- Freezing helps save money and reduce food waste, but some high-water foods turn mushy and lose texture after thawing.
- Dairy products like yogurt and soft cheeses, as well as raw eggs in shells, don’t freeze well and can become unsafe.
- For best results, pre-chill cooked foods, use airtight containers and avoid freezing cans or refreezing thawed meat.
Freezing can be a convenient, low-cost way to reduce waste, save money and stockpile ready-to-go meals or ingredients. Freezing food stops the clock on spoilage, and it’s often more convenient for home cooks than preservation techniques like canning, drying or fermenting.
“Freezing is incredible because it preserves food’s safety and shelf life, allowing us to keep food for making ahead and have a taste of the seasons year-round,” says Ali Rosen, author of the cookbook Modern Freezer Meals: Simple Recipes to Cook Now and Freeze for Later.
Subjecting the wrong foods to sub-zero temperatures, however, can result in a soggy, unpalatable mess after thawing. That’s typically because of how freezing affects moisture. “When food freezes, the water inside turns into tiny ice crystals, which puncture cellular walls and change the texture of the food once it’s thawed,” Rosen says. “The less water and the less opportunity for food to become mushy, the better it will freeze.” Here’s a list of eight foods you should never store in the freezer, plus tips for successful freezing and thawing that you can use in your kitchen.
1. Salad Vegetables
Fresh veggies like lettuce, celery and cucumbers get their crispness from high water content, but freezing will make them limp, squishy and unfit for your salad bowl. Avoid freezing these for anything but smoothies, Rosen says, where you won’t notice textural issues.
2. Citrus Fruits
The same goes for citrus fruits. They won’t hold up well after freezing, but as with salad veggies, you can peel, cut up and freeze pieces to use in smoothies later. And you can freeze their juice. Squeeze lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits, and use ice cube trays for easy portioning, then stash the cubes in a zip-top bag or airtight container for longer-term freezer storage.
3. Yogurt and Sour Cream
Though dairy foods like butter and ice cream freeze well, others are better left in the fridge. “It’s about fat content versus water,” Rosen says. Cultured dairy products like yogurt, sour cream and créme fraïche contain higher amounts of moisture than fat. The large ice crystals formed during freezing affect the food’s protein structure, causing moisture to separate out and creating a grainy texture after thawing. It’s possible to use frozen and defrosted sour cream or yogurt in recipes or smoothies, Rosen says, but they won’t be as tasty for eating on their own.
4. Artisan Cheeses
Freezing will damage the delicate textures of specialty cheeses like Brie, blue cheese, and Taleggio. Low temperatures will also deactivate beneficial microbes and enzymes that develop the flavors in fine cheese. However, some firm or semi-firm styles that are relatively low in moisture, like Parmesan, Pecorino, block Cheddar, and low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, can freeze surprisingly well as long as they’re properly sealed. “The lower the moisture of the cheese, the less you’ll notice a difference, especially if you’re cooking it and changing the texture anyway,” Rosen says. If possible, thaw hard cheeses in the fridge for at least a few days before using. This allows moisture to redistribute evenly throughout the cheese, improving texture.
5. Eggs in the Shell
Scrambled eggs freeze well in preparations like breakfast burritos, but raw eggs in the shell are ruined at sub-zero temperatures. That’s because the water in eggs expands when frozen, cracking the shell and increasing food safety risk. Instead, remove eggs from the shell, beat them to combine the white and the yolk, and freeze them in airtight containers. When you’re ready to use them, thaw the frozen raw eggs overnight in the refrigerator. They’re best used in recipes with other ingredients rather than cooked on their own.
6. Defrosted Meat and Seafood
It’s perfectly safe to freeze meat that’s purchased fresh—just make sure it’s well-wrapped to prevent freezer burn. However, it’s best not to refreeze previously frozen and defrosted meat or seafood. Refreezing can create a dry, unpleasant texture in these foods once you prepare them.
7. Raw or Cooked Potatoes
The high water content in raw potatoes makes them a poor candidate for freezing—they’ll be mushy, watery and not worth cooking once you thaw them out. You’ll have better results with cooked potatoes, but their texture won’t be as tasty as when freshly made. If you decide to freeze cooked potatoes (or other cooked foods), make sure the food has already been chilled, leading to a shorter freezing time. “The ice crystals are larger the longer food takes to freeze. That’s why you hear the term ‘flash-frozen’ in relation to freshness—the speed is what keeps it better preserved,” Rosen says. “If you don’t have time to cool something down, just stick it in the fridge overnight before freezing.”
8. Canned Foods
It’s never a good idea to place cans of food in the freezer (or another storage space where temperatures drop below freezing). As moisture in the food expands under sub-zero conditions, the can’s seal can be damaged, creating a potential food safety hazard. “You don’t want to freeze anything tightly contained, like an egg or canned food,” Rosen says. Transfer canned food you’d like to freeze into airtight, freezer-safe containers before freezing for best results—just don’t fill them too high, or the lids might pop off once frozen.
The Bottom Line
Freezing is a great way to preserve many foods for later use, but certain items aren’t recommended for freezer storage. High-moisture foods like salad vegetables, citrus fruits and raw potatoes will turn mushy after freezing. Yogurt, sour cream and artisan cheese will develop a watery, grainy or otherwise unpleasant texture. Because freezing causes the moisture in food to expand, avoid storing whole eggs in the shell or canned goods in the freezer. For best results, pre-chill cooked foods in the refrigerator, store foods in airtight packaging or freezer-safe containers and avoid overfilling containers destined for your freezer.