Things You Shouldn't Freeze

Stocking up on foods when they're on sale and freezing them for later is a great way to save money, but there are two things that you just shouldn't freeze. These include:

• cans of food
• eggs in the shell

If you'd like to freeze either of these items, simply remove them from their can or shell first. You can freeze eggs by first cracking them, lightly beating them, pouring them into an ice cube tray, and keeping them in the freezer until you're ready to use them.

Foods That Don't Freeze Well

While shelled eggs and canned foods are the only things that aren't safe to freeze, there are a handful of other foods that don't freeze well. These include:

• Fruits and vegetables with high water content - (celery, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, melon). They'll be limp and soggy when thawed
• Cream-based products - (sour cream, light cream, yogurt, custards). They'll separate when frozen
• Soft cheeses - (cream cheese, goat's cheese, cottage cheese and other spreadable cheeses)
• Mayo - It'll separate
• Fried foods - They'll be soggy when thawed
• Gravies and sauces thickened with flour or corn starch - They'll separate when frozen
• Cooked pasta - It'll get soggy. Slightly undercooked pasta freezes well, though

Many of the changes that take place in these foods can be masked with the right preparation. Use frozen celery in soup, and it won't seem limp. Use cream cheese in baked recipes, and it'll be just as good as fresh. Spend some time experimenting to figure out which foods are worth freezing, and which aren't. Some of it is just a matter of personal preference.

Here are some resources to get you going:

• How to Prevent Freezer Burn
• Printable Freezer Inventory List
• Printable Freezer Labels
• How to Keep Foods Safe During a Power Outage
• How to Freeze Everything