Thursday, August 20, 2009
how to flash freeze
Flash freezing — the process of spacing items out on a tray, freezing them until they are firm and then storing them in more space-efficient freezer bags — is the single most revolutionizing concept I have adapted into my cooking repertoire, because it allows us to freeze uncooked dumplings, gnocchi, biscuits, scones and even scooped cookies without them become one doughy mass.
great idea
I use this technique frequently for the types of items you describe. Perfect for a small household to enjoy fresh baked goodies. I learned this technique as “individually quick frozen” (IQF in the trade) and ‘flash freezing’ having to do with a super cold (well below 0*) special freezer. Either way, it’s a great technique to know.
This technique sounds REALLY useful. Do you have to have a freezer temp that is zero or below to flash-freeze these unbaked scones (and other baked goods)? This may be a stupid question, but do you thaw the baked goods first, or bake them longer?
Works with berries too. Great to put blueberries, fresh last summer, on January oatmeal.
I’ve been interested in this idea for so long but haven’t been able to find out any information about how to re-heat the frozen items. Can you provide a step-by-step process?
Now I’m truly impressed with you Deb…
This is how to have on hand and serve the very best to your friends and family. I often buy large quantities of fruit, meat, cheese or whatever (on sale) and flash freeze them distributed evenly on cookie sheets. After about 2 hours, bag the frozen baked goods ( or whatever) in my desired quantities using the “food saver”bagging system.
Finally, I now have a food system that I can enjoy whatever I need at a great price in my required quantities in my own freezer without the previous problems of freezer taste or burn.As a true foodie no one leaves my home without something to take home and eat…with flash freeze system it`s easy.
It has taken me 30 years to figure out how …but finally!
Edie
Theresa — That will have everything to do with what you’re reheating/cooking.
I’ve frozen these jalapeno-cheddar scones for my little girl’s 1st birthday party this weekend but would like to know the best way to cook them. Should I thaw them first before they hit the oven and follow original directions, or just bake them frozen, adding extra time?
Deb, like Theresa I wondered about baking the items? Specifically, what about scones? (I’m planning to try the Dreamy Cream scones for an early Saturday breakfast, so I’d like to make them Friday night.) Would I let them defrost or bake them as is (and would I need to increase baking time?)
What about with cookies?
I love your site!!
Thanks,
Linda
It is personal preference. I prefer to freeze items unbaked because I think baked goods always taste best when they’re freshly baked. But there’s no reason you can’t use the freezer to pause at any point in the process.
JT — You can bake them directly from the freezer, they’ll just take a few minutes longer.
It took me a few reads to realize there wasn’t more to this post. I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but Flash Freezing refers more to using techniques to freeze things very quickly (such as dropping things in liquid nitrogen) rather than just the process of freezing things separated on a pan.
This still is a very good technique and I’ve used it often myself, but just pointing out the terminology is wrong.
I love this method. Every year my Grandma and I do it with our yummy Christmas Eve pierogi (If you want the recipe, I can email it). We usualy do it around mid-December so as to save some time for other Christmas cooking (in Poland traditionally there must be 12 courses for Christmas Eve!)
Epizephyrii, what would you call it? I’m open to suggestions! I haven’t heard a good alternative (or any, really) personally, and there has never been an occasion where I haven’t been able to figure out what “kind” of flash freezing was intended from the context.
We had 300ft of thorn-less boysenberry vines when I was growing up and we used this technique to freeze the unwashed berries. They could then be stored like purple marbles in the freezer. Washing them when we were ready to use them (cobbler!) helped defrost them.
Epizephyrii — This is flash freezing as it relates to this home-cooking site. It is not an exhaustive definition.
hi deb,
i froze the dreamy cream scones and then baked it, but when i took it out, the inside was still a little uncooked while the bottom was all done (and would have burned if I added any more time). this keeps happening. help! should i cook it longer at a lower temp?
Haha! I’ve been flash freezing & I didn’t even know it! I pour home made basil pesto into plastic lined muffin tins then freeze. The plastic helps you to pop out the muffin-sized-portions of pesto and store them in a zip lock bag. Then I just pull out 2 or 3 portions depending on how much I need (I use it for pasta, rare beef, steamed fish, grilled chicken). Such a quick way to add pizzaz to a simple dish.
This isn’t flash freezing in any context but it is a very useful technique.