Freezing Pantry Sauces - Anyone Tried It?

[katethegreat]

I was thinking with the price of the pantry sauces, I don't want to use them up too quickly, and I certainly don't want to throw any out because they've expired. Wouldn't it be handy to freeze small portions to be thawed out for sampling at shows and vendor events? I emailed the test kitchens about this and they said they don't recommend freezing as it's not part of their testing process and therefore they can't say for sure that the flavor and texture wouldn't be affected. I'm going to try it and see what happens, but has anybody already gone down this road and with what results? Thanks!

 

[lt1jane]

Not in quite the manner you've mentioned, but when I buy meat it's in bulk and i marinade a lot of my meats. I take the meat, put it in a foodsaver bag, add the sauce/flavor I want, seal it up and freeze it. I don't have to do anything extra to marinade my meat, it marinades as it freezes and thaws. I've used several of the sauces as marinades and they are wonderful. Hope this is somewhat helpful.

 

[katethegreat]

Cool idea! Never occurred to me to marinate in the freezer! This may sound silly, but how do you know how much sauce to add?

 

[lt1jane]

Honestly, we eyeball it. We try to make sure there's enough to cover the meat. Once we put it in the bag, we squish it around a bit to make sure there's enough. If not we add more before sealing the bag. (We have a FoodSaver, it's worth the purchase price.) For shorter-term freezing ziplock bags will work for this method too. The nice thing about the foodsaver is I have found things that were a few years old in the bottom/back of the freezer and they were fine without any freezer burn.

 

[pctharper]

How long are the sauces good in the fridge once opened?

 

[BethCooks4U]

How long are the sauces good in the fridge once opened?

Right of the bottle it says 30 days.

 

[Gloria&Emily]

In 2009 I asked the Pampered Chef Test Kitchen about freezing the sauces and they said they don't recommend it but didn't say why.

 

[rlombas]

Hi there! I completely understand your concern about not wanting to use up your pantry sauces too quickly and not wanting to waste any. While I haven't personally tried freezing our pantry sauces, I have heard from other consultants who have had success with it. They recommend freezing them in small portions, as you mentioned, and thawing them in the fridge before use. Some have also mentioned that the texture may be slightly different after freezing, but the flavor remains the same. I would suggest giving it a try and seeing how it works for you. Every kitchen and freezer is different, so your results may vary. If you do decide to freeze some, I would love to hear about your experience with it. Happy cooking!