Q and A

Here are some questions I've had recently about freezing certain food or ingredients.

Q: Tracey asked if it's OK to freeze sauces and dips that contain yoghurt.

A: The answer is "probably".  It depends on what kind of yoghurt you use as store-bought yoghurts freeze well because they contain stabilisers, but home-made yoghurts will probably separate when thawed.

It should be fine to freeze your yoghurt sauce/dip but you may find that it looks abit different when defrosted as there may be water on top, but give it a good stir and it should be fine.  My Smoked trout pate is like this after defrosting (it contains cream cheese, not yoghurt) but I give it a stir and it's back to normal.  Sometimes it thickens after freezing so I add a little water and stir it through.

This link says it's OK to freeze yoghurt sauces.  I'd give it a try with a small sample and see how it goes.

Q: Lorna asked "Do you know if you can freeze marshmallow?  I have two great slice recipes, both have home-made marshmallow in them, but they make HUGE quantities and we never eat them all - so I was wondering about freezing??

A: Store bought marshmallows freeze well, and lots of people keep them in the freezer so they always have some on hand for hot chocolate drinks.  So based on this, I would say that a slice that contains marshmallow would freeze well.

Unfortunately Lorna's recipe contains HOMEMADE marshmallow and most marshmallow recipes use gelatin.  Gelatin does not freeze well, so the marshmallow layer on the slice probably won't freeze well either.

Q: Tammy asked if it's OK to freeze whipped and unwhipped cream.  She never uses the whole container and it goes to waste.

A: Yes, you can freeze unwhipped and whipped cream but make sure you use full-fat cream as low-fat cream doesn't freeze well.  It's a good idea to freeze cream in ice-cube trays or small containers if you only use small amounts at a time.

You may need to give it a good stir when you defrost the cream to make sure it's an even consistency.

Q: Kate asked if it's OK to freeze ricotta

A: Yes, you can freeze ricotta but the texture might change a little when it defrosts and a watery liquid will separate from the solid part of the cheese.  You can stir the water back into the cheese, or drain it away.  Freezing leftover ricotta is better than throwing it out.

If you have ricotta in a recipe, such as lasagne, it is fine to freeze.