What dishes are ready for long-term freezing, says Evgeny Mikhailov, chef of a large Moscow restaurant.

1. Cream soup or broth

Only cream soups and broths made from any meat or fish are ready for freezing. But ordinary soups or borscht, which contain potatoes, will turn into porridge during the process of freezing and defrosting. Both potatoes and cold take away all the moisture, which means that such a soup will lose all its beneficial properties.

Cream soup is the easiest to freeze. But before putting it in the freezer, wait until it cools down and pour it into a disposable container or ziploc bags. Rest assured, you can eat this soup even after a month. The main thing is that you then need to defrost it correctly: not at room temperature, but in the refrigerator at +4...6 ° WITH.

2. Sauce

You can only freeze sauces that do not contain cream. The fact is that at sub-zero temperatures, the fat separates from the protein mass of the cream, and at the end you will get an unpleasant taste of sour milk, and even the consistency will look ugly. You definitely won't want to serve it.

For example, Bolognese sauce can be stored at −18 ° From up to 2-3 months.

3. Salted fish

Salted raw fish prepared at home can be easily frozen if done correctly. Be sure to pour it generously with any vegetable oil. The oil closes the pores and prevents moisture from freezing out. This means that you will then receive almost fresh and juicy fish. The fish can lie like this for up to six months.

4. Chicken roll and jerky.

Of the meat products, only chicken roll and various kinds of dried products are frozen: basturma, dry sausages. It is better to immediately wrap the chicken roll in cling film and put it in the freezer. Then you can eat it after 2-3 weeks.

Regular fried meat (chicken, pork, beef) will simply fall apart after freezing. Not only do you get a dry product after frying, but after freezing the last moisture that connected the fabric fibers will leave it.

5. Flour products.

Puff pastries, strudels, and apple pie (“pie”) can easily withstand sub-zero temperatures due to the fact that they contain dry dough. This means that the properties and taste of the product will remain the same. It is better to wrap them in several layers of plastic bag and put them in the freezer only when cooled. Strudel can stay like this for up to 2 months, pie and puff pastries - up to a month.

By the way, you can safely freeze the ice cream cake several times. But under no circumstances should you leave sponge and cream cakes in the freezer.

6. Pancakes

If you think that the pancakes need freezing, then immediately after removing them from the pan, generously coat them with butter. This will prevent them from becoming brittle after being stored in the freezer.

If you are going to freeze pancakes with berry or fruit filling, then add a natural thickener: starch. Then, after thawing, you will not feel that the taste and external properties of the sweet pancake have changed. Pancakes can be stored for up to 2 weeks.

7. Cheese

Never try to leave sliced ​​cheese in the freezer. It will fall apart and become tasteless.

If you understand that the cheese remains and there will be no opportunity to eat it, then it is best to grate it and put it in a plastic bag. You can then use this cheese for dressing julienne, pasta, etc. The cheese can be stored frozen for up to a month or two.

8. Kefir

“You can safely put a pack of kefir in the freezer and even store it there for up to a month. Frozen kefir should be placed on cheesecloth and allowed to drain. After it drains, you will get... sour cream. Eat it calmly for another 5-7 days,” says the chef.

“You should absolutely not freeze mashed potatoes, any types of salads, cutlets, beef stroganoff, goulash. When frozen, they will fall apart, and the salad will turn into inedible porridge,” says Evgeny Mikhailov. — In general, it is better not to freeze foods that contain moisture. When frozen, moisture evaporates much faster than when dried. This means that the product will lose all its properties and taste; you will throw it away after defrosting.”

Proper packaging is the solution to all problems. By using the right packaging, you will extend the shelf life of your food in the freezer and preserve its taste.

To store frozen foods you can use:

- special bags for freezing with or without a zipper (slider bags);

- plastic containers that can withstand sub-zero temperatures and are suitable for the microwave;

- thick foil;

- cling film;

- disposable baking dishes.

Be sure to label everything you put in the freezer. otherwise, later you simply won’t remember what you froze; frozen foods look completely different. Also sign the freezing date to avoid unpleasant consequences. You can use a permanent marker for this. Regular markers or pens are not suitable for this, as they fade.

What foods can be frozen?

Believe it or not, you can freeze almost all ready-made dishes.

Below are just a few of the dishes that store well in the freezer:

- broths;

- puree soups;

- sausages;

- meat goulash;

- pilaf;

- chops;

- lasagna;

- pates (meat, fish, liver);

- mashed potatoes;

- cereals;

- pasta (boil until al dente);

- cutlets;

- cabbage rolls;

- baked goods (pies, pizza, buns, muffins, pancakes, pancakes);

- casseroles;

- sauces (Bolognese, pesto).

Nuances:

If you cook a lot at once, then do not freeze everything in one package, Divide into portions so you don't have to defrost several times.

The faster the freezing, the better. Many modern freezers have a quick freeze function. To freeze a dish, use this function, and for storage you can use a regular compartment with a standard -18 degrees.

When freezing in bags, try to “expel” all the air, then the products will better retain their appearance and taste.

Do not fill storage containers to the top, since most products contain water, which expands when frozen. This especially applies to broths, soups and gravies.

When storing in the freezer, try to use different shelves for meat and fish dishes, vegetables and other products to protect products from foreign odors.

It is better to add mayonnaise, yogurt, cream to the dish before eating, because after freezing they separate.

How to organize?

1. Make a menu and a list of necessary products. We wrote about this.

2. Plan your work. Start by making a list of what you need to prepare for each recipe. For example: chop and fry one onion, boil the pasta, boil the meat. Then group the same steps: for example, one recipe calls for one onion, and another calls for two, so we can peel and fry three onions. When planning, consider the following: first prepare all the products (clean, wash, cut), then grate, cut, chop, and only then begin to fry, boil, bake. This approach will allow you to cook several dishes at the same time.

3. Prepare all necessary utensils and supplies- knives, cups, pots, pans - and feel free to start cooking, following the work plan.

4. Once all the ingredients are ready, All we have to do is put everything into bags, containers and label it, then put it in the freezer.

A modern woman must manage everything: build a career, take care of children, look like she’s on the cover, run a household, and be a gentle wife. How can you manage all this and not lose your health?

Fortunately, women these days have dozens of au pairs. Washing machine and dishwasher, multicookers, toasters and yogurt makers, bread makers and blenders. And yet, from time to time, everyone is faced with the fact that it is almost midnight, you have to get up at six in the morning, and the next day’s dinner is not ready. And there is no strength to fry cutlets or wrap meat in foil. As a result, the husband and children cook their own pasta and sausages. Where is the way out?

How to make housekeeping easier

But there is a way out. Having stuffed our kitchen with ultra-modern household appliances, we completely forgot about the banal freezer. No, of course, it most often contains a piece of meat or fish, but while you defrost it, while you cook it... Whereas there is a simple and profitable option - to freeze ready-made dishes.

You can freeze almost any food that takes more than half an hour to prepare. Of course, there is no point in freezing rice and buckwheat porridge, but there is a dozen cutlets, stuffed peppers, steaks, baked fish and much more. How to do it right?

Where to begin

You should start by making a grocery list for going to the supermarket. When planning to buy two kilograms of trout, enter twice that amount on the list. The same will apply to any product for the main course - meat, fish or poultry.

Shopping for the house, and the day off is dedicated to making the home comfortable and preparing food for the next few days. When you cook the fish, don’t be lazy to make a few extra servings. Anyway, your hands are already dirty, you have to wash the dishes, but the pot or pan is just hot. Set aside the amount you did not plan to eat in the following days. These pieces will become your strategic reserve.

When cooking broth for soup, the rule is the same: cook twice as much. It won’t go to waste, but it will save a hungry family when you are tired.

What can you freeze?

Anything. Broth, cutlets, stew, cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers, pilaf, fish and meat steaks, boiled poultry and any other dishes that are considered staple in your family.

What to freeze in

There are several options for packaging main dishes. These can be plastic bags of different sizes, cling film, foil, thermal paper (baking paper), plastic containers. Choose what is most convenient for you. The main rule: each piece has its own container. This way, your household won’t have to worry about the portion size.

How long can frozen food be stored?

If your freezer is at the correct temperature (no higher than −5°C), then frozen ready-made meals can be stored for 3-4 months.

What are the benefits of freezing prepared foods?

Imagine stashing several portions of a main dish in the freezer for weeks. Now imagine what your evening will look like when you don’t have dinner ready in the refrigerator, and your husband and children start walking in circles asking when we’ll eat. At this moment, throwing a glass of rice into a pan of boiling water and lazily chopping a salad of fresh vegetables, you say: “Salmon with cream sauce, steamed cutlets, beef stroganoff, empanadas, pork chop, liver... Who wants what?”

Made an impression? Still would! Not only do you not have to rack your brains for a filling meal, but you also have the same choice as in a restaurant. And you just need to take the dishes ordered by your family out of the freezer and heat them in a slow cooker, on the stove or in the microwave. And the wolves are fed, and you can relax, and not labor in the kitchen.

As a rule, comparisons are made based on the least stable vitamin - vitamin C. Under adequate production and storage conditions (which are not always observed in Russia), about 10% of vitamin C is lost during blanching, and another part is lost during storage and subsequent processing.

These losses will be significant if storage conditions are not met, defrosting and subsequent freezing occurs, and exposure to light occurs.

As for fresh vegetables, it’s worth drawing a line between seasonal, local vegetables and fruits (from your garden, for example) and everyone else.

The latter, as is known, are collected immature, transported for a long time, stored in warehouses, treated with chemicals against rotting, etc. As a result of such a long transportation to the consumer, vegetables and fruits, which have not yet had time to gain maximum vitamins due to immaturity, lose a greater percentage of what they contained.

As a result, both fresh vegetables and fruits from store shelves and frozen products contain approximately the same amount of vitamins, depending, first of all, on the conditions of collection and transportation of a particular batch, and not on the processing method.

When stored properly, frozen foods can contain more vitamins than fresh store-bought foods.

If you compare fresh vegetables and fruits from your garden, just picked at the peak of ripeness, they, of course, will contain much more vitamins than frozen foods.

As for berries, especially those that perish quickly, such as raspberries, for example, fresh raspberries contain more vitamin C than frozen ones. Simply because fresh raspberries have a very short shelf life, and it will not be possible to pick them green and take them to the point of sale. Although blast freezing technology allows you to freeze raspberries and preserve most of the nutrients they contain.

There are also losses in other vitamins during freezing and subsequent preparation: for example, during freezing, about 25% of vitamin B1 (thiamine) is lost, vitamin B2 (riboflavin) - from 4 to 18% (according to various sources). Vitamin A is not lost during blanching and freezing; losses occur during long-term storage, so when purchasing, for example, frozen carrots, it is important to look at the production date.

The conclusion is this: to get the maximum amount of vitamins during the harvest season, it is better to eat vegetables and fruits from your own garden or grown in your region. In winter there will not be much difference between frozen food and fresh food.

Myth #2: Freezing kills germs

In fact, bacteria are much more sensitive to high temperatures than to low temperatures. Before freezing, the products are washed and blanched (preparing for freezing, quick cooking or simply treating with boiling water), while a small number of microorganisms die, while the rest, when frozen, become inactive, in which they can remain for quite a long time.

When the pathogenic microorganisms that were in them are activated. Therefore, frozen foods, like fresh ones, need to be thoroughly washed and heat treated.

If the product was defrosted or simply kept at a higher temperature than it should have been (frozen food should be stored at -18 degrees), some bacteria could begin to multiply, despite the fact that the product itself was not defrosted. Then the contamination of the product with pathogenic microorganisms will be high. To prevent intestinal infections, such products must be treated at high temperatures before consumption.

Myth #3: Frozen meat and fish products are the same as vegetables.

In the production of semi-finished meat products, food additives, flavor enhancers, stabilizers and flavors are used. In addition, salt is added - and later when preparing the dish you will not be able to regulate its amount. Often frozen semi-finished products are over-salted.

When making frozen fish, it is glazed by repeated immersion in cold water. This is done so that the outer layer of ice prevents shrinkage during storage and slows down the process of fat oxidation.

However, the weight of such water, according to GOST, should not exceed 4% of the weight of the fish itself. Unscrupulous producers not only freeze more ice on the surface of the fish, but also inject water inside the carcasses to increase weight. In addition, the injection solution may contain stabilizers, dyes and flavors to improve the commercial qualities of the product.

Rapid freezing (shock freezing) results in the formation of small ice crystals that do not damage the cell walls. Slow freezing causes the formation of large crystals, causing the fish meat to lose its consistency after being frozen. Therefore, when producing frozen fish, only shock freezing should be used.

In general, we can say that the quality of frozen meat (including semi-finished products) and fish depends on the production technology and the integrity of the seller. But since the consumer cannot control the production method, the amount of additives and storage technology, nutritionists do not recommend consuming frozen semi-finished products as part of a healthy diet.

Myth #4: Frozen food doesn't spoil.

In fact, nothing can preserve a product forever, not even blast freezing. Thus, the shelf life of frozen vegetables is 24 months; dumplings, other semi-finished meat products and fish - 6 months. Naturally, it is not recommended to eat such products after the expiration date.

Frozen foods should be stored at -18 degrees - at this temperature most microorganisms become inactive. When the temperature rises even by a few degrees, some types of bacteria can begin to multiply and then, if such a product is consumed, cause illness.

If frozen food is accidentally defrosted (during a power outage, for example), it should be cooked immediately.

Myth No. 5: A person chooses whether or not to eat frozen foods.

Often we don’t even know that the product sold to us arrived at the store or restaurant in a frozen state.

Nowadays everything is frozen: in addition to vegetables, fruits, meat and fish, these are also semi-finished bakery products (in the bakery you only need to defrost them and keep them in the oven for 10 minutes), confectionery products (cakes, pastries in restaurants, etc.), ready-made pasta , dough, seafood, ready meals, mushrooms, milk...

Freezing is the most convenient way to transport food, and blast freezing allows you to preserve the maximum properties of a fresh product.

Rules for choosing frozen foods

1. When buying frozen foods, give preference to vegetables, fruits and berries; other products are better to use fresh and cook yourself.
2. It is better to buy packaged frozen foods, in which case the production date is indicated on the package.
3. Packaging of frozen food must not be damaged.
4. The temperature in the freezer (in the store) should be below -18 degrees.
5. Check the product's expiration date and production date (it must coincide with the harvest season).
6. The fruits in the bag should lie separately; if you feel a solid piece of ice, this indicates a violation of the process of transportation and storage of the product.