Kitchen

[qvc chick]

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!

[brii]

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

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I use Ziploc and Rubbermaid glass storage containers.

[debic]

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.

[chickenbutt]

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.

[jackthebear]

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

[PinkyPetunia]

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.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

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.

[Mominohio]

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.

[DoneTryin]

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.