutes notice. She’s a goddess of improvisation.)
I wouldn’t buy a ton of cheese and freeze it. Even if it is crazy on sale, you’ve wasted your money if it’s inedible when you take it out.
I also love having frozen stock in the freezer, always at the ready for soups and risottos! Another staple: frozen peas, which can be added to pastas, rice, and risottos if you’re low on other ingredients.
In the spirit of reuse though, I actually freeze portions of stock in the plastic tubs that yogurt, cottage cheese, etc, come in. Just run hot water over the outside of the tubs and the whole chunk of frozen stock will come sliding out!
Meat drippings. I make roast chicken with thighs and legs (skin off) and use a little butter, wine, garlic and parsley. It is so moist when it’s done that I don’t need the drippings, so I put them in the freezer for soups and stews and even use them for my spaghetti sauce.
In addition to all the great ideas above here’s what I keep in the freezer:
* A canister for the ice cream maker, along with a large can of sweetened mango pulp in the fridge. If unexpected guests come by, mango pulp + Grand Marnier + a little corn syrup in the ice cream maker, and 20 minutes later you have mango sorbet for dessert.
* Lemon curd. Just because it’s so damn good.
* Whipped cream, piped into swirls, frozen, a and put in a ziploc bag. Then you don’t have to worry about keeping good fresh cream on hand all the time for finishing off desserts.
Hey since y’all are dispensing advice about to freeze stuff like mac& cheese and the like, does anyone have any insight into freezing cheese ? A few times a year, dairy and cheese products go on sale for ridiculous amounts of money and often cheese ( cheddar and mozz mostly) is less than half price.
I can see dairy and ice cream consumption dropping off after Labor Day and getting good deals on cheese is welcome, but maybe if you can tell me a good freezing method, I can go buy a larger freezer for the cheese bonanza I’ll make happen. Thanks
Vodka.
I always keep edamame on hand. It is such a simple thing to cook and so delicious as a snack or on a salad.
Fresh ginger is best preserved by peeling it and storing in a container of Chinese Sherry in the refrigerator. It works!
I rarely purchase Galanga or less often Tumeric root fresh. Therefore, I keep it in the freezer.
-Wilmita
You are a chef AND know how to stock a freezer for a seamless home kitchen. I thought I could not be more impressed, and now I am!
I love this post!:)
I second Bill’s suggestion about the sheet pan. My little Lebanese grandmother taught me this at a very young age. We would go to the butcher ever Saturday morning and spend the afternoon placing everything on sheet pans between layers of cling film or even the plastic the meat came in…stocking her SECOND freezer full. The next day, after church of course, when the meats were frozen solid we would take it all out and put them in individual containers, portioned out perfectly for meals. I still carry on this tradition to this day. I learned lots of good stuff from her.
We also bake bread once a month and keep loaves of pita on hand. She would also pre-make bacon and biscuit sandwiches for us in rebellion against McDonalds and freeze for quick breakfasts.
I keep most of the things mentioned above,also:
Chocolate, block and chips
Dried Fruit as well as nuts
Bread crumbs and cubes
Frozen packaged fruit (makes great smoothies)
Curious about freezing ginger, since I never use it all before it goes bad: Do you freeze it unpeeled?
In chunks or whole?
Also would like more info on how to freeze leftovers without getting freezer burn? Thanks
I wish I had another freezer besides my bottom drawer fridge one.
in addition:
olives
capers
anchovies
carrot
onion
celery
garlic
shallots
frozen pineapple
fresh cilantro(thai, vietnamese, mexican)
yeast
lemons and limes
Wow, this is such a great topic. I swear that I didn’t know you could freeze herbs with good results. My freezer contents are lame (Amy’s burritos surely don’t count for anything, and who doesn’t have stock) but these are some awesome ideas. thanks.
I scoop left over tomato paste into TBs on wax paper then freeze it. (Same thing with adobe sauce and pesto.) Lots of frozen butter. Ramen noodles in the pantry. I still buy canned beans.
I buy new spices each year just before T-day.
For almost everything in the pantry, I write the date on the bottom in marker to ensure rotation.
Careful with storing phyllo too long. The defrost cycle of the freezer makes it dry out and become brittle. (The broken pieces can still be drizzled with lots of butter and used for baklava or spanakopita, but I buy new phyllo if I want anything pretty and perfect.)
pesto, stock,herbs.
I also cook large batches of veggies, puree and freeze them in ice cube trays for the baby.
Peas
Corn
Spinach
Berries
Homemade baby food
Butter
Duck fat
Ice cream sandwiches…
In my freezer: Breadcrumbs. Duck fat. Reggiano rinds. Chicken stock, turkey stock, and bones for the next stock batch. Green mole; it’s time-consuming to make but keeps well frozen. Sauce from last summer’s tomatoes. Nuts. Grated coconut. Butter. And what a great idea, to freeze ginger; that would probably work well for turmeric root also.
MR,
Thanks for tip on freezing canned tomato paste!
•Stock and Fixin’s (Bones, shells, etc.)
•Butter
•Kaffir Lime Leaves, Ginger and Galanga root.
•Sofrito and Recaíto
•Bacon and Trotters to add to Caldo Gallego.
•Salmorejo with Crabmeat (for a taste of summer)
•Yuca
•Tostones
•Pasteles
•Thai Bird Chiles
•Tomatoes and Peaches processed from the Garden
•Frozen Peas
-
Hey, I got batteries older than most of that stuff in my freezer. And sometimes they still work.
Yeah, I’m ready for doomsday.
We have only a tiny little freezer on the top section of our SMEG. Not too much frozen food going on here!
Ruhlman
I can understand why one might think it’s weird to keep an ice sickle and breast milk in the freezer for years. But who is going to have the last laugh when global warming makes ice impossible and when the End Times arrive and mothers can no longer produce milk for their infants?
I also have almost all of the corks from all of the wine I have drunk at home since 1980. My intention is to use those corks to make an ark when the melt-water from the ice caps sends the seas over the face of the land.
Who’ll think I’m weird then I wonder.
As for turning the milk into butter, that’s crazy. There’s not enough butter fat to make it worthwhile.
talk about a revealing freezer!
that’s downright weird, bob.
you saving the milk to churn into butter?
Wow, you have a lot of staples in your freezer.
I looked and all I have is some glace de viande (I don’t know what meat was used), frozen basil leaves and pork belly. The rest hardly qualifies as staples: ice cream, a pack of hot dogs (at least 2 years old), a chunk of wedding cake (16 years old), an ice sickle from my house in NY (7 years) and about 6 ounces of breast milk (11 years old).
I just finished the Elements Book – fabulous! I have been a fan for years and am re-reading ‘Making’. I applied to the CIA last month and am awaiting the decision of the admissions committee. I just retired as President of a large company and at 53 hope to follow my lifelong passion of becoming a cook/chef. Your books have been an inspiration as well as an informative insight into the culinary world. At 53, I am leaving all the corporate trappings behind and hoping to be reborn in Hyde Park. Keep writing Michael – you are the best at what you do – and the window in to that glorious world of culinary is a treasure.
Many already mentioned, but also pureed blood orange/olive oil mix Foodsavered in the correct size to make Sara Jenkins Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake. I did the same with Meyer lemons too.
Also D’Artagnan Truffle Butters, white and black. A quick slice on a grilled steak is a fast ride to Heaven.
Chicken stock, chipotles in adobo, various soups/stews frozen in those microwavable Glad containers (easy to pop out and throw in the microwave, makes a great dinner…also works great with lasagna), bacon, a baggie of parmigiano reggiano rinds, various veggies (corn, peas, edamame), nuts (walnuts, pecans) and various chicken carcasses and parts I haven’t gotten around to making into stock yet.
I love the idea of freezing ginger, I never considered that before. It always goes bad before I can use it up.
Rhonda,
You can also use the frozen fruit to make jams and jellies throughout the winter.
A freezer pantry has always been a given in our house. When I was a kid, mom would buy big batches of Thai herbs when they were a available and freeze them. Of course now most of these things are readily available, but the habit still lives on. Our neighbors laughed when I bought the extra freezer because we’re only 2 adults and 1 kid.
My freezer pantry consists of:
Thai herbs (galangal, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass)
homemade Thai curry pastes and other pastes (tomato, harissa, mole, etc)
various stocks
butter
bagels (pre-sliced and individually wrapped, easy to pop into the toaster)
freezer jam
I try to keep as much stock in the freezer as I can and carcasses to make more! Also bones from pork shoulders/hams/etc. I also keep little jars of Bourdain’s demiglace in the door. It’s easy to scoop spoonfuls out when finishing a sauce.
Pancetta. Pork and duck fat. Parisian gnocchi. Various agnolotti.
And pre-pesto (just the herbs and oil). We also freeze the last of the summer herbs before the first frost in ice cube trays.
I really need a second freezer!
quick question for you:
when you freeze the ginger do you peel off all the skin before you put in the freezer? Will the skin easily come off after it has been frozen? Do you need to thaw the ginger next time you need to use it?
Thanks,
Debby
My freezer is always filled with Alaskan staples from the summer, halibut, salmon (king, silver, and reds, some of it smoked), blueberries, rasberries, and whatever stocks I have made. Oh, and of course vodka and usually some Jaeger.
I like to caramelize many, many onions (about 7.5 lbs) in the slow cooker and then divide them up and freeze them in Food Saver bags to make quickie onion soup. The little blocks of chopped frozen basil from Trader Joe’s are nifty. Mostly, though, I have last summer’s (and probably a few from the previous summer…) tomatoes. They get halved, roasted (not too much), separated from their skins, frozen, and Food Savered.
Mushy stuff stores more neatly if you freeze it in nice uniform containers and then pop the block into the Food Saver bag.
Rhonda,
The Arborio is raw yet already infused with wonderful truffle essence.
I agree, Rhonda, what I learn here is invaluable, particularly from our esteemed host.
The FoodSaver has changed my cooking/eating life. Amazing what a new gadget can bring to your party.
I no longer feel I have to either cook 1 portion meals nor do I need to eat everything I cook right then and there.
Bulk food is one thing but cooked food is time and labor plus overhead. Anything I cook that is over my portion gets divided and vacuum bagged. Then frozen. I am shooting for zero waste. But without a flavor profile and a steady requirement for any ingredient?…I am not trying to freeze any particular ingredient. Though Michael as usual.. you have cleared up some major issue for me. Bag and freeze tomato paste vs the tube.
I like it, I love it, gimme more of it Michael…!.
This is a SUPER tip man.
… and Charlotte… go easy on all that meat woman. Mix it up a bit or you are a great candidate for the ” Gout”.
Michael Franco:
Happy New Year to you too, my friend! I went to the gym this afternoon and stepped on the scale — the nanaimo bars have been located!
Is your stashed Arborio rice cooked or raw?
This is such a great post! I have learned that I can use my frozen fruit for sorbet and I can freeze my duck, pork and chicken fat.
I know this is an obvious “duh” but I didn’t think about doing this before.
MessyOne: You should feel smug. Go girl! Good stock is like our dirty little secret. Especially veal stock.
As a home cook, it is a way to be a culinary genius amongst our friends.
Carol, if you are reading; thanks for agreeing to “KULL-INARY”.
-
Batteries. I read that freezing extends charge life and have been freezing them ever since. Also,
stock, garlic cloves, ginger, butter, lime leaf, lemongrass stalks,
Wei Chuan dumplings, homemade ravioli and/or gnocchi,
sushi for quick congee (including pickled ginger),
Thai bird peppers, coffee, surimi balls, Amish kielbasa,
firm tofu, edamame,
vodka, gin, and other combustibles,
mysterious bags of ingredients with inscrutable Chinese names.
in my freezer;
home made thai green curry paste
kaffir lime leaves
homegrown chilies of various types
little green peas
lemongrass
pesto from homegrown basils
galangal root
chopped bunches of homegrown greens, in ziplocs, for some last -minute soups
chopped longbeans from the garden
Safely tucked away in my freezer is a glass jar filled with Arborio rice. Buried between the rice grains are a few truffles which enliven many a dish. Not to mention using the perfumed rice to make a lovely risotto.
To Rhonda, Happy New Year friend,
You may need to enlist the help of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to recover those nanaimo bars.
raspberries, mangoes and peaches for an impromptu sorbet, artichoke hearts for a frittata, soup, or to jazz up a dinner salad, grains, nuts, parmesan rinds, stale bread for breadcrumbs {take out of the freezer and grate}.
also during the summer i partially bake a couple of apricot tarts, wrap them very well in foil then in a ziploc bag, and freeze. it’s fun to pull out an apricot tart in december!
I’m feeling fairly smug because I made a gallon and a half of turkey stock on Monday – I freeze it in two cup Glad containers because they’re relatively space-efficient. I also keep stocked on fresh ginger, puff pastry, nuts, pesto and the like. One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is bouquets garnis.
The Boy buys the muslin bags, then fills them all summer while he’s pinching herbs. Once a week or so, he’ll put together 3 or 4, then throw them into a zipper bag in the freezer. Since no one ever sees them, they don’t have to be glamorous, and they taste a whole lot better than the ones made with dried herbs.
“trotter gear”
bread crumbs
vodka
duck fat
goose fat
pig fat (cured and uncured)
romescu
I am late to the post but I love “virtual snooping” through everyone’s freezers.
Currently, the freezer above my fridge is saved for:
-Martini glasses
-Beer glasses
-Water glasses
-ice
-a cocktail shaker
-voddy and gin
Also:
I have found small ziplock bags which hold one cup of stock. I fill them and freeze them and then stack them like soldiers in another container for easy access (also in freezer 1). Larger quart bags are in freezer 2. This works GREAT for veal stock because sometimes you only need a bit for sauces.
-Nuts (6 different kinds)
-dates, currents, dried cranberries, etc.
Small freezer 2:
-Meat, meat, meat…
-frozen homemade gnocchi (potato, butternut squash)
-Quart sized frozen bags of chicken stock
-Phyllo pastry
-Puff Pastry
-tomato paste
-raspberries & plums from my parents’ garden for smoothies
-Jalapenos from the garden
-Butter, butter, butter!!!
-Cold smoked salmon
-Assorted red sauces in small containers for the emergency pasta dinner
-Homemade tomato salsa, peach salsa, zucchini salsa made from the summers harvest (parents’ garden)
Also; I SWEAR there were homemade Nanaimo bars in there the other day and now they are missing. I THINK I MAY HAVE BEEN ROBBED! Nothing else was touched, only the Nanaimo bars.
Hey,
It seems your archives links are broken – any month I select does not go anywhere.
Thanks.
I do put all of my nuts and seeds in the freezer, as well as my wheat germ and wheat bran – both of which spoil quickly.
Whole Grain Corn Meal (I get Bob’s Red Mill brand)–The coarse grind is excellent for polenta, and the fine grind I use for baking (for which I find the coarse grind too gravelly).
Whole wheat flour, brown rice, barley, quinoa, other whole grains that last longer in the freezer.
Fresh lard, and accumulations of duck fat, bacon fat
Nuts.
Dried beans that I’ve soaked, simmered until tender in water with an onion and a bay leaf, drained and put into a zipper-top bag. Sometimes I’ll toss a few into a pasta dish or with some greens or rice.
A bag of decaf coffee beans for guests.
Homemade dumplings or wontons from my Chinese inlaws.
We have 2 freezers, the garage freezer is the home of stock (chicken & beef right now) with some buns & frozen burgers for emergencies. Inside the freezer is packed with carcasses & veggie trim for more stock, duck & bacon fat, butters, puff & fillo dough, frozen tablespoons of tomato paste (I just lay a piece of plastic wrap out, then roll the portions up & freeze), a tupperware of lemon juice, and some frozen peas & corn. Oh yeah, and vodka.
4-5 kinds of oil(peanut, grapeseed, sesame, olive, canola), soy and tamari, mirin, kecap manis, nam pla, 6-8 vinegars(cider, white, verjus, red wine, champagne,sherry, rice wine) clam juice, capers, harissa, 4 kinds of mustard (dijon, whole grain, honey, yellow), Frank’s Hot Sauce, chipotle, 3 honeys (clover, chestnut, truffle) tinned beans of various kinds and mushy peas to keep the Brit husband happy.
Frozen: keffir lime leaves, galangal, lemongrass, bird chilies, confit duck legs, duck breast, cider from the fall, blueberries picked over the summer, strawberries picked in july, chili, pea soup, ragu, bangers…see Brit husband above.
Garlic. I always have garlic on hand.
I buy tomato paste in jars rather than tubes or cans.
Parisianne gnocchi has become a staple in my house, so I always make extra and freeze them in serving batches.
Always keep lots of butter in the freezer, and stocks.
Kosher salt. I can’t remember the last time I bought a box of table salt.
Maldon salt for finishing.
Always have balsamic vinegar on hand.
I usually make up a log or two of various compound butters and keep them in the freezer, and slice off what I need.
Ditto for beurre manie. I make it up and roll it into a log and slice off as needed.
Chocolate fudge sauce
Pate brise- frozen flat disk – ready for a galette
frangiapane
shrimp shells
chicken parts – ready for stock
mushroom duxelles
home made gnocchi
Oh, one more: compound butter. I seem to always be trying to salvage fresh herbs before they turn to slime. I make compound butter with them and freeze them in plastic wrap like sausages. I use them for finishing soups and sauces; I put them on steak and fish; I’ve even used them sauteeing, which works better than you might think.
This is such a great list! The only thing I keep on hand in the freezer that I don’t see here is dry white wine frozen in ice cube trays. Perfect for when you need a little for risotto or a small amount of pan sauce.
Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
Wild Blueberries for Smoothies
Hazelnut flour
Frozen Pizza dough
Shrimp. I can rarely buy them fresh anyway and they can be thawed and brined simultaneously in salt water.
Peas. Usually better frozen than fresh where I live.
Roasted and peeled kabocha pumpkin. It’s only available about six weeks of the year and the dog and I both love it.
Homemade ketchup, barbeque sauce, and chutney that don’t have enough sugar to last in the fridge.
I keep lots of stock in the freezer too, but when you say there’s always a good meal at hand if you have stock do you mean something more than just soup?
Wonderful post. We always have lemongrass, ginger and chillis in the freezer ready to go if we fancy a soup or curry.
-veal stock in ice cube trays (best idea in the kitchen ever!!!)
-vodka
-ice cubes
Wow! How is it I never thought to freeze my leftover baguette?
Uh oh, I keep chipotles in adobo in the refrigerator, not the freezer. They taste fine and so far they haven’t killed us.
In the freezer we always have: pesto, nuts, veggie stock – because I read this blog, bread, various flours that I mill at home, and berries. I’m going to put my ginger in there right after I click post.
I cook for just myself often during the week when my fiancee travels, so I usually have single servings of homemade pomodoro sauce in my freezer for a quick dinner. I also have tomato sauce, stock, and frozen herbs.
Pesto made with summer basil, veggies from the garden blanched and vacuum packed, bacon!, home grown chicken, home grown sundried tomatoes and ice cream. There’s other things in there as well since we buy beef by the quarter and pigs by the side. But the first are things I always have and use weekly.
Never thought to keep ginger in the freezer – great idea!
homemade waffles
butter
stock cubes
pesto cubes
bacon
mornay sauce
ginger
Emily, I do my mac & cheese similar to Laura, only I bake mine in individual single serving dishes that I’ve sprayed. When they’re done, I let them rest a few minutes, run a knife around the edges and they just pop out. Once they’ve cooled, I pop them in zip top bags, get rid of the air (I used to have the machine that did this but it took up too much space in my tiny house) and have brilliant single servings to grab as I dash out the door to work or to send home with college boy.
I keep small bags of homemade pasta sauce, always 2-3 chicken carcass for making stock and stock itself.
I did find an awesome way to get my stock into the baggies with great ease. I have a large plastic container with a tap. Once the stock has cooled a bit, you simply place the zip top freezer bag under the tap and fill it 3/4’s full. Then I lay them flat on cookie sheets. When they’re frozen solid I just label and stack. The container is a breeze to wash up and there’s no spillage.
The bottom drawer of my freezer is full of vacuum bags of stock (veal, chicken, turkey), plus supplies for making more (bones, chicken feet). Need I mention that I *really* like cooking with home-made stock?
I keep wheat berries in the freezer. I like to grind WW flour in the Vita-Mix dry canister. When I buy pre-ground WW flour it always spoils before I use it up. Taking a few minutes to grind it fresh is worth it, and having the berries frozen actually helps with the grinding.
That’s about it for “invaluable staples” – the rest is mostly postponed projects – various parts awaiting curing or smoking…
Emily, for the mac and cheese and lasagna, I cook them (no breadcrumbs on top of the mac and cheese because my kids don’t like it), cool them, put individual portions in a plastic sandwich bag, seal them, push out as much air as I can and lay them flat on a cookie sheet. I put them into the freezer and when they are hard, I put the individual servings into a gallon ziploc bag – or two or three – which is then labeled and dated.
To use, you could heat the portions up in the oven, but for the kids, I usually microwave the food about two minutes per serving on a porcelain plate with a microwave cover, so it doesn’t dry out.
For the mac and cheese, you might want to pause it and stir it once or twice so it defrosts evenly.
Hope it helps.
home made tapenade
Fava beans: I buy a case at the farmers’ market, blanch and shell them and freeze bags of them, so I can use them straight away through the winter.
Love the idea of the ginger, especially since I just bought a huge bag of ginger root in Chinatown last wee.
I disagree on the ginger…whether I grate it or freeze it whole: when defrosted it turns watery and looses all its flavor…for me ginger must be fresh…that is an absolute
I also keep activated charcoal in my freezer
I make our bread, then slice it and freeze the loaves, then we always have bread if we need it. I keep all of our organic orange peel in a bag in the freezer until I have enough to make candied peel. Chicken carcases go into one bag, cooked chicken bones into another, then when we have enough I make stock. I freeze the stock in 1 litre containers. We also have a day of making our own curry pastes once in a while and freeze 3 tablespoon measures in plastic wrap. They defrost in about 10 minutes on the kitchen bench while i’m cooking the rice. We have a great market here in Sydney once a month so we stock up on berkshire pork, venison and goats curd and freeze those for use throughout the month. And of course, butter, nuts and berries take up all the leftover space. I love our freezer!!
Thanks for the info milo, I’ll have to check it out.