Freezing Vegetables-Freeze only fresh hrgh- qualrty vegetables picked when barely mature. For best results, freeze no more than 2 to 3 hours after picking. Wash in cold water, sort and cut into appropriate sizes Blanch or scald Pack in recom- mended container and freeze.
Do not freeze lettuce, celery, carrot sticks, pota- toes or fresh tomatoes. All will become limp or mushy. Tomatoes WIII collapse when thawed.
Refer to freezer book for further information
Freezing Meats-The meat you thaw can only be as good as the meat you freeze “Drugstore”
wrap in meal-size packages Flat cuts or patties should be wrapped indrvidually or in layers sepa- rated by a double thrckness of freezer wrap.
Freezing Cooked Food -Prepare cooked foods as you would for the table; shorten cookrng time 10 to15 minutes to allow for addrtional cooking during reheating. Omit seasonings and part of the Irquid. Plan toadd them at reheating time. Potatoes should also be added to soup and stew at heating time. Add crumb and cheese topprngs at heatrng time. Cool as rapidly as possible and freeze at once. Liqutd or semi-liquid dishes may be frozen In rec-
ommended containers with head-spaceCasser- oles and other more soled foods may be frozen In the baking container. If you don’t want to leave your casserole dish in the freezer, lrne it wrth foil Bake. cool, freeze, lift out the foil package, bag it and return to freezer.
Freezing Baked Goods-Wrap baked breads
In recommended materrol. Thaw in wrapprng. Un- baked yeast breads can be frozen after the first rising. Punch down, wrap and freeze
Bake cookies as usual. Cool and freeze on trays.
then pack in recommended freezer bags or car- tons Unbaked cookies may be dropped, molded or rolled and frozen on cookie trays. Store in bag or carton; bake without thawing. Refrigerator-type cookies can be wrapped and frozen in roll form. Thaw only enough to slice when ready to bake.
Frurt pies are best frozen unbaked. Bake wrthout thawtng. Bake pecan and similar pies before freezing...rrch fillings do not freeze solid. Cut steam vents rn top crusts when ready to bake.
