Franklin County

   October 2009
 

Don't discard it - freeze it

A lot of food is thrown away every year in the U.S.. Think about freezing small amounts of food to enjoy later.

Eggs. Sometimes a recipe calls for the egg whites or the egg yolks and the other part of the egg is discarded. Save the egg whites to make an angel food cake, or beautiful meringue later. Gently mix the egg whites;
do not whip. Strain through a sieve. Leave ½-inch headspace in the container, then seal and freeze. Two tablespoons of the egg-white mixture equal one egg white in a recipe.

Save the egg yolks to make an extra rich custard, sponge cake, or egg noodles. Stir the egg yolks gently. Add either salt or sugar to keep the yolks from getting grainy in the freezer. For each cup of egg yolks stir in 1-1/2 tablespoons of sugar or corn syrup if the yolks will be used for desserts, or a ½ teaspoon of salt, if the yolks will be used in main dishes. Strain through a sieve, then package, allowing ½-inch headspace. Seal the container and freeze. One table- spoon of the yolk mixture equals one egg yolk.

Whipped cream. Cream that is sweetened and whipped freezes better than un-whipped cream. Place dollops of whipped cream on a baking sheet and freeze to make individual sweetened whipped cream garnishes. Once solidly frozen, remove dollops and store in the freezer in freezer containers. Use within one to two months.

Butter. Prepared butter patties, or molded butter curls, will keep frozen for six to nine months. Chill until the butter shapes are cold and firm, then wrap the butter tightly in aluminum foil, transparent film or freezer paper, or seal in moisture-vapor resistant containers.

Bananas. Refrigerate extra bananas to slow down the ripening process, but expect the peeling to turn dark.

To freeze bananas, peel the bananas and mash them. For each cup of mashed bananas add ½
teaspoon of ascorbic acid, and package in moisture-vapor resistant container; seal and freeze. Thaw and use frozen banana puree in quick breads, cakes, muffins, and pancakes for a delicious treat.

Cranberries. Fresh cranberries will soon be in the stores. Buy and freeze extra cranberries to use when fresh cranberries are unavailable. Wash and drain the cranberries. Tray freeze them on a jelly-roll pan before packaging.

To dry pack the berries, place them in a container and leave ½-inch headspace; seal and freeze.

To syrup pack the berries, make a syrup using equal cups of sugar and warm water; chill. Cover the cranberries with syrup and leave ½-inch headspace for pints, or 1-inch headspace for quarts; seal and freeze.

Pesto. Keep in the refrigerator for only three days or less. To keep it longer, freeze in glass freezer jars, or plastic freezer containers, leaving ½-inch headspace.

Green tomatoes. Any firm green tomatoes left in the garden, can be frozen. Wash, core, and slice the tomatoes 1/4-inch thick. To prepare slices for frying, place freezer wrap between the layers of tomatoes, leave a ½-inch head space; seal and freeze.

Fresh herbs. Though normally dried, herbs can also be frozen. Use frozen herbs like fresh herbs for seasoning cooked dishes, (frozen herbs will be too limp to use as a garnish). Before freezing, wash, drain, and gently dry the herbs with a paper towel. Wrap a few sprigs or leaves in freezer wrap and place in a freezer bag; seal and freeze.

Melon. Freeze extra watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew or Crenshaw melon. The melon has to be ripe and firm-fleshed with the seeds and rind removed. Cut into chunks, slices, or balls. Place the melon into a freezer container, leaving ½-inch headspace; seal and freeze.

For a syrup pack, mix 1¾ cups of sugar with 4 cups of warm water; chill. Place the melon in a freezer container and cover with the chilled syrup. Leave a ½-inch head space for pints and
1-inch headspace for quarts; seal and freeze.

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		University of Missouri Extension Franklin County Site maintained by: Billie Jo Brenner, brennerbj@missouri.edu Last revised: 07/02/08