topic Freezing marinara sauce? in Kitchen

Freezing marinara sauce?

qvc chick — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 16:46:32 GMT

Question - I am thining about making a large batch of David's marinara sauce recipe.

It says it freezes well. But it makes a huge amount.

What is the best way to freeze individual portions? I don't want to just put everything in one container.

Lock and Lock regular containers seem to stain with the tomato sauce.

Suggestions on what works?? Thanks!

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

brii — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 16:52:06 GMT

I freeze sauce in zip lock bags.

You just have to be careful when you're defrosting them that you don't leave it on your counter where the sauce can leak out. LOL

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

Sweetbay magnolia — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 17:38:24 GMT

I use Ziploc and Rubbermaid glass storage containers.

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

debic — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 17:43:23 GMT

Tomato sauces freeze wonderfully. I generally freeze in round bowls and then pop them out and vacuum them. This way when you want to reheat you can just drop the whole thing in simmering water.

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

chickenbutt — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 18:08:00 GMT

I agree with Deb - the only way to go is to vacuum seal it in portion sizes.

I freeze my sauces, stews, etc, in Lock & Lock containers and then pop them out to vacuum seal. Of course, one would wait until the sauce is completely cooled to put in the containers to avoid staining, but you would probably do that anyway especially with any kind of tomato-based sauce.

Anything short of vacuum-sealing and the food starts breaking down pretty quickly in quality, especially in a self-defrosting freezer. It will stay 100% pristine for years if it is vacuum-sealed.

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

jackthebear — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 18:18:33 GMT

if you are not going to keep for years, I use small plastic containers. Or small freezer bags if you freeze flat takes up less space

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

PinkyPetunia — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 18:18:37 GMT

I reuse the plastic containers that I get when I buy 1 lb. of coleslaw at the deli. I get the same containers from the Chinese restaurant when we get soup with a takeout lunch. I wash them in the dishwasher and they are great for freezing soup, sauces, etc. Yes, these will stain but I just recycle them when I use the contents. Cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream containers are good, too.

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

JeanLouiseFinch — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 18:38:13 GMT

When my nieces were small, and my sister was working, she would make a batch of sauce and divide it up into muffin tins and into the freezer. After they were all frozen, she'd pop each serving out and store them in a ziploc bag, in the freezer. Pasta with sauce was an easy meal for my BIL (or me, when I babysat) to make for them. Just thaw the frozen sauce in a small saucepan and reheat, or carefully use a microwave to do the same thing.

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

Mominohio — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 20:22:21 GMT

Any type of plastic container (lock and lock included) or baggie is going to freezer burn within a very short time.

Chickenbutt and debc are correct. The only way to go with freezing foods is to get a vacuum sealer. I have a food saver, and wouldn't be without one. It is one of those things that you never knew you needed until you got one.

It seals so much more that food for the freezer. Dried goods in glass jars, and even important papers to protect them from water damage in flooding. I have even sealed clothing to take on camping trips or boat trips to guarantee they stay dry.

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

DoneTryin — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:05:45 GMT

When I use small plastic containers to initiate freezing, I line them with foil, plastic wrap, or a larger-sized zip-lock bag to prevent the tomato staining. Then I can transfer the sauce "popsicles" into a vacuum-sealed bag (Foodsaver) & just remove the quantity of frozen blocks whenever I need them for defrosting & reheating.

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

qvc chick — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:30:46 GMT

Ok, I'm confused. I see a few posters saying that they originally freeze the sauce in Lock N Lock, but then pop it out, and put it in vacumn sealed bags?

Why wouldn't you just leave it inside the L&L once it is frozen?

I'm not talking about keeping things for years in a freezer...maybe a couple months.

So L&L would not keep well for a few months?

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

DoneTryin — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:40:32 GMT

On 2/3/2015 qvc chick said:
Ok, I'm confused. I see a few posters saying that they originally freeze the sauce in Lock N Lock, but then pop it out, and put it in vacumn sealed bags?

Why wouldn't you just leave it inside the L&L once it is frozen?

I'm not talking about keeping things for years in a freezer...maybe a couple months.

So L&L would not keep well for a few months?

Still gets freezer-burned because there's still air inside. If you vacuum seal it, that removes all the air. Just as an FYI, the only reason I initially freeze in a container at all is because my Foodsaver isn't the kind you can vacuum seal liquids in; it has to be solid first.

Re: Freezing marinara sauce?

chickenbutt — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:45:16 GMT

On 2/3/2015 qvc chick said:
Ok, I'm confused. I see a few posters saying that they originally freeze the sauce in Lock N Lock, but then pop it out, and put it in vacumn sealed bags?

Why wouldn't you just leave it inside the L&L once it is frozen?

I'm not talking about keeping things for years in a freezer...maybe a couple months.

So L&L would not keep well for a few months?

Hi! My response to that would be that, while L&L is airtight and liquidtight (as long as there aren't any spouts in the seals), it is NOT a vacuum. The only way to keep the food pristine is to remove ALL the air (i.e. vacuuming) because it is the oxygen in the air that breaks down the food. Additionally, the moisture in the food works together with the air inside to cause the ice crystals and, ultimately, freezer burn.

There is no way to remove ALL the air from a L&L (or any other) container and have it STAY out. Even if you take a baggie and press out all the air, there will still be air moving in and out of the container. With an airtight container, air isn't moving in and out of it but there IS air inside with the food. Vacuum sealing removes ALL the air, thus allowing the food to remain in its pristine form for a very long time. For a few months, or even weeks, or even less than ONE week, if air is accessing the food it is breaking down from day one.

Hope all that made sense. I'm a serious nut for food storage, so I have it down pat. I do love Lock & Lock and it's great for short-term refrigerator storage and for freezer, refrigerator, OR pantry storage for dry goods. I would not be without it for the purposes where the products do excel.