Hello mommas. Well is has come to that time of the year that I am wanting to make some chili and potato soup. I will be making alot and am wantng to freeze some of it. My question is what type of container is the best for in the freezer? Any and all of your responses are greatly appreciated!
Thank You
If you are reheating them in the microwave, I would definately go with Pyrex or another GLASS container. Plastic can leech onto food when heated in the microwave. It's a total pain I know but it is better for you.
L.
I normally freeze in rubbermaid or tupperware. After they are frozen, I turn them over and run HOT water on the bottom to loosen a little until they come out, then I put them in freezer bags (double bagged). This way you don't have all your tupperware in the freezer and can't use it. Good Luck and hope this helps.
The Tupperware line of Rock-N-Serve is the very best. It is made to withstand FREEZING, REFRIGERATING & MICROWAVING. So, if you choose, you can use just the one container to take from storing, defrosting to reheating. They come in round or square/rectangular shapes and are so easily stackable too. And, they do NOT stain, even with tomato-based ingredients. The Rock-N-Serve line does seem a little pricey, but remember it is reusable (unlike the more disposable GLAD containers) and it has a Lifetime Warranty and you can have it replaced for FREE (if it chips or cracks) by ANY Tupperware Consultant. However, Tupperware also puts it on sale many times, so you can really pick up a GREAT value. Not many containers are SAFE to use in all 3 areas (freezer, refrigerator & microwave).
And, by the way, if easy to do, please share your chili and potato soup recipes. They sound perfect for make-ahead meals as it gets chilly outdoors.
Take care. Many Blessings - L.
I use the Zipper freezer bags. Lay it flat to freeze and I double bag it. When I am ready to use, I cut the bag open and put the soup or chili in a microwave casserole dish to heat in the microwave. I have more room in my freezer when I freeze them flat and stack them.
Susan
Hi C.,
sorry that I don't have some container advice, but if you would, could you share your potato soup recipe with me?
It's one of my favorite soups and I have never made it before and I would be interested in seeing yours!
Thanks,
J. R.
I use the GLADWARE plastic disposable kind. They work great! I just thawed some chili I made in July (i sprayed the interior of the container with cooking spray and then put the chili in so that it would be easy to remove while frozen) in the crockpot yesterday and it was FANTASTIC! You can get a big box of them at Sam's or Costco for under $15, I believe. GOOD LUCK!
those glad or ziploc disposables are always good for me they are more flexable than the regular plastics, and they always seem to pop off on the corners and don't stay on very good.
I buy yogurt in the big containers and save those for freezing my soups. I put a piece of tape on the lid and write the type of soup and date on the tape. For reheating, I agree, use glass. I may need to rethink even the yogurt containers in the freezer as they may leach chemicals while being frozen. I definitely don't heat in plastic in the microwave.
But, in the interim, the yogurt containers, are "free", don't crack and can be reused if you choose.
Let the soups cools, then freeze in the plastic containers, I'd recommend Ziploc over Glad- they make it out of the freezer better. My Glads always got so brittle in the freezer, they broke to pieces coming out of the cold! THEN, as Lisa noted, reheat in glass. Be sure to leave an inch of space at the top of each container when filling to allow for expansion of the soups as they go from liquid to solid state, or your containers may burst!
D.
Just a note, if you freeze your soup in a plastic bag, which I do in order to save space, be sure that if you have wire slotted racks, that you feeze the bags ontop of a cookie sheet or other flat surface. I did not do that, and had a heck of a time getting the soup back out!! And, for potato soup, dont cook your potatos all the way through, so that they will continue to cook when you heat up the soup, otherwise, the potatos could get too mushy...again, I did this the wrong way!! ~A.~
Based on experience, I vote strongly AGAINST the disposable Glad, Ziploc, etc., containers. If they fall out of the freezer onto your floor, they'll break into pieces... This has happened a few times to us.
I use the glad containers. I find that they can be used over and over if you wash them good by hand, and store them properly. I've used some of mine over and over so many times I've lost count. The nice thing about them that I like is that unlike Tupperware, if you lose one, its no big deal.
