Imagine that you have completed your freezer cooking day. You have successfully stocked the freezer with tasty meals and you are anxious to start using them. But when you open the freezer you find a block of freezer bags stuck in a sticky, frozen puddle of what was supposed to be dinner. Now you are dealing with a huge mess and ordering pizza. We know this image is more like a nightmare for you, and it certainly isn’t our vision for freezer cooking. Freezer cooking is about convenience, not time consuming spills.
We have compiled a quick guide to help prevent spills in the freezer and clean up a worst case scenario.
Choose the Right Containers
Our go to container is the common freezer bag. Most cooks are ok with these until they come to a soup recipe. We have frozen a lot of meals, and freezer bags will work, even for liquids and soups, but…
You will want to purchase the highest quality freezer bags you can find and afford. We love these Fresh Menu Kitchen Reusable Bags.
We always recommend that you lay your bags flat in the freezer so that meals freeze evenly and so that they are easier to stack and store. But you will want to take caution to stack heavier bags on the bottom and not to stack them so high that they fall over. If you have the space, the best way to go is to freeze the bags in a single layer, and then stack them up once they are frozen solid.
If you are worried about stacking large quantities of liquids, you can certainly upgrade to plastic or glass lidded containers. They are a little more expensive and they take up a little more space, but are far less likely to leak or break. And if you freeze a lot of food, you may want to invest in a Foodsaver, which vacuum seals your meals in high quality plastic bags to preserve quality for longer.
For more information, see our posts on recommended freezer containers and using glass containers.
Take Precautions
There are some simple tips and tricks for minimizing spills in the freezer. First and foremost, an organized freezer will keep your bags from slipping and sliding and possibly tearing when you are grabbing meals. A freezer inventory sheet helps you keep track of what is in the freezer. Here are some additional tips for staying organized.
Here are a few practical steps you can take to minimize the mess:
- Double bag! It isn’t a waste if it saves your meal. And you can always wash and reuse the bags.
- Flash freeze liquids first. Use a muffin tray to flash freeze broths, soups, marinades, etc. Then pop them out and transfer them to a freezer bag and lay flat. No sloshing! When you are ready to thaw, just place the whole bag into a large bowl.
- Place a cookie sheet under frozen meals. Hopefully all of your precautions will keep the freezer clean, but just in case, you can place a rimmed baking sheet in the bottom of the freezer to catch drips and spills. If something does leak, simply pull out the tray and wash instead of having to empty and clean the whole freezer!
What to Do if Something Does Spill
It can happen to the best of us. OAMM founder, Tricia, shared these pictures of her experience back in the early days of the blog. Here is what she did to clean up:
“I grabbed a bowl of hot water, a wash rag, a couple paper towels, my step stool (I am short) and a spatula. Yes, I said my spatula! I was thinking that those bits of frozen “juice” might be difficult to get up. It didn’t take me long really. I just used the hot wet wash cloth to wipe away the food particles in the bottom of the freezer. I then quickly wiped away the water and remaining mess with dry paper towels before it had a chance to freeze again.”