Eggs, Milk and Cheese … in the Freezer?!
I’m sure my supermarket is not the only grocery store with an area in the back similar to the one I call My Bargain Bin. It’s refrigerated and almost always features a few dandy bargains, especially on perishable items approaching that “sell-by” date. There are no limits on the number of items I can load into my cart—all of them with ridiculously low, rock-bottom prices.
You may be asking, but Mary, what can we do with all of these perishables to ensure they don’t, well … perish! The answer of course, is to freeze them. Yes, even the eggs, milk, and cheese.
How to Freeze Eggs, Dairy Products, and More
Butter
Freeze margarine or butter in the packaging and containers they come in, for up to six months. Thaw in the refrigerator to return to their original texture and quality. You will never know the difference!
Heavy cream, whipped
Once whipped and sweetened, the cream freezes well for 1 to 2 months!
Freezing cream in its liquid state is not recommended because it affects the quality of the product. In most cases, freezing causes changes to the fat, which can lead to poor texture. It’s going to curdle, separate appear quite unappetizing
Eggnog
Unopened eggnog may be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and shake well before serving, as there may be some ingredient separation during freezing.
Eggs
You can freeze eggs provided you remove them from the shell first. Do not freeze whole eggs in the shell. Simple break them into an ice cube tray if you want them in single-egg portions. Or whisk a number of eggs in a bowl, then portion in your small containers of choice and freeze. Raw eggs can be frozen for up to one year. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Pro Tip
Separate the whites from the yolks and freeze them separately for easy use.
Milk
Milk may be frozen for as long as 3 months, provided the sealed container is frozen before the “best before” date. Skim and low-fat milk freeze better than whole milk. Thaw frozen milk in the refrigerator. The milk will still have the same nutrients, but it may separate. If it does, shake well and consume as soon as possible.
Cheese
Hard cheese freezes well but changes texture making it nearly impossible to slice. Frozen cheese is great for cooking and to grate. HINT: Grate first, and then freeze.
Meat, fresh
Fresh beef roasts and steaks can be frozen for up to one year if wrapped well to retard freezer burn; pork and lamb up to six months.
Meats, processed
You can freeze bacon, hot dogs, cooked ham, luncheon means and sausage for up to 2 months before these items begin to lose quality and taste.
Poultry, fresh
Whole turkey, chicken, duck, and goose can be frozen for up to one year, provided their original packaging is intact. Poultry pieces, however, should be used within 9 months.
Flour
All-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cornmeal, and other baking staples, including baking powder and baking soda, stay fresh and bug-free indefinitely in the freezer. You will experience no change of texture or taste. Even better? You can ignore the expiration dates.
Coffee and tea
Storing coffee beans in the freezer has long been the method of choice to preserve freshness. But die-hard coffee lovers tell us never to freeze coffee beans or grinds because it changes the flavor from fresh to “freezer stale.”
No one argues, however, that freezing leftover brewed coffee in ice cube trays to make blended coffee drinks or iced coffee is a great idea. Freeze leftover tea in the same manner and you’ll have “ice” for your iced tea that will not dilute the drink.
Rather than buy crumbled feta cheese we buy solid in bulk, slice it into smaller amounts and freeze the shrink wrapped slices. When you take the feta out of the freezer it naturally crumbles and is less than half the price you pay for the convenience of pre crumbled. It really doesn’t take much effort to crumble either!
We always have some frozen feta in the freezer as it thaws in no time when sliced fairly thin.
Mary – In the late 90’s I had a 15-year-old son and a 25-year-old daughter (with 5 children under 10 years old), we lived in Tulsa Ok and the Safeways there would mark gallons of milk down to half price the night before the buy by date and we would buy as much as possible and open each one and remove 1 cup of milk and put the rest is an upright freezer. for about 2 years we only paid half-price for our milk. I bought all of our meat at reduced prices (early in the morning of the buy by date thay marked it down by 20% to 50%) I was working as an RN and got off at 7 am and I’d stop at the grocery store on the way home and buy the packages with the best price = then go home and freeze any we couldn’t use within 24 hours. I also took advantage of cheese sales – I don’t think we ever froze it as it got eaten too fast.
During the summer I’d stop at the fruit/vegetable market and the guy who owned it would sell the fruit/vegetables that were overripe and I’d go home and can or freeze what we couldn’t eat that day.
Your middle name is Frugal, right? This is a great story, Donna.Thanks for sharing
I use my vacuum sealer to freeze items. It keeps food better when all the air is out, I use it for butter, cheese, meats.
freeze those eggs in an ice cube tray… when frozen, pop them out of the tray and store in an airtight bag or container.
I am eating eggs frozen from last year in the deep freezer right now. A neat trick is to freeze them in muffin tins and then store. They look like hockey pucks and they cook up nicely! I’m also using up frozen cheeses as well.
Do you use silicone or actual metal tins? Don’t they get stuck in there?
Milk expands when frozen, it’s important to remove some from the container before freezing.
And if you don’t have the freezer space, or live with frequent blackouts to your electricity, pressure canning meats is a great option. Invest and learn how… it’s well worth the effort!
Frozen milk, even whole fat milk reconstitutes very well if you just pop it into a blender after thawing to re-blend the fat into the milk. I learned this from freezing my goat’s milk and have since tried it on regular store milk. If you don’t use the blender the milk will be grainy with non-homogenized butterfat.
I grew up in Canada where you can buy milk in plastic bags and freeze. When thawed, you just snip off the corner of the bag and plop it into a pitcher and pour! I buy a gallon now and freeze in quarts. I only buy 1% as then it does not have so much separation as whole or even 2% milk does — but a good shakeis all it takes!!
This is intriguing… I always have a supply of meats, shredded cheese, bread, butter – the usual – in the freezer. But never knew you could freeze milk and eggs! This will save me from going to the grocery store before a snow storm. Thanks so much!
I’ve found it easier to grate cheese with my Cuisinart after it’s been in the freezer for an hour, then freeze it grated.