Is it Safe to Freeze left over veges mixed with meat, pasta, etc?
By jennybianca
@jennybianca (12912)
Australia
March 25, 2008 8:26pm CST
I read an idea on a website yesterday, that suggested a way to keep left overs.
This person said that she put all left overs from her meals into a containor & froze it.
She would add more left overs to this pile as they became available.
After a while, if there were a lot of accumulated left overs, she would defrost the lot & make a soup. This person said that she may need to add items, such a tinned tomatoes, etc.
Initially I thought this was a good idea.I often have small amounts of left overs, but not enough to make it worth saving. But if I accumulated it, like this person said, I could end up making something.
However, I did wonder, is it safe to mix left overs with already frozen left overs? Does it matter if I am mixing all different foods together in the one containor?
1 person likes this
8 responses
@GardenGerty (169450)
• United States
26 Mar 08
I have read this idea before. I think if you cool the new left overs before adding them to the frozen, you are in better shape. I would not freeze the already cooked pasta then add it to soup, I think it would dissolve into a gravy like substance. I think you should not collect for any more than three months at a time. I will admit, most of this is just my best guess. I like soups made this way. Hubby does this at his job, but they do not freeze things, they just accumulate in the refrigerator for a week.
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
26 Mar 08
One could make some interesting soups.
Yes, I agree that letting it cool first before adding to already frozen food would be a good move. Thanks.
1 person likes this
@weemam (13372)
•
26 Mar 08
I would think vegetables were ok and if it was meat that had not been frozen beforehand , I would store them in different small containers and put them all together when making the soup , I think this would ba a lot safer as you are not supposed to freeze meat , fish or poultry twice xx
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
27 Mar 08
Thats a point. The meat or chicken I may have cooked would have already been frozen. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
26 Mar 08
I dont think I would mix the already frozen leftovers with new non frozen ones. I would feel safet freezing them individually and the nputting them all together when I was ready to cook them.
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@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
27 Mar 08
Yes, a few people are saying this & I think you are right.
@p3halliwel2005 (3156)
• Philippines
26 Mar 08
I don't think it is safe to keep leftovers in the freezer long and even keep them together in one container. Sometimes food form bacteria when kept in the freezer long. Why not just cook the right amount of food rather than have some leftovers.
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
27 Mar 08
I try to cook the correct amounts, but sometimes I can't always judge people's appetites.
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
27 Mar 08
Someone else said that too, but I would make sure that I only mixed together foods that blend well, ie. taste food together.
@lexus54 (3572)
• Singapore
26 Mar 08
I believe that if you freeze leftovers, they will last longer before you next eat it again. But I think it is not advisable to pile on new leftovers to the frozen ones. Anyway, it wouldn't be too difficult to pack additional leftovers in a separate container or plastic bag for freezing. What I am not sure though is how all the different leftovers will taste like if they are mixed together as one dish, whether it be stew, roast or soup. The "new" dish may just turn out to be yucky if the different portions of leftovers do not mix well as a dish. Also if you did pile all the leftovers together (assuming it is safe to do so), you might not be able to reheat them up as separate dishes if you wish after you thaw them.
1 person likes this
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
27 Mar 08
I agree that each lot of left overs should be frozen separetly. But I wouldn't just mix any old thing; I would pick & choose which left overs are suitable to mix.
@lexus54 (3572)
• Singapore
7 Apr 08
Thanks for your vote, Jenny. Since you are from Adelaide, let me share with you an experience I had in Adelaide nearly 10 years ago. During one of my many trips to Australia, I flew in from Sydney, stayed a night in Adelaide city and then hired a car to go a 3-day round trip to the Adelaide Hills and beyond. When I returned to Adelaide, it happened to be the weekend and there was a big cricket game on between the Australian Team and England Team. Because of this game, all the hotels in and around Adelaide were full-house, and we didn't have any prior bookings. You can say our ignorance about the big match caught us off-guard. We panicked, because we kept driving further and further out of the city in search of accommodation (there were 6 of us). In the end, at around 8.30pm, we managed to get 1 large room in a motel around 25Km out of town in the middle of nowhere to house all of us. Even though it wasn't the ideal accommodation, we had no choice but to stay the night there. Then our next problem was dinner, because we spent 3 hours searching for accommodation we haven't even eaten our dinner. Thank god there was a 24-hour fast-food joint about 5 minutes away from the motel. It was certainly an unforgettable experience for us.
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
26 Mar 08
I have no idea since I have not tried it but there’s somebody in my office whose wife cooks once or twice a week. They cook extra amount and portion the food for each day and keep them in the deep freezer. Before eating, they just take it out and microwave it and they say that its perfectly OK, tasty and healthy too. To be very frank, I have never seen this guy sick so he maybe right after all, but I cant eat food cooked 3 or 4 days previously. And in your case (or the person you are mentioning) I don’t think it would be very healthy and compatible to the stomach if your just mix and churn all those different leftovers. If you still go ahead, do tell the family what exactly you are serving
1 person likes this
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
27 Mar 08
I wouldn't want to eat food cooked 3 or 4 times previously either.
