Questions from Our Inbox- Food Storage
May 6, 2009
Yesterday’s post brought some good questions from our readers.
Jean asks:
On your blog you said you cut up and cook your potatoes for potato salad ahead of time. I could save a lot of time by doing this, but I am not sure how to store them. How do you store yours? I am just now learning about do-ahead cooking and I am not sure at all about storage of different foods…what can be frozen and what can’t, etc. I would really appreciate any advice you could give me. Thank you so much for what you do!
Thanks Jean!
I have never frozen our cooked potatoes. Potatoes can be cooked (peeled, boiled, drained, cooled) and put in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or put in a Ziploc (which saves space) and put in the refigerator. These will keep for several days. Then I can take what I need out to whip up hashbrowns, or potatoes salad.
As for what can be frozen and what cannot, take a few extra minutes in the freezer section at the grocery store. You better believe if it can be frozen it will be in there, convenience foods are all about making money! ;o)
Christy asks:
What methods do you find are best for keeping your food from tasting like the freezer! It is very discouraging to put pancakes or even vegetables in the freezer only to have the kids not want to eat them when they are taken out!
I always use freezer ziplocs. Be sure that you are buying freezer bags and not storage bags. The freezer bags are thicker and stronger. Make sure you are squeezing out as much of the air as possible and then getting a good seal when you close them. NEVER use aluminum foil. If you need to use plastic wrap make sure you are wrapping it several times to keep it from unraveling. Another reason I love using ziplocs is that I can lay them flat and it makes for saving space in the freezer. Wal Mart’s brand of freezer bags is just as good as the Ziploc brand, the key is to get the freezer bags and not the storage bags!
I agree pancakes and waffles are best if fresh, but putting them in the toaster makes them good and syrup or sprinkled with 10X sugar helps. ;o) Be sure that you are not over warming them because it could dry them out too much. As far as the vegetables, they should be good if they are packaged correctly. Butter and salt also helps liven up flavors.
Hope this helps,
Topics: Cooking, Food Storage, From Our Mail Bag, Resourcefulness | No Comments »
