Freezer Tips (how to store food and save money)
Freezers are great to prevent food waste. And this also has a knock-on effect of saving money on grocery bills. Always label what goes into the freezer, and add the date. Avoid overfilling your freezer, since cold air must move around for even freezing.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (many foods are unsafe near animal friends). Bin allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives) and citrus/tomato/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures. It’s okay to put them in food waste bins (made into biogas).
For tinned foods, fully remove lids (put inside) or pop ring-pulls back over holes (and pinch top opening closed) before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
- Bread (a main source of food waste) is easily frozen. Buy sliced, then pop slices straight into the toaster.
- To freeze green veggies, blanch in boiling water then plunge in iced water, drain, freeze on a tray and transfer to a silicone freezer bag. Boil (don’t steam) from frozen. Don’t freeze high-water foods (lettuce, cucumber, radish).
- You can freeze homemade pastry for a few months. It will thaw in around an hour, if you’re in a pie-making mood!
- Use a fridge/freezer thermometer to check temperatures weekly (Food Standards Agency says fridges should be 0 to 5 degrees and freezers below 18 degrees C (wait for food to cool, before adding).
- If defrosting a freezer, don’t leave food out more than a couple of hours ((keep doors closed during power cuts, and food should be okay for a few hours). If the temperature goes above 4 degrees C, throw food away.
For fridges, transfer opened canned foods to containers, and store animal foods on the bottom shelf, to avoid dripping onto surfaces below.
Choosing and maintaining freezers
To clean a freezer, unplug and move food to a cool box. Remove shelves and baskets to wash and rinse in the sink, and dry everything before switching the freezer on again.
Look for A-rating freezers, ideally with a Quiet Mark (freezers that make a noise could be faulty, Curry’s offers a ‘no-fix, no fee’ service). Cleaning the condenser coils with a vacuum cleaner soft hose every few months can prevent noise, as can adjusting the feet and tightening screws.
If you are on a low income, you can buy (PAT-tested) fridge/freezers from Reuse Network. Some places (including councils) give grants for those in need:
- Turn 2 Us has a national grant search tool
- British Gas White Goods Fund offers help by referral
- Family Fund provides grants for families with disabled children
Silicone souper cubes (sold in Lakeland)
Souper Cubes are an American invention, a great invention. At present we don’t appear to have anything similar in England. They are sold in Lakeland (so get these while you can, as the trade tariff fiasco is affecting imports).
In short, these are made from silicone (made with sand, a kind of eco-alternative to plastic that is food-safe, lasts for years and is easy to recycle). Looking like giant ice-cube trays, you basically make a batch of soup (or bread or anything else), then pour leftovers into the trays.
Then when you want some soup, you just pop out a cube to thaw in the fridge, or heat up (to the correct temperature and don’t re-freeze, for food safety). They are great to avoid food waste.
If you live alone or as a couple, you can then make normal soup recipes (that often serve 4 to 6), and have your own homemade soup on tap, which will save you money, and give more variety than tinned soups.
The sturdy lids prevent spills and frost, and the flexible containers push out cubes easily (no more banging plastic containers on the counter, to get your soup or sauce out. You can also use them for homemade pasta sauce, curry, vegan pesto or broth. Silicone also resists stains and odours.
Souper Cubes are also easy to stack and dishwasher-safe. They were created ‘in her head’ by a busy mother, then designed by her husband, who thankfully is an engineer!
If you like making soup, invest in a stick blender, it’s a lot less faff than using blenders that you constantly have to wash out. It’s UK law that stores selling electronic goods have to recycle the old ones for you. So take along that dusty old blender in the kitchen cupboard, and swap it for a sleek modern hand-blender, to use with your Souper Cubes.
Pack’d (organic frozen produce in paper packs)
PACKD is a unique food brand that sells frozen organic fruits and vegetables, in paper packaging. It offers small portions to get your 5-a-day, without food waste. So if you can’t find fresh organic produce at the local market, this is the next best choice.
Choosing organic produce is better for your health and the planet, and with this brand, you don’t have to worry as recycling the packs is super-easy. It’s also helping to support local organic farmers.
Produce is flash-frozen just after picking, which locks in vitamins, texture and flavour. Ideal for busy lives, just take what you need, and seal the pack, to return to the freezer.
Organic vegetables
- Spinach (check medication before eating)
- Petit Pois
- Broccoli
- Sweetcorn
- Sweet Potato
- Cauliflower Rice
Organic fruits
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Cherries
- Summer Berries
- Blackberries
- Peaches
- Bananas
- Pineapples
- Mango
Plant-based goodness bowls
This brand also makes plant-based goodness bowls (not in paper packaging, but you can recycle packaging at supermarket bag bins, if kerbside does not recycle). Choose from:
- Sticky Soy & Sesame (an Asian-inspired dish of brown rice, vegetables and tempeh in a soy sesame sauce, with mushrooms).
- Mexican Smokey Bean (a protein-packed blend of beans, rice and vegetables in a smoky sauce with turmeric for added nutrition).
- Thai Green Curry (tempeh and brown rice, with vegetables in a spicy sauce).
