Foods That Do Not Freeze Well PDF
| Foods | Usual Use | Condition After Thawing |
|---|---|---|
| Raw Cabbage*, celery, watercress, cucumbers, endive, lettuce, radishes | As raw salad | Limp, water-logged, quickly develops oxidized color, aroma, and flavor |
| Cooked cream vegetables | Side dish | Loses flavor rapidly. Store only a few weeks for best quality |
| Irish potatoes, baked or boiled | In soups, salads or with butter | Soft, crumbly, water-logged, mealy |
| Watermelon | As raw fruit | Soggy/ watery |
| Egg whites, cooked | In salads, creamed foods, sandwiches, sauces, gravy or dessert | Soft, touch, rubbery, spongy |
| Icings made from egg whites | Cakes, cookies | Frothy, weep |
| Cream or custard fillings | Pies, baked goods |
Separates, watery, lumpy, soaks into the crust |
| Milk sauces and gravies | For casseroles or gravies |
May curdle or separate. Best to thicken with waxy starch (Clear-Jel)... less likely to separate |
| Sour cream | As topping, in salads | Separates, watery |
| Cheese or crumb toppings | On casseroles | Soggy |
| Cooked macaroni, spaghetti or rice | When frozen alone for later use | Mushy, tasted warmed over |
| Mayonnaise or salad dressing | on sandwiches (not in salads) | Separates |
| Fried foods | All except French fried potatoes and onion rings | Lose crispness, become soggy |
| Potato salad, macaroni salad | Salad | Becomes watery and tough, mushy |
| Unbaked biscuits | Baked products | Smaller and less tender |
| Unbaked muffins | Baked product | Poor texture |
| Gelatin | In salads or desserts | Weeps |
| Fruit Jelly | Sandwiches | May soak bread, weeps |
| Chocolate covered cherries | Candy | Expands during freezing causing them to break |
* Cucumbers and cabbage can be frozen as marinated products such as "freezer slaw" or "freezer pickles." These do not have the same texture as regular slaw or pickles.
Related Articles
Safety of Canned Food that Freezes
Preserving Foods: Dried Beans
Preserving Garlic
Source: OSU Master Food Preserver Program
Adapted from: So Easy to Preserve, 5th addition, cooperative extension services, the University of Georgia and Freezing prepared Foods, PNW 296.
Previously titled
Foods that do not freeze well -SP 50-766
Want to learn more about this topic? Explore more resources from OSU Extension:
Home Food Safety and Storage
