Make the most of ham, cheeses and other holiday foodstuffs
Got a huge chunk of cheddar staring at you? Got half a ham? How about an extra pound or two of flour? You are not alone.
The new year is here, but many of us are still afflicted with post-seasonal food surfeit — the result of buying too many exotic ingredients in anticipation of a baking spree that never came off, perhaps. Or, simply receiving too many fancy food gifts.
Nice to have all those friends, of course, but it can be too much of a good thing.
What to do? What to do? Especially in these perilous economic times.
After all, eliminating food waste is every bit as important as buying it wisely. That goes for the holiday goodies as well as ordinary meat and potatoes fare.
So what follows is some guidance on dealing with the extra food that may be oppressing you. Only one caveat: Time’s a-wasting, quality’s a-dwindling.
Get to this right away if you’re smart.
Flour: You thought you were going to make a big bunch of cookies but somehow didn’t get to it. Nevermind. Freeze the flour you have left in airtight containers.
True, all-purpose or cake flour is relatively shelf stable (some experts suggest if you keep it in your pantry, you might bury a bay leaf in it to keep the beasties away.) Whole wheat or whole grain flours, however, can turn rancid.
Erie County Extension Educator Nancy Reukauf says she automatically freezes all flours as soon as she gets them home from the market to avoid that rancidity and to discourage and contain potential “wild life.”
Frozen flour can be used right out of the freezer, although Reukauf suggests if you are making something delicate like a cake, you might want to let it come to room temperature. (It only takes a minute.)
The basics
Butter: Freeze it in its original wrappings. It keeps a long time. When you’re ready to use, defrost it in the fridge.
Eggs: How many omelets can a person eat, after all? Yes, in case you were wondering, you can freeze eggs. Out of the shell, of course.
To freeze whole eggs, Reukauf suggests you beat them just lightly enough to combine white and yolk and put them in container. (Don’t forget to label this container, both with the date and the number of eggs inside. They will keep for about a year.)
You can freeze yolks alone, if you wish. Or whites alone. Reukauf suggests the use of ice cube trays. One egg white per indentation.
Hard-cooked eggs do not freeze. Make deviled eggs or egg salad. Flavor deteriorates the longer an egg hangs around. If you’ve had them for a while, don’t fry or poach them, but they are OK in recipes.
Nuts: Well, they freeze and last forever, of course, and taste good if you toast them after taking them out of the freezer.
If you don’t have too many, you may want to toast them lightly and use to garnish salads and vegetables. It’s nice to add a little oomph to baked goods, too. (Brush lightly with egg white and sprinkle with the nuts. They will adhere.)
Dairy
Hard Cheeses: (Swiss, cheddar). Cheese fondue is back in fashion. And Welsh rarebit tastes awfully good on a cold winter night. In the refrigerator cheese keeps from three to four weeks.
Hard cheese will freeze, although it has a tendency to get crumbly. Just wrap it air tight. And don’t freeze it unless you have to. Make soup; make sandwiches.
Soft Cheeses: (brie, bel paese) can also be frozen. And that’s probably a good idea since soft cheeses only last a week or so in the fridge.
Ricotta, Cottage Cheese: Make pasta and top with the cheese. Or make a salad. In other words, don’t freeze.
Buttermilk: Freeze it, making sure to allow for expansion.
Whole milk: Freeze only if absolutely necessary. It will last three months.
Cream Cheese: Freeze it if you must. But it crumbles like crazy.
Heavy Cream: If it is not ultra pasteurized it will freeze, come out looking watery and will whip after it defrosts in the fridge. You may not get as much volume as you like.
Ultra-pasteurized cream will not whip after it is frozen, so here’s another idea: Whip the cream then spoon dollops of the stuff onto waxed paper. Freeze the dollops, then put them into a zip-topped bag. Use them at will as garnish.
Eggnog: Nonalcoholic. Use it in just about any recipe that calls for milk. (It makes terrific French toast.)
Meat
Ham: Irma Rombauer, author of the classic “Joy of Cooking,” once described eternity as two people and one ham. And she wasn’t kidding, as you probably know by now.
Ham keeps well in the fridge up to a week — but you’re probably going a little ham crazy about now, so put it in the freezer.
Hint: The flavor will change the longer it stays frozen, so use it up within a month.
Bacon: Raw bacon will freeze for about a month. Another idea: Cook it and crumble it and put it in the refrigerator. Use it to top salads and other vegetables. It’s great on sandwiches, too.
Cooked Shellfish: Shrimp, scallops, crayfish all last only a couple days in the fridge. In the freezer, it’s good up to three months.
Miscellaneous
Cookie dough: Yes it freezes. Use it up within a couple of months. Or bake the cookies and freeze them. Because. . .
Cookies, cake and breads freeze well and last forever. You might also want to crumble some of those cookies before you freeze them and use them for garnish on puddings or dessert.
Lasagna: This tastes better if you freeze before baking.
Candied fruit: Freeze it and use it for Easter baking.
Mashed Potatoes: Make patties with them and fry. Delicious; even better than mashed potatoes themselves. Or use them in soups to thicken.
If you absolutely must, freeze the spuds in individual portions. When you are ready to serve, bake them in a moderate oven to dry up the water. And add some butter, herbs or sour cream — it will help.
Some notes
Ideal refrigerator temperature is 40 degrees. Freezer temperature is 0 degrees or lower. If you’re not sure, get an inexpensive thermometer, made for this purpose and find out once and for all.
Try to use leftovers creatively instead of freezing. It’s an unfortunate fact of kitchen life that nothing comes out of the freezer any better than it goes in.
Nancy Reukauf also points out that if you have a frost-free freezer — as most of us do — some of those recommended freezing times may be on the generous side.
These freezers go through regular defrosting cycles when the food may thaw slightly, then refreeze. That’s not enough to make anybody sick but it does affect texture.
If you’ve ever eaten ice cream that’s been stored too long in a frost-free freezer, you know what we mean.
For more information, call the Erie County Extension Service at 652-5400. Or consult the Cold Storage Chart at www.foodsafety.gov.
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