Let’s be honest—most of us see the freezer as an ultra-cold catchall for packaged pizzas, ice cream and UFOs—unidentifiable frozen objects that used to be cuts of meat. We suggest you “geek out” on this underutilized appliance. With a bit of easy cleaning, reorganizing and stocking, your freezer can be a valuable asset in getting good food on the table, fast.

Things to Freeze

Fruit: Apples and pears used in sauces and for pie filling are easy to freeze. Peel, core and cut into large chunks. Place the fruit in a freezer bag. Dissolve ½ teaspoon ascorbic acid (such as Fruit-Fresh®) in 3 tablespoons water, add to bag and shake to coat. Remove excess air (see tip below) and freeze. Peel and wrap overripe bananas in plastic wrap, and use with other fruit and yogurt to make quick smoothies.

Cookie dough: Roll into balls, place on a tray and freeze until hard, then transfer to freezer bags. Label each bag with cookie name, oven temperature and baking time. When you’re ready to bake, thaw balls while the oven preheats, and add an extra minute or two to baking time.

 Meat/Seafood: Chicken, hamburger, cut meats and fish all freeze well. Remove them from their store packages (vacuum-sealed packs are fine) and wrap them tightly in several layers of plastic wrap or place in freezer bags and remove excess air.

Prepared foods: Stock up on frozen fruit pies; they keep well and bake beautifully. Another essential for the holidays is meatballs—lots of them. 

Freezer Best Practices

• A full freezer is more efficient than a half-full freezer (all those frozen items keep each other nice and chilly when the door is opened and closed).
• Use sealable plastic bags to store sauces, citrus liquids and pureed fruit. Carefully remove air from the bag before closing. Tip: Insert a straw into the freezer bag when it’s closed and suck the air out (not recommended with raw meats).
• Double and even triple wrap foods to prevent freezer burn and flavor loss.
• Label and date everything. It’s amazing how food starts to look alike after it freezes. Keep a felt-tip marker nearby.