When you want to preserve food and start building up a small stockpile of emergency food at home, the freezer is your best friend.
But not just for the food items you are used to freezing, like meat, fish, and bread.
Here are some of the more surprising foods that you can freeze.
Nuts
Did you know you can freeze nuts?
That’s right!
They will last a lot longer, and are extremely easy to defrost before enjoying them.
Just put your nuts in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag, then pull it from the freezer and set it on your kitchen counter when you want to enjoy them.
It does take a few hours to thaw out completely, but if you are using them in a recipe, you can put them in a pan to be heated up as well.
Gravy
Gravy also freezes very well, so before you throw out the extra gravy you know you won’t use within a few days, just put it in a container to be frozen.
If you know you want to use the entire portion of gravy for a meal, pour the gravy into a freezer-safe container or baggie once it has cooled down completely.
You can then freeze that, and remove it when you’re ready to use it.
Let it thaw a little on your counter, then put it into a pan to be heated up.
Frozen leftover portions of gravy can also be added to soups and stews to add extra flavour and/or thickness.
Grated Cheese
One of the more surprising foods that can be frozen is grated cheese.
The great thing about grated cheese is that once it has thawed in your refrigerator, it is just like new.
The consistency or flavour shouldn’t change much after being frozen.
You can save money on your grocery bills by purchasing it in bulk when it’s on special offer, and freezing what you don’t think you will use before the expiration date.
Pasta
If you want to start creating entire meals to be frozen for later, pasta should be at the top of your list!
It is best done when you can flash freeze the cooked and cooled pasta on cookie sheets, then put the pasta into a freezer bag.
It will be flattened, so it takes up less space in your freezer.
Wine
Lastly, you can freeze wine.
Instead of keeping it in the wine bottle, pour the leftover wine into ice cube trays and put that in the freezer.
Then you can pull them out and add them to your glass when it’s ready to enjoy the wine you saved.
The cubes can also be used in dishes that call for wine, such as sauces.
If you buy Chinese or Indian takeaways that come served in plastic lidded containers, you can wash these out and keep them for using to store food in the freezer.
They stack really well, and you can use dry-wipe pens to write the contents on the lid, and the date they were frozen.
