Tips from the Freezer

The freezer is a food lover's hero because there's not much that can't be frozen until its needed: homemade ready meals (see Timesavers); veg and wonderful herbs; grated cheese for toppings and meat cut in strips for quick stir-frying. This section has a few surprises for us all. Visit the freezer often to keep tabs on what's inside.

• Selection of frozen vegetables

  Celebrity tip by Anthea Turner

  Keep a good selection of frozen vegetables in the freezer. This gives children lots of options when it comes to dinner time

• DIY frozen ready meals

  Celebrity tip by Sarah Beeny

  To use up veg that I know I won’t get around to eating I make my own ready meals. If I have a few potatoes that I need to use, I’ll boil them up and make mashed potato and freeze it in portions, so next time I am in a rush I know I have them on standby. They’re much cheaper than bought ready meals and there’s something quite nice about knowing you’ve cooked them yourself.

• Frozen Vegetables

  Celebrity tip by Anthea Turner

  Keep a good selection of frozen vegetables in the freezer. This gives children lots of options when it comes to dinner time.

• Cooking for children

  Celebrity tip by Anthea Turner

  When cooking for your kids, cook small batches of new foods that you want them to try. This means that if they don’t like it, you can either freeze the batch or re-use the leftovers.

• Salsa

  Submitted by Louise , Torrance

  Since I am the only one that uses Salsa, I have found that I can freeze it in small containers that have just the amount I want in each. When I need Salsa, I can defrost it in seconds in the microwave.

• Lemon juice

  Submitted by Anna Maudlin , Gt. Yarmouth

  Roll the lemon up and down your work top, pressing hard. When you extract juice you will get more. Juice not required can be frozen in ice cube moulds to use another time - great added to water to give a refreshing zing.

• Pesto

  Submitted by Gina Jolliffe, Brixham

  I have often reluctantly thrown a half empty jar of pesto away. No more, you can freeze it in teaspoonsfuls in a tightly closed container. Then use ready measured tsps as you need them. Put it into the dish still frozen. I noticed no significant alteration in flavour when used within three weeks of freezing. You could also try topping up the jar in the fridge with good olive oil.

• Frozen yogurt or fromage frais

  Submitted by Andrea McCulloch, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham

  Packs of yogurt are often a tempting buy as they get near to the use by dates, but who can eat 12 pots of yogurt in a day? Frozen yogurt makes a lovely dessert though. Those expensive tubes of fromage frais made for children are actually easier to eat once frozen, and half of it doesn't get left in the tube as it normally does. If you have a big family sized pot of yogurt to use up, try pouring it in to a ice lolly makers.

• Who said potatoes don’t freeze?

  They’re guaranteed to be crispy and golden if you parboil and freeze them for later. Just thaw in the fridge and roast.

• Keeping Flour

  Submitted by Beverley, Huddersfield

  When I get home with a new bag of flour, I enclose it in a tightly closed plastic bag (a freezer clip, twist tie, or a clothes peg work well). I then place in the freezing compartment of the fridge for 24 hours. When it is removed, leave the tightly closing plastic bag in place. The cold kills any flour mites and the plastic bag protects the flour from damp etc. You will never have to discard flour again!