Reducing Food Waste at Home - Section Four

Freezing is a fantastic way to make food last longer, acting like a ‘pause’ button and preventing food from going off before we can use it. It’s a great way to extend the shelf-life of perishable foods – foods that go bad quickly – and to store cooked, portioned meals for longer. 

Most ingredients can be frozen including bread, milk, cheese, and even eggs (unshelled!) Before freezing it’s best to make sure they’re ready to use first so they can be dropped straight into cooking. Grated cheese, whole cherry tomatoes, chopped root veg and chopped fresh herbs are all great examples. 

What’s more, ingredients can be frozen right up to their use-by date. That means the freezer can add flexibility if plans change and we don’t end up using something as quickly as we thought we would.  

Did you know that if you cook a meal with defrosted meat, you can freeze it again once cooked? You can refreeze the cooked meat dish once, as long as it’s been cooled before going into the freezer. 

The freezer is also a great tool for batch cooking, as it allows us to make meals ahead of time and have portioned dishes available at a moment’s notice with a simple defrost and reheat. Making a big batch of a one-pot meal (or two!) and freezing extra portions is a great way to make the most of ingredients and can help households negotiate busy schedules.

It’s worth remembering that labelling is a freezer-lover’s friend! Making a note of what you’re freezing and how many portions there are will make them easier to identify and drop into your midweek meal plan. 

Frozen food can be defrosted in the fridge overnight, while ingredients can often be added to cooking straight from the freezer. When food is fully defrosted make sure you use it within 1-2 days unless frozen on the use-by date, then use it within 24 hours.