My freezer and I are BFF (best friends forever.) Seriously. She opens her arms and says, “Anna, what do you have for me today?” She knows how much my garden harvest means to me and over the years, has gone that extra, extra mile to delivers delectable thawed vegetables. So, I bet you have a freezer just like mine and don’t know it. Give her a try. So, here are six foods that you can freeze that I bet you have never considered. Say good-bye to spoilage and wasting money.
#1 Tomatoes
Every year I grow a bumper crop of tomatoes. My preference is canning tomatoes. (See my tutorial HERE.)
I am not a big fan of canned whole tomatoes. But, what if you want whole tomatoes to plop into your sauce?
Simply place them on a tray side by side in your freezer for 24 hours. Remove them and store them in your preferred container. The tomatoes won’t stick together.
I use the above freezer method to can tomatoes. After, you defrost the tomatoes, you can easily peel off their skins. I am not a huge fan of boiling water to remove their skins. (I know. Call me lazy. I will take the title.)
#2 Cucumbers
I caused a stir on Pinterest about freezing cucumbers. People pinned it numerous time. (You can read my article HERE. )
I must confess. If you freeze cucumbers, then once you defrost them, they will not be crunchy. They will be soggy and looking a little lost.
However, they are still usable for many different recipes including cucumber soup, tzatziki sauce, etc.
P.S. There is a way to freeze cucumbers without the seeds that make the cucumbers more palatable. You need to read the article.
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#3 Milk
In the past, we bought raw milk. In New Jersey, you can’t buy raw milk; however if you can buy raw milk in Pennsylvania. Since Pennsylvania is over an hour away, we buy a couple gallons of milk and store them in the freezer until we need them.
Here are some tips on how to store milk:
- According to Still Tasty, milk should only be stored in the freezer for three months. (I love this site since it tells you when to toss and when to eat.)
- Don’t freeze the milk if it is past the sell date.
- The Dairy Association of California says milk expand when stored in the freezer. Be sure to leave room for expansion. StillTasty advises leaving an inch to one and half inch head space depending on the bottle. (The narrower the bottom, the larger the head space.)
- Thawed milk tastes different. You may not want to use it to drink but to make other food items like cream soups.
- Freeze a small amount and then try it just to see if you like thawed milk.
- Be sure to shake your milk before using it.
- Transfer the milk to smaller containers so you can use smaller batches without the huge lag time to defrost.
Hold on. There are more foods you can freeze. Stay with me.
#4 Basil and Herbs
I am sure you heard you can store herbs in the freezer using an ice cube tray. Just in case you haven’t, some people store in water by making a slurry. Alternatively, store the leaves in oil. (If you want to use this route to store your herbs, be sure to purchase a durable stainless steel ice cube tray. Most trays are plastic. I am just not a plastic fan. Read why HERE.)
Back to storing basil. I don’t bother with the oil or water method. Remember, I am lazy.
I simply wash the basil. Pat dry, and then store it in a glass container in the freezer.
So, when a recipe calls for fresh basil, I simply open up the freezer, and she hands me the basil. (I told you I had the best freezer.)
You can do the same thing with other herbs too.
I honestly don’t see a difference in taste.
#5 Peaches
I adore peaches! However, sometimes I just don’t have time to skin them, or I picked them unripened, so I throw them in the freezer for future uses. I can the rest of the peaches that are easier to remove their skins.
Unlike tomatoes, if your peaches aren’t ripe, once you freeze them, the skins are still hard to get off. So I use them in recipes that it doesn’t matter if you use the skin.
Conversely, if they are ripe, they aren’t hard to remove. I am not a blanch-type girl and find the freezer method easier to remove skins. Read HERE on how I remove the skins.
You can store peaches in the freezer for 10 to 12 months according to StillTasty.
#6 Lettuce
Yes. You can freeze lettuce. Just like cucumbers, don’t expect the crunch. It is not going to happen.
However, you can use the defrosted lettuce in recipes like smoothies. Read HERE how I use my defrosted lettuce. The trick to freezing your lettuce is don’t wait until it is slimy. Normally, if you don’t want to eat it, freezing it won’t make it better.
I tend to use this trick when I am going on vacation and don’t want to toss my lettuce.
As I am typing this article, I realized I am writing a small book. I have seven more foods to add to my freezer loving post. So, stay tuned for part II this week.
Join the Conversation:
Did you realize you can freeze the above foods? If so, what are your tips?
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green Bean says
Okay, you totally had me at the lettuce. I was going through your list like yup, got that one. Sure, did that last year. Cucumber, yeah, I saw your post about it. But lettuce! Who knew.
We love our freezer! Whenever we go on vacation, I stuff everything that will go bad while we are gone into the freezer and hope for the best. That is one of the ways I’ve found out that, yes, you can freeze sour cream!
Anna@Green Talk says
Green Bean, sour cream is a new one on me. Anna
Renee Kohley says
No way! I did NOT know most of those! I am totally doing the tomatoes this summer!!!
Anna@Green Talk says
Renee, I am lazy so this the lazy way to peel tomatoes. Anna
Tash says
Very interesting! These tips will really save me some grief when lettuce and cucumber like to spoil long before I can use them in smoothies. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Anna@Green Talk says
Tash, sometimes you throw it in the freezer and hope for the best! Anna
Jessica says
Great list. Out of all of those, lettuce is the one I haven’t tried!
Anna@Green Talk says
Jessica, sounds like we think alike. See how you like frozen lettuce. Anna
Krystal says
Wow! I knew about freezing herbs but never thought you could freeze those others. Thanks for sharing!
Anna@Green Talk says
Krystal, you are welcome. Let me know how it works for you. Anna
Rachel @ day2dayjoys says
Hum, never thought about freezing lettuce for smoothies…. great idea!
Anna@Green Talk says
Rachel, I freeze all my greens. Anna
Megan Stevens says
I appreciate the spirit of this article, not wasting, but saving and using. I didn’t know about cukes until you. 🙂 Eggs, raw ones, can also be frozen. 🙂
Anna@Green Talk says
Megan, eggs are coming up in my second post. I had to stop at 6. Anna
sommer @greenmom says
I have never frozen milk but you might have talked me into it!
Anna@Green Talk says
Sommer, let me know what you think. Anna
Vanessa says
Thanks for the info! I didn’t realize you could freeze cucumbers and lettuce…good to know!
emily @ Recipes to Nourish says
Cool! I didn’t know about 1, 2 and 6. So neat!
Kim says
The only one I really knew were tomatoes! I had a huge crop that I didn’t get around to canning, so I have about 10lbs of tomatoes in my freezer right now! They’re like little rocks in there. Awesome list!
Anna@Green Talk says
Kim I love frozen tomatoes. A bite of summer! Anna
linda spiker says
I knew every one except the lettuce!
Anna@Green Talk says
Linda, now I am expecting an amazing recipe from you on frozen lettuce. Anna
Lori Popkewitz Alper says
Wow. Most of these are a surprise to me. Cucumbers and lettuce?! I’m not sure my kids would eat them without the crunch, but I do like your suggestion to use them in smoothies. As always, some great tips Anna.
Anna@Green Talk says
Lori, I hide the cucumbers and lettuce in dishes. Try and see if they notice. Anna
Marla says
Hi Anna,
We do the same thing with our raw milk – since we have to travel about 1 hour to get it – we buy enough to last a few weeks and have bought regular freezer jars from the U-Line company and it works out great. My husband drinks the frozen milk all the time and doesn’t seem to think it taste that much different.
When we got a new freezer last summer that was frost freeze (I am sure it works much more efficient since the other one was 20 years old) we had trouble with the jars breaking and that is why we bought the freezer jars which eliminated the broken jar problem> I also use them for homemade chicken, beef, & turkey broth.
Anna@Green Talk says
Marla, how do you like the taste? Anna
Lisa Sharp says
Great tips! I freeze spinach for smoothies all of the time. Works perfectly.
Anna@Green Talk says
Lisa, do you blanch before your freeze? Anna
Shelley Alexander says
Anna, great info! I have never frozen cucumber before but I have frozen all the other foods on your list successfully. Thanks for the helpful tips!
Anna@Green Talk says
Shelly, be sure to read my link about how you can re-use the cucumbers. Anna
amy says
I get so much more from our CSA farm than my family can eat each week throughout the summer and fall that I have 2 extra freezers for storing food for the winter ahead. Carrots, broccoli, spinach and cauliflower were blanched first. Others were chopped raw and popped into plastic bags: onions, zucchini (defrost and use in zucchini bread), garlic, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, peaches (from my own tree), blueberries, rutabaga, peppers . Pumpkin was baked, pureed, and frozen in 2 cup servings. So much kale; I pureed it with a little water, froze it in ice cube trays and filled many large bags with kale cubes. I pop 2 or 3 into every smoothie I make. I have frozen block of cheese when I found a good sale. Bananas obviously for smoothies or banana bread. Milk – does not taste any different to me when thawed. Homemade bread. Tofu, to give it a “meatier” texture.
Anna@Green Talk says
Amy you are amazing. I need you to guest post on my site. Anna