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Justine Pattison

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How to get the best results when freezing food

Freezing is one of the simplest ways for ensuring that food maintains its quality and texture; it’s also a key technique for making the best use of your food and your budget.

chest freezer
sealed bags ready to freeze

Wrap well

  • To freeze successfully, it’s important to wrap food really well and to freeze it as quickly as possible. Many freezers have a fast-freeze compartment, this helps to prevent ice crystals from forming on food just added to the freezer and protect the quality of food already in the freezer. Other, more advanced freezers have an automatic fast-freeze that cuts in if the temperature of the freezer becomes too warm and then turns off again once food is frozen.

Fast-freeze

  • Set the fast-freeze control or reduce the freezer temperature for 2-5 hours before adding fresh food (check the manufacturers’ guidelines if you can).
  • Put well-wrapped and labelled packages in the fast-freeze compartment.
  • If you don’t have a special fast-freeze compartment, put food in the coldest part of the freezer and away from already frozen foods.

Add gradually

  • Don’t overfill your freezer with fresh food at any one time as your freezer might struggle to maintain the extra low temperature.
  • If buying in bulk, keep foods in the fridge and add your portions to the freezer one by one when you are sure that the previous portion is frozen. It takes roughly 1-2 hours for a 500g pack of food to preserve. Try not to use more than about 10% of the freezer’s total capacity for freezing fresh food every 24 hours.
  • As soon as all the fresh food has frozen, turn off the fast-freeze switch or turn up the thermostat so that the freezer can return to its normal setting. This will preserve the quality of the food and save electricity.
My book ‘Freeze’ is packed full of information to help you freeze food safely and effectively.
Buy ‘FREEZE’

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Next Post:How to Store and Freeze Meat and Poultry

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Justine’s books

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Justine and Claire cooking in the kitchen

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My gooey microwave ‘baked’ camembert is featured i My gooey microwave 'baked' camembert is featured in @dailymailweekend today, along with scrambled eggs, warm fruit compote and pitta bread pizzas - all taken from Ping!⁠
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#microwaverecipes #microwave #Ping! #weekendmeals #weekendrecipes
My latest book – PING! – is published today.⁠
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It’s a collection of over 100 energy-saving, family-friendly recipes cooked using just a microwave oven. ⁠
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It’s a bit of departure from my recent books, but one I hope you'll find useful – and perhaps intriguing too. There's something fascinating about cooking in the microwave and, even though I’ve been using them for many years, I was surprised by the huge variety of different - and very delicious - dishes that could be cooked successfully using microwave power alone. Everything from easy curries and 'casseroles', to lasagne, barbecue-style chicken, spicy rice, banoffee pie, sticky toffee pudding, rich chocolate brownie and lemon drizzle cake! ⁠
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If you do fancy taking a peak at Ping!, you can find it in your local bookshop, online and via the link in my bio.⁠
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#microwaverecipes #microwavemagic #quickandeasymeals #familymeals #energysaving #tastyinminutes #microwavecuisine #convenientcooking #microwaverecipebook #justinepattison⁠
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For a healthy midweek meal, why not try a simple v For a healthy midweek meal, why not try a simple veggie bolognese? Taken from my slow cooker book, this one makes four really generous servings or six smaller portions. It freezes very well and can be used for a lasagne, pasta bake or base for veggie cottage pie. Perfect if you like to go meat-free or simply fancy a change.⁠
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Click in the link in my bio to take you to the recipe.⁠
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#slowcooker #healthymidweekmeals #meatfreerecipes ⁠
#veggiebolognese #slowcookerecipes #freezerfriendlymeals⁠
Slow cooker pulled pork makes an easy meal for ove Slow cooker pulled pork makes an easy meal for over the weekend. My version is rich and spicy - perfect for piling into warmed wraps with pink pickled onions, avocado, soured cream and shredded lettuce. ⁠
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You can find the recipe by clicking on the link in my bio. ⁠
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#slowcookerpulledpork #justinepattisonrecipes #weekendcooking⁠
#easyrecipes #spicypulledpork⁠
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Thinking you’d like something different for breakf Thinking you'd like something different for breakfast? These fruity layered yoghurt pots can be made with fresh or frozen berries and prepped ahead. Add a small handful of nuts or some granola for extra crunch.⁠
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Click on the link in my bio for the recipe.⁠
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#healthybreakfast #crushedberryyoghurt #justinepattisonrecipe #yoghurtbreakfast #mealprep
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