We’re all about cutting down on food waste (and saving an extra few Rands in the process), so naturally we love that freezers exist – right? Sadly, some foods can’t withstand ice cold conditions because they were never intended to. Here’s our list of foods that you should never freeze:
Whole eggs
We all understand that eggs are an essential item in our daily life. From breakfast, lunch and even in that Ramen we’re all still loving. Sadly, you can’t freeze these small gems that bring us all of these wholesome meals. Why? The liquid in the egg expands when frozen and will crack the shell leaving the liquid open and at risk of being spoiled by bacteria.
Dishes that contain cream
We’re pretty sure your potato salad or your alfredo pasta was great but, unfortunately these should not be frozen. Any dish with a heavy cream consistency cannot be frozen. Technically, they can be frozen but the thawed version of your dish will not look as appealing as it did pre-freezer. A curdled alfredo? No thank you!
Some veggies and fruits
Anything the beautiful earth has grown for you with a high-water content i.e. celery, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, melon etc. won’t freeze well, it will defrost all soggy and yucky! But again, one of our favorites is frozen watermelon – now this just works really well on a hot summer day if you eat it frozen. So, if you’re looking to eat watermelons frozen that is fine, but if you’re looking to freeze it to extend their life, it’s not recommended.
Mayo based dishes
Yes, we’re almost all on the same page. A quick dinner for one or two. The perfect match? Tuna mayo sandwiches! On the odd occasion that there’s some left over, you can’t freeze it. Mayonnaise does not freeze well at all. If you do, the next time you see your beautiful tuna mayo mixture it will be one big oil, fish and egg mess!
Cooked pasta (or rice)
The Italian ancestors might haunt you for this one! But once frozen, the heat required to bring the pasta back to life is so much that when it’s back to life, it would be one big carb-tastic mess!
Basil, Sage & Parsley
Trust us as a food magazine when we say we feel the urge to pop the fresh bunch of herbs in the freezer when the recipe only required the smallest amount, but these beauties unfortunately contain too much water and will end up being a very sloppy mess after being defrosted. Here we have a tip for you though. ICE BLOCKS! Freeze them in ice blocks and boom your flavours will remain intact!
Solid soft cheeses!
We all love the fact that retailers just absolutely ace the cheese promotions and buying in bulk makes sense, right? But have you defrosted that bulk bought cheese we were bragging about before? It’s a crumbly mess. This tip requires some effort, but it’s worth it. Grate the cheese before freezing in separate bags and you’ve got yourself a winner!
Raw potatoes
Yeah, we’re all weary of the potato plant that haunts us when you leave your bag of potatoes in your cupboard for a while. But freezing them won’t work either – not raw at least. If you freeze them raw, you’ll end up with an entirely black potato, which does not look very appetising. You can however, blanche them, mash them, boil them and then freeze them.
Twice frozen meat?
We’ve all been in the situation where you’ve taken your meat out to defrost and a friend spontaneously invites you to dinner, or something comes up and you end up not using the meat you took out. Well, you should never refreeze it – EVER! Best is to keep it in the fridge until the following day. But, while it’s not unsafe to refreeze, it will lose texture and it will be dry.
