Sue Malandrino relies on her freezer, morning till night. From bagels and frozen waffles to low-calorie prepared entrees to meat and vegetables for dinner, she keeps it well-stocked.
”I only have time to shop every two weeks, so I have to keep things frozen,” says Malandrino, a dental hygienist and mother of three who lives in Wheeling. She rarely visits the grocery between shopping trips.
Malandrino fills the freezers of the family`s two refrigerators with a two-week supply of meat, poultry, sausages, hot dogs, bread, frozen juices, ice cream, French bread pizzas, cheese tortellini, chicken steaks and all varieties of plain frozen vegetables. She also freezes homemade beef stew and tomato sauce in dinner-size containers.
In Chicago, the five members of the McShea family think of their freezer differently, making constant use of the automatic icemaker and little else.
”We always have treats for the three kids such as ice cream, chicken nuggets and frozen pizzas,” says Jeanine McShea, a real estate broker. ”But my favorite thing is the icemaker and the cold water in the door.”
McShea drops into the grocery store at least twice a week on her way home from work. ”I stop to buy milk and diapers, so I pick up things for dinner-I love to cook. I always have meat in the freezer, but I forget it`s there. I`m not like my mother-she freezes things a month ahead of time for her dinner parties.”
When McShea cooks she relies on fresh ingredients such as poultry, meat and pasta from the supermarket. The freezer aisle is rarely on her route.
Unlike McShea`s family, most Americans spend a substantial portion of their food dollars-more than 21 percent-in the freezer aisle. Frozen Food Age magazine, a trade journal, estimates that $21 billion worth of frozen food
(exclusive of ice cream) was sold in supermarkets in 1990-that`s up from about $17 billion in 1985. And more than one-quarter of U.S. households use frozen, pre-packaged foods when preparing dinner every day. In addition, frozen dinner and entree sales have almost doubled in the last six years.
Yet as convenient as our freezers are, food experts say we are not making the best use of them when it comes to taste, cost efficiency and good health. Prepackaged frozen food generally is better tasting than its canned counterparts, but to many it still does not equal the flavor and texture of home-cooked meals. Also, it costs more than home-cooked food and often carries high amounts of sodium and fat.
Michael Roberts, executive chef at the celebrated Trump`s restaurant in Los Angeles, says we are not getting the most from our freezers. Roberts contends that we use them solely as ”cold-storage containers” when they could be kitchen saviors.
Roberts discovered the freezer when he found himself with a surplus of food from testing recipes for his first cookbook, ”Secret Ingredients.” He froze the food, then came up with creative ways to use it. That led to a second, recently published book, ”Fresh from the Freezer” (William Morrow, $19.95).
Leftover haven
”The freezer makes life so much easier,” Roberts says. ”You can cook when you have time to cook and still eat good meals when you don`t have time. ”My favorite thing on earth is leftovers. I`d rather have a freezer full of them than some perfect baby vegetables in the garden or fancy ingredients on the shelf. I`m very creative with odds and ends of other meals. I think of it as `transformer foods`-like the kids` toys-where with a couple of turns you change one thing into something else.”
Roberts uses salads as an example. ”Rather than a pile of rabbit food, I think salad is basically a way of presenting all the food groups on a bed of greens. The leftover odd piece of pot roast, end of steak or fillet of salmon, can be presented in a salad format to result in a wonderful meal. I remove the meat from the freezer, reheat it with a bit of oil and vinegar to make a warm vinaigrette to bring the whole dish together.”
Not only frozen leftovers can become great meals. Roberts has developed a system for cooking and freezing various ”core recipes.”
For example in a ”Fresh from the Freezer” recipe, Roberts freezes chicken marinated in salt, pepper, gin and olive oil. After thawing, the cook has several options: cook the chicken plain with a little white wine or add an olive puree or whisk mustard and yogurt into the cooking juices. Thus, three recipes result from one starting point.
On the other hand, Helen Witty, award-winning author of ”Fancy Pantry”
and ”Mrs. Witty`s Home-style Menu Cookbook,” wants to eat the same foods frequently, so she doubles recipes and keeps one in the freezer.
Witty also admits to freezer-love. ”I am not a freezer snob. There just are certain things that keep better and longer in the freezer. I love to stash away produce that will only be around for a little while. If you capture (the food) at the right moment it will be better off frozen than wilting under the sun at the farmstand or on a grocery shelf.”
What to freeze
Witty and Roberts say it`s silly to waste precious freezer space with readily available food such as broccoli and cauliflower. Instead, they advocate freezing food that offers better taste, better nutrition and lower costs than their prepackaged counterparts. These include appetizers, soups, stews, roasts, casseroles and desserts.
Madelaine Bullwinkel, owner of Chez Madelaine cooking school in Hinsdale, takes a slightly different tack. She freezes three kinds of ”concentrates.” One includes fruits that are seasonal and in short supply, made into purees that later will be made into jams and jellies.
”I can even combine the summer fruits with the fall fruits if I wish,”
says Bullwinkel. ”For example, one of the best flavor enhancers for preserves are red currants. They are only in the market in the first part of July, so cooking, straining and freezing them is like preserving gold. Later I defrost a little and use them in jams-they bring out flavors of other fragile fruits such as tart cherries.”
”Another fruit concentrate I save is made from Damson plums-I cook the plums and remove the stones and skins. Then I freeze the pulp to put up the preserves when I have time and the humidity is lower. It`s dynamite to have Damson plum preserves in the winter.”
Bullwinkel`s second area of concentrates are herbal infusions. Because herbs frozen in plastic bags lose their beauty and much of their aromatic power, she infuses a light chicken stock or vegetable broth with the herbs.
”Then I freeze it in small containers such as ice cube trays or 1/2-pint jars to defrost quickly. These flavor cubes are just enough to deglaze a pan or give oomph to vegetable soup in the winter.”
Her third kind of concentrate is one that is vegetable-based, such as a good tomato puree or a vegetable chili sauce that she uses when making chili and stews.
All three cooks recommend freezing ”flavor enhancers.” These include items such as shallots or onions sauteed in butter, small cubes of tomato paste, homemade tomato sauce, reduced stocks and broths, vegetable and fruit purees, herb sauces such as pesto and herbed butters. These tidbits can be used to boost the flavor of a soup, stew or sauce with a minimum of effort.
Bread, veal bones, nuts, fresh fish, berries, cranberries, whole-grain flours and egg whites find a place on freezer lists as well. Roberts suggests dessert lovers keep a supply of cookie dough in the freezer.
Witty says she sees her freezer as an extension of her pantry and keeps a supply of fresh pasta, roasted peppers, candied fruits, whole horseradish
(grate it while still frozen) and skinned, whole tomatoes on hand.
How to freeze foods
– Choose high-quality ingredients.
– Buy a freezer thermometer and check it often. Food will keep longest at 5 degrees or below.
– Chill the food before you freeze it. Roberts explains that this will
”reduce the amount of condensation and drip loss during defrosting. Drip loss is the term for the natural moisture that leaks out during defrosting. Water expands as it turns into ice, causing the food fibers to splinter. This is what causes limp or soggy texture after defrosting. But if the food is chilled before freezing, the ice crystals that form will be smaller, causing less damage to fibers, and less drip loss.
– Wrap food well. (See accompanying illustrations.)
– Label everything.
– Freeze things in small portions. They will freeze and thaw quicker.
– To prevent crushing delicate items such as whole berries, cut-up fruits and chocolate candies, freeze them first on a baking sheet until solid. Then pack them into individual containers.
How to thaw food
– Thaw large foods, or unevenly shaped foods such as roasts, in the refrigerator. Never thaw on the kitchen counter because they could become prime breeding ground for bacteria.
– Thaw small foods or portions in the refrigerator or in the microwave oven.
– Liquids and fruit purees can be thawed under running water.
– Use thawed food as soon as possible after defrosting.
Things not to freeze
– Lettuces, radishes, mushrooms and green onions lose crispness when defrosted.
– Potatoes frozen in soups, stews, etc., may darken and change texture.
(Mashed or whipped potatoes that have cream or butter added will freeze fine; fried potatoes also can be frozen.)
– Cooked egg whites become rubbery. Meringue will toughen and weep (leak water) when thawed.
– Canned hams, cured meat, bacon, lunch meat, hot dogs can become watery and change texture.
– Gelatin molds will weep when thawed (except those made with cream or cream cheese).
– Salad dressings and mayonnaise will separate after thawing.
– Milk-based sauces, custards and cream pie fillings may curdle, weep or become lumpy.
– Sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese and cream cheese do not freeze well- their texture changes. If frozen they should be used only in cooking soups, sauces, stews. (But dishes containing cream cheese and cottage cheese do freeze well.)
GRILLED SALMON WITH CUCUMBER AND MINT SALSA
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Marinating time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 6 to 10 minutes
This recipe is adapted from Michael Roberts`s ”Fresh from the Freezer.” Tuna may be substituted for the salmon; choose fillets that are 1 1/2 inches thick; cooking time will be less.
4 salmon fillets or steaks, about 8 ounces each, fresh or frozen
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon finely minced shallots or onion
1 cup dry vermouth
Cucumber and mint salsa:
1 medium cucumber
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons dark walnut oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons flavorless cooking oil
1. Place the salmon flesh side down in a glass baking dish large enough to hold it in one layer. Combine the coriander, allspice, garlic, shallots and vermouth; pour over the fillets and cover. If using frozen salmon, defrost the fish in the marinade in the refrigerator. If fish is fresh, marinate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Meanwhile, peel cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard seeds. Finely chop the flesh and place it in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and drain for 30 minutes.
3. Rinse cucumber under cold water; press it against sides of colander to squeeze out any excess water. Put in a bowl and stir in walnut oil, lemon juice and mint. Mix well.
4. Light a barbecue grill. When the charcoal is coated with white ash, remove the salmon from the marinade. Pat the fillets dry and brush both sides with a little oil. Lightly oil the grill. Place the fish, skin side down, on the grill.
