Storing Vegetarian Foods Tips
Read these 11 Storing Vegetarian Foods Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Vegetarian tips and hundreds of other topics.
Freezing Your Food
To preserve food at its freshest, put cooked food in the freezer as soon as possible after preparing it. Be sure to cool food that is very hot, so it won´t raise the temperature in the freezer and possibly cause the other foods to start thawing.
Preventing Freezer Burns
Freeze food in an airtight moisture-resistant container to retain the best quality of your food and avoid freezer burn. Press down carefully on the lid of your container to remove air bubbles.
Freezing in Portions
When freezing your food, divide it up into portion sizes first, so that you do not need to thaw the entire quantity when you want some. Your food will stay fresher, and if you do this with several dishes, you will have a variety of items to choose from in your freezer for a quick meal. If you need more than one portion, simply take out more than one package.
Freezing Spices
Be careful when freezing some foods, as their taste may change during the process. Green pepper may change the flavor in frozen casseroles. Clove garlic and pepper flavors get stronger when they are frozen, while sage, onion and salt get milder.
Freezing Tofu
Yes, most of them can be frozen. For example, tofu desserts are good frozen or thawed.
Example: Place a small square of sweet tofu in the center of thawed phyllo dough and pinch the dough into the shape of a beggar's purse (the shape of a bundle carried on the end of a stick). Bake until the phyllo is golden brown. Serve with a hot peach and raisin sauce or an orange sauce. Sweet tofu can be frozen and served as a trio of flavors, accompanied by frozen grapes.
Storing and Freezing Soups
Leftover soup must be cooled, then can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Chilling soup can cause it to thicken, so you may need to add extra broth, water or milk when reheating.
Most soups can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Be sure to leave some headspace to allow for expansion. Don´t add cream, yogurt or eggs to soup bases for freezing - they will curdle. Also, if the soup contains rice or potatoes you might want to strain it since these starches do not freeze well.
Before reheating frozen soup be sure to let thaw in refrigerator. Freezing may diminish some flavors, so you might want to taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Storing Watermelons
According to a report from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, watermelons stored at room temperature retain more nutrients than those stored in the fridge and even more than freshly picked melons. Findings showed that watermelons continue to produce nutrients after they are picked and that chilling slows this process. When measured against other freshly picked fruit, the study showed watermelon that was stored at 70 F gained up to 40 percent more lycopene and 50 percent to 139 percent extra beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A.
Storing and Freezing Fresh Herbs
If you buy bunches of fresh herbs at a market or plan to refrigerate your garden-grown herbs, keep each variety in a separate airtight container lined with paper towels. The herbs will keep for several days in the refrigerator, but the sooner they are used, the better they will taste.
Herbs will keep for several months in the freezer. Leaves from larger-leafed herbs like basil and sage should be removed from their stems, while tiny-leafed herbs like thyme and dill may be frozen while still on the stem. Wash and dry the herbs, then store individual varieties in sealed plastic bags or small freezer containers, labeled and dated. Frozen herbs often become limp or rubbery, so use them in dishes that call for some simmering, like soups or pasta sauces.
Storing Dried Goods
After purchasing, store dried pasta, rice (except brown rice), and whole grains in tightly covered containers in a cool dry place. Refrigerate brown rice. Refrigerate or freeze grains, if they will not be used within 5 months.
Storing Beans
Dried, packaged beans will keep indefinitely in a cool, dry place, as will cans or jars. Cooked, cooled beans can be stored covered for a day or so in the refrigerator. For longer storage, freezing works very well.
Freezing Green Beans
Wash and dry them with paper towel, then put in air-tight container or bag and put in the freezer.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Susan Sayour |
