freezing WITHOUT (new) plastics

[Beekissed]

Very hard to emote, in writing in this informal forum, isn't it? Sarcasm or self-jesting sometimes come off weird! No bother...it happens to us all!

 

[FarmerChick]

thanks all...don't want to sound nasty...cause heck it is only about glass and freezers...LOL

 

[me&thegals]

Right--we can bring out the big guns for debates about politics, genetic modification and global warming

 

[FarmerChick]

Right--we can bring out the big guns for debates about politics, genetic modification and global warming:lol


******HA HA
the way I type I surely best not get involved in those topics above..HA HA

 

[heatherv]

Karen, aka FarmerChic... just so you know... I'm the same way as you w/ glass 'n such. I break glass constantly... droppping, slipping, etc. I've tried freezing things in glass before.. and a couple times I've just bumped the glass on something taking it out, or putting it in the refrigerator or wherever and the bump has caused it to crack. So I no longer use it b/c I know I'm too high strung to use it! We have moved waaay too many times.. and I always beg someone else to pack my glass stuff b/c I'd break it putting it into the box.

Cassandra, my mom has used the cartons (OJ, MILK, etc) like you're talking about. She uses them to freeze things that are liquidy/runny. (soups, stews, etc)

 

[FarmerChick]

So I no longer use it b/c I know I'm too high strung to use it!

*****heatherv---you described me to a T with this statement..HA HA---we are certainly like in that.

I am glad to hear the milk cartons are good for freezing. When I freeze orange juice I find on sale, I take it out of the carton and put it into a Juicy Juice plastic container or something I saved. I didn't know that the carton was a good freezer use...I just love plastic..LOL...but now I will just free the OJ in the carton and go for broke..HA HA

 

[tortoise]

Dragging up an old thread to pick brains again on ways to avoid using plastic in the freezer.

I'm still using ziplock for ground meat, veggies, and freezer meals. An 8x8" foil pan slides into a gallon ziploc - super easy and not terrible since I re-use both foil and ziploc many times.

I plan to freeze a lot of "zoodles" (blanched spiral cut zucchini). My goal is 100 single serve size packages. I'm not sure how to avoid packing them in a plastic bag.

I may try wrapping ground meat in butcher paper this year. We were packing it in flat rectangles so it would thaw fast ans be easy to stack in the freezer. But new freezer and they slide around too much. And I don't need to worry about thawing meat quick anymore. I'm better at remembering to thaw meat, I started canning meat and always have some on hand, and I have an Instant Pot to save me if nothing else will work. I think packaging ground meat in rolls wrapped in butcher paper would suit me just fine this year.

DH usually freezes whole blanched tomatoes in ziploc bags. Makes me crazy, I hate when he does it because it messes up my meal planning and recipe routine. Maybe I'll convince him to stop and then save some plastic there?

I usually have ziploc bags of "ice" cubes of various kinds in the freezer. 2 kinds of juice cubes right now. I should find something else to put them in. Maybe those red folgers coffee tubs? IDK.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

@tortoise you mentioned 8x8 foil pans. I know you can get smaller loaf pan foil pans. I use them to bake small loaves of zucchini or banana bread that I'm giving away. You can especially find these around Christmas time. Would those work for single servings of noodles? Cover with freezer safe foil? And pull out the old fashioned masking tape?
This is probably a dumb question, but why do you put the foil pans inside ziplock bags?

 

[Mini Horses]

Freezer burn ruins more in freezer items than anything else. I find my vacuum sealer to be excellent for this reason. The bags are NOT cheap but I buy the rolls so that I am able to adjust to the size I need. Plus those bags ARE reusable if you wash them out, dry, etc. Meats are the major freezer burned ruined item - IMO - and that has as much to do with cost of it as anything. Not talking a little spot or two, than can always be cut off before cooking, but a whole layer is a PITA to trim out. You can buy the base in a gusseted form to handle the large, odd shaped meats -- a ham or shoulder roast, etc. Did that when freezing the pigs I butchered.

Some veggies just do NOT lay well, so water added to freeze in a solid mass. Green beans, peas, for example. Now those can also be a pain to vacuum if water added -- UNLESS you bag, water, freeze and then vac seal. The vaccum will suck moisture and ruin the seal. Even your meats can do better if you freeze slightly first, in the bag. I have also laid a paper towel in the bag at the suction end to catch the wetness as it sealed.

Tortoise, you mention "sliding around" issues. Baymule had some great ideas in another thread. She uses containers for various items -- either cardboard boxes or baskets of some sort -- this allows those odd shapes to be corralled. It also gives you a method to sort -- pork, beef, veggies, etc.

My concerns with freezer paper -- all we used to have years ago -- is the freezer burn issue. We used to put saran onto surface of meats, then paper wrap.

 

[tortoise]

@milkmansdaughter I don't get the foil pans with lids. That's why I slide them into a ziploc. I might use your idea for foil loaf pans for zoodles! I sure don't have any better ideas! I could freeze in them in water to make a brick and then freezer paper?

re: sorting, a beer bottle case (12 pack glass bottles) holds quart ziploc bags that are filled and frozen flat. I'm not helping much on how to *stop* using new plastic in the freezer