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FREEZE-DRIED If a food item has been freeze-dried, does that indicate it has survived the freezing process? Does the length of time it has been frozen make any difference to the food product, rather than the year or two in regular freezer? Quite a while ago I read about @Kerry Beal's adventures in Freeze Dryers and Freeze Dried Food but don't know if rereading the thread would help me now. Kerry?

I too looked at Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. I was going to mention I wanted one of those specifically about freezing! (Great minds sometimes think alike in the morning 😀)

Thanks to @JAZ, I asked for ground rules for selecting recipes from her cookbooks for freezing meals

What was the sauce? Cream with or without cheese, or tomato?

Hi @JAZ, I have Dutch Oven Dinners Dutch Oven Cookbook for two Instant Pot obsession The Ultimate Instant Pot Cookbook for two Super-Easy Instant Pot Cookbook Thanks for offering to recommend some freezable recipes.

Thanks for this topic, @Smithy. DAIRY When selecting/preparing food to be frozen, what's the best suitability between milk evaporated or condensed milk dried milk butter cream sour cream or crème fraîche buttermilk yogurt cheese, various varieties thereof, including cream cheese ice cream and are there different freezing characteristics between dairy animals: cows, goats, sheep, buffaloes nut based milks I.e. How to adjust dairy components for the freezer.

COOKBOOKS, ENCYCLOPEDIA, REFERENCES First thing I'd like to know is if anyone has any cookbooks, encyclopedia or references about preparing food whose destination is to be frozen. I'm looking for something which says use cornstarch in place of cream, or bread freezes better than if refrigerated, or potatoes will like/dislike being frozen. I want to know the "why" of it. With an encyclopedia , I want to look up a vegetable or food product and find out how it survives when frozen. If the result isn't happy, I want to read what to use as a replacement or alternative. Or, what change in procedure will help. In general, I haven't found any/many printed/online recipes which state destination is to be frozen. And I've not yet discovered one search term that will whittle query results. Some recipes have instructions about cooking part way (up to Step 6) and then refrigerating or freezing the dish. Others say dish can be frozen for 3 weeks. What is the science behind either of those statements?

@rotuts, does Fz mean "frozen" ?

@ElsieD @Rickbern I have put nearly 5 pounds of Yukon Gold into the Paradice 9 1/2" dicer to put into my batch meals to be frozen. Now I want to steam the potato cubes not-quite-done in the Anova Precision Oven. Elsie, I know you might have got rid of yours, but I think you have another steaming device? What temp? For how long? (I think settings need to include 100% steam) TIA

@JeanneCake, is the reason RLB is putting the frozen pie on the oven floor is because the oven floor is especially hot? I have a ceramic pizza stone which sits permanently in my gas oven. I think it helps the oven have a more reliable temperature (range is 50ºF at least). It's up about 6 or 8" from the broiler, but I put the pans for items I'm baking directly on the stone. Because I had to look up what the stone is actually called, I learned it's oven and grill-safe to 2000ºF. Of course, my oven only goes to 550ºF. Would you expect this would suffice for a frozen pie shell?

Aah. Perfect answer, thank you. (I mind).

I have some dried mushrooms. What happened is that I forgot them in the fridge, but they were packaged properly so no mould. Can I just blitz them in the food processor and add to any old casserole?

Did you try this, @ElsieD ?

This is old, but no one answered me. Advice please?

Hello @JAZ, I have many of your cookbooks which I dip into regularly. Shortly I'll be having major surgery, so I'm wanting to pre-cook meals and freeze them. Could you please suggest what to consider when choosing between your recipes for which dishes will freeze best? Right now I'm intrigued by @Smithy's post for Instant Pot: Spicy Chickpeas with Sundried Tomatoes and Olives. How well does that freeze? (I'm not a very knowledgeable freezer) TIA

Do you freeze this dish after you've cooked the beans? (Thanks. You popped up in my research for freezable meals.)

@ElsieD, we had lots of lore about great British pies, so a reverence for them (deserved or not). The Pie Room pays tribute, and develops wholly new content, I think. Lots of Dutch favourite cooking in your youth?

I don't know. I'm just glomming on the photos. And finding the text charming. Famous British pies! (My parents were in London in WWII).

My house is a couple of degrees higher than normal today (warmish outside, heat still on). For me, the butter fell out of the bell today. Not happened before (I think). But when I smushed the defrosted butter into the bell this morning, I didn't push it up against the walls (also unusual). Live and learn!

My latest cookbook about pies.

@Beusho asked about learning the 'why' of cooking over here. I personally don't know anything much about pastry, but I wish I did. I have a lot of pie books and, every once in a long while, I make some pies which are sometimes tasty, but rarely pretty. Yesterday I received a used edition of The Pie Room by Calum Franklin. So that's how I spent my evening. My early understanding is that The Pie Room exists as a part of the Holborn Dining Room which celebrates the long tradition of British pies along with some astonishing new twists. Great food p0rn. In that short read, Calum Franklin answered a number of questions which repeatedly roll through my head when I (try to) make pies. So, if you're interested in looking at great British pies, I recommend The Pie Room: 80 achievable and show-stopping pies and sides for pie lovers everywhere by Callum Franklin (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

I have a butter crock and if the butter doesn't get used, it goes off - usually the thin smears up the side of the crock, or when the crock is mostly empty. New butter I divide into smaller pieces, wrap in parchment, then the original foil. Then put the butter into a ziplock, remove some air, then into the freezer. This lasts a very long time.

That looks gorgeous, @RWood !

Here's @chromedome's link for Elle Simone Scott https://archive.ph/XUjRE @dans

So, then you would purposefully make soft cabbage? With the same ingredients (bacon, onion) too? How much of the tough rib would you remove?