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.

• Banana

  Submitted by Mary , Exeter

  If bananas are going riper than will be eaten I pop them in the freezer whole. I then defrost them at a later time to mash & add to pancake batter or use in muffins or even add as part of the fluid to a choclate cake mix. ( 1/2 cup banana = 1/4 cup fluid).

• Frozen Lime Juice

  Submitted by Pauline, Hertfordshire

  Often a recipe (especially Thai) will require a small amount of lime juice. What juice is left over can be placed in a small freezer bag and frozen until needed.

• Quick Veg

  Submitted by Sheena Couper, North Ayrshire

  Peel and chop carrots, onions, etc., bag them and freeze. When needed, just take out as much as you need and reseal. No more soggy veg at the bottom of your veg box.

• 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.

• 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!

• Fresh Parmesan Cheese

  Submitted by Lynn Curran, Erskine Renfrewshire

  Fresh parmesan can be expensive. To make it last longer here's a handy little tip... Grate the whole wedge of parmesan into a container and place in freezer- it'll last for ages! Delicious sprinkled over bolognese when serving or added to cheese sauce.

• Whole fresh chillies

  Submitted by Jackie Forrest, Holbeach

  You usually need to buy a whole pack of those hot red chillies even though you may only need one chilli. Deseed the chillies and chop finely, then add the same number of crushed garlic cloves. Pop in a plastic bag then in a plastic airtight container and freeze. Spoon out a small quantity as required.