I have often observed people underutilising the power of their white goods. These include the refrigerator, the microwave and the humble oven. I am going to describe here the things I have been doing to optimise their use along with the stove or the hob or the gas stove that we use for our cooking, preserving and so on.
I was inspired to write this post after a friend on Whatsapp asked a few questions related to thawing food and preserving food. Thanks, @mnkshah.
Let me begin by stating the most obvious things:
1. Freezers are for preservation. The temperatures are below zero degrees Celsius. In most cases, they are near -4 to -15° Celsius. At such temperatures, food becomes homogeneous to the human eye. It is therefore imperative to label your food containers before freezing stuff inside the freezer. Labelling can be in the form of either using special freezer labels or using colour-coded lids.
2. Thawed food should not be refrozen unless you have kept it outside for less than 15 minutes. This is because thawing and bringing food back to room temperatures allows microorganisms to grow inside. Refreezing such food will allow microbes to stay inside and be activated whenever thawing next occurs; sometimes, microbes excrete toxins that are simply chemicals and these will cause you to be very, very sick indeed.
3. Fried foods always taste more heavenly than grilled, roasted, air-dried or toasted food. There is no alternative method to keep the EXACT same taste of fried food without frying it.
4. Microwave ovens heat and cook from inside to outside, and this is very important when you are heating or cooking foods. This peculiar way of cooking actually can overcook the insides without the exterior being that hot. Remember this while using a microwave oven.
Listen to this podcast.
So, let us dig deeper then.
First of all, freezing a freshly cooked item as soon as it is cool enough to stop smoking is the best way to keep the item fresh and retain all its nutrients. I have used this method to store away food for the days I won't be able to find time to cook. An example of this is to cook two or three different foods before the start of my run of night duties. This allows me to cook for a half-day ahead of the nights. I usually end up making two or three different foods, including a mix of curries, vegetables and some noodles etc. Remember, rice, noodles, salads CANNOT be frozen. I make those items when I actually need them. However, curries, roasts, gravies etc. can be frozen, so it makes sense to make them all together and put one in your fridge and the remaining in the freezer.
Items like chapatis, bread, tikka, kebabs, etc, will stay unspoilt in the freezer for months! The one thing to remember is to store it in smaller packets with plastic bags so that you don't have to remove the entire packet when you need just a few for one meal. This is also true when you want to store green peas - they come in large packets of 200 -500 grams, and you won't be needing all in one cook, will you? So, break that up into smaller packets of 40-60 grams each before putting it away into the freezer. You may extend this to items like french fries (when bought raw, the packets are huge).
A practical way to work with onions: remember, we need onions for over 90% of our cooking. Most dishes need onions to be fried golden brown at the very beginning of the cook. One way to save preparation times is to dice a lot of onions and then fry them in a large kadhai in one go. Once they turn golden brown, switch off the gas, allow them to cool, then drain them onto a clean glass bowl, and transfer them into an air-tight box to store them all in the freezer. You may retain a small portion to keep it in the fridge for use over the next few days, The rest can be frozen and used over an entire month without spoiling.
Garlic-ginger pastes, chutneys, tamarind pastes, etc. also stay fresh for long periods if they are frozen. To be honest, g-g pastes do not spoil even without freezing, but when kept in the freezer, their aroma is retained for a much longer time. The same is true for green chilli paste. Try it.
Now, let me talk about frozen foods that we buy from the supermarkets. Nowadays, it is possible to get frozen raw stuff but also frozen cooked food. I have bought parathas, pooris, frozen avial, frozen medu wada, frozen cooked okra, and so many other things. When you buy parathas in this way, you need to bring them out and cook them straightaway on the tawa without thawing them at all. If thawed, they lose their hardness and become like putty in your hands. So, remove from the freezer, and transfer them immediately, one by one, onto the tawa till you have made them all. If you don't need all of them, use the numbers you need, but transfer the rest back into the freezer as soon as possible.
Cooked vegetables packed inside attractive boxes are a bit of a tricky thing. They can be thawed in the microwave, but you do need to remove aluminium or plastic coverings from them. This can be a pain, A better way would be to heat them in water in a large cooking pot rather than using the microwave. Just suggesting tricks to make your life easier.
Any don'ts? Well, you cannot freeze rice, pulaos, biryanis, noodles, etc., but bread and chapattis are just fine. Raw vegetables like tomatoes, brinjals, kaddu, etc. become absolutely watery and mushy when frozen. Coriander leaves stay okay for a few days, then turn into a sloppy mess. The same is true for mint leaves, spinach leaves and all leafy vegetables. Curry leaves, though, will stay good for a long time, but you need to remove them from their stalks. Long beans, french beans, etc. are also okay with freezing for long periods.
Any words about the humble OTG? I think we all under-utilise it since the microwaves came along. To reheat chapati, kababs, samosas, etc. the OTG is fantastic, as the food heats evenly unlike what happens with the microwave. OTGs are also great to grill kababs, make cakes, make dhokla, and heat farsans of all kinds before consuming them. Popcorn is better made in a microwave.
And that's it for now. Please participate in the discussion with adding your comments below. Thanks for reading this post.
I was inspired to write this post after a friend on Whatsapp asked a few questions related to thawing food and preserving food. Thanks, @mnkshah.
Let me begin by stating the most obvious things:
1. Freezers are for preservation. The temperatures are below zero degrees Celsius. In most cases, they are near -4 to -15° Celsius. At such temperatures, food becomes homogeneous to the human eye. It is therefore imperative to label your food containers before freezing stuff inside the freezer. Labelling can be in the form of either using special freezer labels or using colour-coded lids.
2. Thawed food should not be refrozen unless you have kept it outside for less than 15 minutes. This is because thawing and bringing food back to room temperatures allows microorganisms to grow inside. Refreezing such food will allow microbes to stay inside and be activated whenever thawing next occurs; sometimes, microbes excrete toxins that are simply chemicals and these will cause you to be very, very sick indeed.
3. Fried foods always taste more heavenly than grilled, roasted, air-dried or toasted food. There is no alternative method to keep the EXACT same taste of fried food without frying it.
4. Microwave ovens heat and cook from inside to outside, and this is very important when you are heating or cooking foods. This peculiar way of cooking actually can overcook the insides without the exterior being that hot. Remember this while using a microwave oven.
Listen to this podcast.
So, let us dig deeper then.
First of all, freezing a freshly cooked item as soon as it is cool enough to stop smoking is the best way to keep the item fresh and retain all its nutrients. I have used this method to store away food for the days I won't be able to find time to cook. An example of this is to cook two or three different foods before the start of my run of night duties. This allows me to cook for a half-day ahead of the nights. I usually end up making two or three different foods, including a mix of curries, vegetables and some noodles etc. Remember, rice, noodles, salads CANNOT be frozen. I make those items when I actually need them. However, curries, roasts, gravies etc. can be frozen, so it makes sense to make them all together and put one in your fridge and the remaining in the freezer.
Items like chapatis, bread, tikka, kebabs, etc, will stay unspoilt in the freezer for months! The one thing to remember is to store it in smaller packets with plastic bags so that you don't have to remove the entire packet when you need just a few for one meal. This is also true when you want to store green peas - they come in large packets of 200 -500 grams, and you won't be needing all in one cook, will you? So, break that up into smaller packets of 40-60 grams each before putting it away into the freezer. You may extend this to items like french fries (when bought raw, the packets are huge).
A practical way to work with onions: remember, we need onions for over 90% of our cooking. Most dishes need onions to be fried golden brown at the very beginning of the cook. One way to save preparation times is to dice a lot of onions and then fry them in a large kadhai in one go. Once they turn golden brown, switch off the gas, allow them to cool, then drain them onto a clean glass bowl, and transfer them into an air-tight box to store them all in the freezer. You may retain a small portion to keep it in the fridge for use over the next few days, The rest can be frozen and used over an entire month without spoiling.
Garlic-ginger pastes, chutneys, tamarind pastes, etc. also stay fresh for long periods if they are frozen. To be honest, g-g pastes do not spoil even without freezing, but when kept in the freezer, their aroma is retained for a much longer time. The same is true for green chilli paste. Try it.
Now, let me talk about frozen foods that we buy from the supermarkets. Nowadays, it is possible to get frozen raw stuff but also frozen cooked food. I have bought parathas, pooris, frozen avial, frozen medu wada, frozen cooked okra, and so many other things. When you buy parathas in this way, you need to bring them out and cook them straightaway on the tawa without thawing them at all. If thawed, they lose their hardness and become like putty in your hands. So, remove from the freezer, and transfer them immediately, one by one, onto the tawa till you have made them all. If you don't need all of them, use the numbers you need, but transfer the rest back into the freezer as soon as possible.
Cooked vegetables packed inside attractive boxes are a bit of a tricky thing. They can be thawed in the microwave, but you do need to remove aluminium or plastic coverings from them. This can be a pain, A better way would be to heat them in water in a large cooking pot rather than using the microwave. Just suggesting tricks to make your life easier.
Any don'ts? Well, you cannot freeze rice, pulaos, biryanis, noodles, etc., but bread and chapattis are just fine. Raw vegetables like tomatoes, brinjals, kaddu, etc. become absolutely watery and mushy when frozen. Coriander leaves stay okay for a few days, then turn into a sloppy mess. The same is true for mint leaves, spinach leaves and all leafy vegetables. Curry leaves, though, will stay good for a long time, but you need to remove them from their stalks. Long beans, french beans, etc. are also okay with freezing for long periods.
Any words about the humble OTG? I think we all under-utilise it since the microwaves came along. To reheat chapati, kababs, samosas, etc. the OTG is fantastic, as the food heats evenly unlike what happens with the microwave. OTGs are also great to grill kababs, make cakes, make dhokla, and heat farsans of all kinds before consuming them. Popcorn is better made in a microwave.
And that's it for now. Please participate in the discussion with adding your comments below. Thanks for reading this post.
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