Watermelon freezing guides? If you aren’t planning to use meat right away, it’s important to freeze when you get home from the store and not leave it sitting in the fridge for a few days. How to freeze: Remove meat from packaging and place in an airtight heavy-duty foil, plastic wrap or plastic freezer bag. This will help prevent freezer burn and extend the shelf life of your meat. Storing: Fresh, uncooked beef can last in the freezer for 3 to 4 months, uncooked chicken about 9 to 12 months and uncooked seafood 3 to 12 months. Fruit and vegetables are best stored when they are at peak season. How to freeze fruit: Wash and let air dry completely before storing in a container or bag. Depending on how you’ll use them later, you may want to chop larger fruit into bite-sized pieces—but leave smaller berries intact.
Leave a little extra room for liquids: You can also freeze soups, sauces and stews in airtight containers. Liquids expand so you’ll want to fill freezer bags and containers only three-quarters of the way, so they don’t explode. Freeze fruits and vegetables: Freezing seasonal fruits and veggies is great, especially this time of year. Freezing your fresh garden veggies now will allow you to use them all year long. Same with in-season fruits, which are sweeter and perfect to add to your smoothies. Casseroles can be frozen either cooked or uncooked, but it’s a bit better to freeze uncooked or partially cooked casseroles as opposed to freezing fully cooked casseroles.
Whole Avocados – Yep, you read that right! You can freeze whole avocados. *Mind blown* You can also freeze guacamole! Most Veggies – Corn, peas, carrots, onions, peppers, you name it! You may need to blanch some of them before freezing. Roasted Tomatoes or Bell Peppers – Bake your tomatoes with herbs and spices and a drizzle of olive oil, then freeze in freezer bags. This can easily be added to soups and sauces. Squash and Sweet Potato – Cube or shred a batch of zucchini or sweet potatoes for quick hash browns. You can also thaw these and throw them into muffins or other baked goods for added nutrition! Spinach – Bag and freeze! So simple and helps prevent so much leafy waste. Frozen spinach is perfect to toss into a smoothie, a casserole, or your favorite pasta dish! Read additional info at can you freeze yogurt.
Thaw in cold water This method takes about 20 to 30 minutes per pound of food. As the USDA points out, make sure to use waterproof packaging, change the water every 30 minutes, and keep the water at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below the entire time. Thaw in the refrigerator This is by far the easiest and safest way to thaw frozen food, but it takes the longest. Depending on the fare, it can take 24 hours per pound of food. Do: Refreeze Properly When it comes to refreezing foods that have previously been frozen and then thawed, a good rule of thumb is to avoid it when you can, because the moisture that’s lost through the initial thawing process will affect food quality, says Hutchings.