There's plenty to consider when organising your freezer. What type of food should be stored where? What kind of containers should you use?
The answers to these questions are surprisingly simple.
There are plenty of easy rules you should follow when you think about how to organise your side-by-side freezer, or when filling up a new one. Having a perfectly organised freezer can take all the stress out of meal preparation, and save you money on food waste in the long run – especially if you do it with an ergonomic freezer with plenty of compartments, like those in the Hoover range.
In this blog, we’ll go through some of those rules and help you get more from your fridge space management.
What foods should you freeze?
The first thing to consider when organising food in your freezer is to check whether the produce will freeze well.
Any foods with a high-water content, such as watermelon, lettuce, fried food, and dairy produce are generally not freezable items. On the other hand, carbohydrates such as potato products, fruit, most types of soup, and meat and fish, are all examples of food types that are ideal for freezing.
Be careful however, when freezing sliced bread – we’d recommend freezing slices of bread separately from each other to avoid slices clumping together.
How much of each food should you freeze?
To avoid food turning into a single frozen mass in the freezer, consider portioning out dishes into single servings before storing. This will make it a lot easier to take out only the food you need when it’s time for dinner, instead of having to defrost the whole thing in one go.
It’s also important to only freeze food that you know you’re going to eat. Although freezing does prolong the life of produce, all food will eventually reach their expiry date, whether they’re in the freezer or not.
How should food be organised in your freezer?
Before you put anything into your freezer, consider labelling it to make things easier – especially if the food is being stored in clear containers like tupperware. It’s always useful to label each bit of food with the name of the dish and the date it was made, to both make it easier to identify and to avoid consuming expired meals.
A good and thorough freezer filing system can make a world of difference for your freezer organisation and won’t take long to put in place.
If your freezer has deep drawers, consider purchasing storage organisers or plastic tubs to create a little order. Piling produce on top of each other in your drawers can make it harder to find the items you’re looking for, and overfilled freezer drawers can cause food to squash together and become crushed.
It’s also important to consider where each item of food is placed in your freezer. Produce stored in the freezer door, for example, usually sits at a higher temperature than the rest of the freezer, so only use it to store items you don’t mind being less chilled.
And when storing remember to make sure all food has cooled to room temperature first, or your freezer will have to work harder to cool it down.
Which containers should be used for different foods?
The first thing to check when choosing containers to use to freeze food is that the containers are freezer safe.
Non-tempered glass will usually shatter at very low temperatures, so it’s worth investing in freezers-safe containers such as Pyrex or plastic dishes. It’s also important to make sure that your freezer container is as close in size to the produce inside as possible. Too much air reaching the food causes freezer burn, which can negatively impact the texture or taste of the produce.
If you’re wrapping food in foil or clingfilm, be sure to double-wrap items before freezing to create an airtight seal around the food. To save on valuable space, freezing soups and stews in zip lock bags as opposed to containers is another great way to organise your fridge freezer.
The Hoover freezer collection
At Hoover, we’ve put together an cooling options that are space-friendly, so you can get more food in yours to feed the entire family.
With multiple drawer compartments to help split out your food by food type, you’ll get much easier freezer management so you can make sure all of your frozen produce stays fresher and tastier for longer.
Many of our freezers also come in a range of different shapes and sizes, so no matter where you want to put the appliance in your home, you’ll find just the right model for you.
Ready to find out more? Visit our freezer section for more information.
