Sandwich for the freezer

[Magictofu]

There has been a recent surge of interest in using the freezer in home kitchen recently. Many newspapers have published articles on the subject over the last months including the NY Times last week here.. We also have an interesting topic here on eGullet.

As I read through some of the comments on blogs and other sites on the subject, I realized that some people make sandwiches in large batches and freeze them. When they need to get a lunch fast, they simply grab a sandwich from the freezer. These generally thaw in time for lunch. In this difficult economy, I like that idea even if nothing compares to a freshly made sandwich.

I know bread freezes extremely well but meat veggies and condiments? A ham and butter sandwich probably freezes well enough but, with apologies to "jambon-beurre" lovers, it remains a fairly boring sandwich. Surely, we can do better but how? Is there someone with a bit of sandwich freezing experience? What would you try? Where should I start to experiment?

Specifically:

- Can we use any types of bread? What about croissant? Pita?

- Do the usual sauces freeze well? Mayo, butter, mustard, pesto...

- Toppings... which are the best?

- Veggies... are they all out of question? What about grilled veggies?

[judiu]

Speaking from sad experience, do NOT try this with egg salad, please! It turns into a nasty mess. Bologna, cheese and mayo, no problem. Since I'm not a fan of mustard on a sandwich, I don't know about that. Fresh veggies, I don't think would work, freezing would make them mushy, but I don't see any reason to not try roasted veg, like red peppers. HTH

[LizD518]

PB & J freezes very well. We used to make them at a cafe I worked at: Texas Toast, good layer of PB on each side, and Jam or Jelly of your choice in the middle. We would make a whole sheet tray with about 30 of them and freeze. Pull out a half dozen a day, cut in half, and wrap. They were displayed in a cooler case for grab & go.

[rooftop1000]

Veggie cream cheese would be a nice addition, especially with ham

Horseradish and roasted pepper spread with beef...

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[CaliPoutine]

I can barely eat previously frozen bread( without toasting first). I seriously doubt I could eat a frozen sandwich.

[melamed]

I think most breads freeze pretty well, pita goes stale very quickly so I usually stash it in the freezer the moment I buy it. Never froze prepared sandwiches before.

[Magictofu]

CaliPoutine, what kind of bread do you avoid placing in the freezer? I found that after a few days most bread keeps better there than on the counter. That being said, bread eaten the day it was baked does taste much better.

melamed's comment about pita gave me a few ideas for freezer sandwich! I migh just make cream cheese and roasted veggies sandwiches... and maybe humus and roasted veggies as well... or pesto!

I really like the roastbeef and horseradish sandwich idea but I am a bit affraid of having to deal with soggy sandwiches.

I think it's time to start experimenting. If the result is not too bad (I don't expect anything close to a good fresh sandwich though) I might keep a semi permanent stash of sandwiches in the freezer for last minute activities and lunches.

[OliverB]

while this might work with some sandwiches, I find the idea rather unappealing. I can't imagine the bread being nice and fresh, rather soggy or dry. And filling up my freezer with sandwiches I might want to eat (or more likely forget about) does also not strike me as good idea.

It takes two minutes to make a sandwich, unless you want to get elaborate with salads, tomatoes etc (which I can't imagine freezing well at all). Hardly seems worth it.

I could imagine freezing wraps, but even there I'd expect something not so nice once it's thawed (if it is thawed) by lunch. You can't just have it sitting on the counter or in just a plastic bag on your desk. Does not strike me as very food safe?

[Toliver]

Freezing and even refrigerating bread dries it out/removes its moisture. I agree with CaliPoutine...refrigerated or frozen bread is great for toasting but not that great for using in a non-toasted sandwich.

[JAZ]

I agree with Oliver. If the goal is to be have a sandwich ready without any or much effort in the morning, I can think of better ways than trying to freeze assembled sandwiches. You can make up tuna, chicken or egg salad, fill those little disposable Gladware containers with enough for one sandwich, and then just grab a container and a couple of slices of bread. Or use the deli counter trick of portioning out meat and cheese in single-sandwich amounts, and then all you have to do is put whatever condiments you want on your bread and add the pre-portioned ingredients.

[Shelby]

I can barely eat previously frozen bread( without toasting first).  I seriously doubt I could eat a frozen sandwich.

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Me too. I think frozen bread tastes and feels positively nasty.

Like others, I'd more readily make up a tuna salad or something and assemble it the morning of.

[Magictofu]

The problem I have to face is that I don't always have bread or topings at home when I need to get a sandwich. It is easy to make a quick sandwich but only when you have the ingredients at hand. I am also extremely slow to truly wake up in the morning making every simple task an annoyance more than a pleasure (as cooking should be). Given these considerations, a find the idea of a frozen sandwiches a potentially good idea.

I generally have some vac-sealed breads in the freezer for emergencies and I think that while texturewise it is not perfect it is not worse than bread which had been in the fridge. And a sandwich with perishable ingredients should go in fridge anyway.

Frozen sandwiches might not work but I am not convinced that bread is the main issue. In fact, I am thinking that most toppings would leak too much water when thawing and that this would be the main problem.

I'll try a few sandwich ideas and will report back.

[Kajikit]

When I was a kid we used to freeze our sandwiches to save time in the mornings... I was never very fond of them because the bread dries out on the outside and gets soggy in the middle. Freshly-made tastes MUCH better.

[StephMac]

My mom did this when I was in elementary school - she would split bagels in half, spread each side with cream cheese, place a small square of wax paper between the two halves, and wrap in a plastic bag or wax paper. She'd probably make a dozen or so at a time, maybe more. All of the bagels then went into a larger tupperware and into the freezer. Once or twice a week, she (or we kids) would grab a bagel out of the box in the morning and put it in our lunch bag; by lunchtime, it was defrosted and ready to eat. Of course, our lunch bags were sitting in backpacks and lockers all morning, not refrigerators - I'm sure that helped the defrosting process. The wax paper in the middle kept the cream cheese from freezing to itself and pulling off the bagels.

She also did the same thing with little loves of dense raisin-nut breads that we got from Costco...yum.

I don't remember a lot of problems with sogginess or weird tastes, but then again, I was in 4th grade at the time and probably more concerned with the type of dessert in my lunch bag than the texture of my bagel

[CaliPoutine]

CaliPoutine, what kind of bread do you avoid placing in the freezer? I found that after a few days most bread keeps better there than on the counter. That being said, bread eaten the day it was baked does taste much better.

I do freeze my bread if I'm not going to use it within a few days. I wont eat it untoasted though, I find the texture and taste odd once its been defrosted. This goes for every single bread.

Last week I bought a huge bag of 36 rolls from Costco( we had a death in the family). I immediatly frozen 24 of them because I knew we wouldnt go thru them that fast. On the morning of the funeral, I pulled out the bags of rolls and I had one later in the afternoon( as a sandwich). The texture was totally different than the first day( the fresh roll). People ate them all and didnt complain, but I noticed a difference. ( Maybe because I'm a supertaster?).

In my house, any bread that is previously frozen is first toasted before being made into sandwiches.

[Magictofu]

I made a quick experiment last night. I placed a single slice of bread (supermarket multigrain sliced bread) in the freezer when I arrived from work. I took it out before going to bed so that it could thaw overnight.

I tasted it next to another slice of the same bread which had not been frozen this morning and, to my great surprise, found no noticeable difference.

Could the very short stay in the freezer explain this? Or is it because that type of bread has been designed to take a lot of abuse (i.e. preservatives, texture enhancers...)?

I certainly expected a chewier bread as I guess anyone would expect to get by placing bread in any cold environment (fridge, freezer or even a lunch box with an ice pack).

I have sliced pork roast in the fridge and will use that to make my first freezer sandwich experiment tonight using the same industrial bread.

[NadyaDuke]

Cookbooks from the 40's and 50's recommend that for freezing sandwiches you butter both sides of the bread, and don't use mayonnaise. Of course, butter instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches seems to have been the norm then anyway. Supposedly this keep the bread from absorbing the ingredients, and of course helps counterbalance the dryness.

ETA: Er, not both SIDES of the bread, but both pieces of bread. On the inside. Right. More coffee now!

Edited May 13, 2009 by NadyaCat (log)

[KarenDW]

In my experience, acceptable results in frozen sandwiches can be achieved by

* choosing fillings which do not use mayonnaise ("cooked salad dressing" may work though)

* avoiding raw vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes or cucumbers, although small amounts of diced peppers or other more "solid" vegetables may work

* keeping the fillings simple, and evenly distributed over the surface of the bread

* using butter, not margarine, and definitely nothing "reduced fat", that term is a euphemism for "contains more water"

* wrapping well; double wrapping will reduce the amount of condensation on the actual bread surface, and therefore reduce sogginess.

* storing for no more than 2-3 weeks

* thawing in the refrigerator if possible or practical (although having a fridge available would change some of the possible lunch options)

Magictofu, I can totally relate to the frustrating combination of morning sleepiness + possible shortage of sandwich-making ingredients. Personally, I would find a pre-made, frozen home-made sandwich or wrap much more appealing than a tin of soup or other insta-meal

Combinations which have worked for me are:

* cooked brown rice, lentils and diced raw bell peppers, in a tortilla wrap

* cheddar cheese with caramelized onion jam (butter the bread on the jam side)

* cream cheese with smoke salmon on sliced bagel

Comparing a frozen sandwich to a made-to-order is similar to comparing seasoned, frozen chicken breast to freshly cut paillards. There is simply no comparison. However, I, for one, am not always enabled to make the fresh-only choice.

[Magictofu]

Combinations which have worked for me are:

* cooked brown rice, lentils and diced raw bell peppers, in a tortilla wrap

* cheddar cheese with caramelized onion jam (butter the bread on the jam side)

* cream cheese with smoke salmon on sliced bagel

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These are great suggestions! I particularly like the cheddar and caramelized onion jam idea.

[OliverB]

well, to each their own of course, but all the things you can't put on a frozen sandwich are what makes a sandwich a sandwich to me. Mayo, lettuce, nice fresh tomato, things like that.

I'd guess that a sandwich made the evening before going to bed and put in the fridge will still be better than something frozen. Even while making some other dinner there should be a minute here or there to grab the sandwich stuff and put one together.

or as somebody suggested, make little packages of prearranged "insides", go as far as getting mayo in those little condiment stand packs, in there too, grab a pack and two slices of bread in the morning and assemble when the time comes. I'd recommend some kind of reusable containers or maybe wax paper instead of creating a pile of plastic bags in the trash.

All that has more appeal to me than the idea of a frozen sandwich where I had to skip a lot of the good things and end up with some dry thing.

Curious how that sandwich turned out Magictofu, let us know.

Oh, and for the morning slowness, I just get up 5 min earlier, which my body does not notice but gives me the time to have breakfast for the kids and a sandwich for my wife ready. And coffee. Yes, I do find myself staring at the fridge or pouring milk in my cup (which I can't stand) at times and I might have smeared mayo on what's supposed to be a Nutella muffin once, but it's really not that bad. :-)

Oh, what I find really handy too, those prepackaged meat and cheese packs at Trader Joe's (and others) with for example provolone and salami in it. Grab one thing have both items on hand. If I don't have that I usually have a large ziplock where the cheese pack and meat pack are both kept, to avoid an other 'what was I looking for?' fridge zen moment :-) And I get mayo in the upside down squeeze bottle (what is it, best food or something) which makes things easy too.

And I agree that frozen bread needs to be toasted. Or if it's a loaf, I sprinkle it with water and throw it frozen in the oven. Not too much time later I have what pretty much resembles fresh baked bread and the kitchen smells as if I'd been up since 4am making dough.

[Toliver]

...Could the very short stay in the freezer explain this? Or is it because that type of bread has been designed to take a lot of abuse (i.e. preservatives, texture enhancers...)?

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Possibly more the former instead of the latter. The longer it stays in the refrigerator/freezer, the more the moisture will be sucked out so the change in texture will become more obvious.

A good illustration of this drying-out process in the freezer is to freeze a block of cheese, as I am sure many of us have done.

Freeze a block of cheese for a decent length of time then remove it and let it thaw. Try grating the cheese on a hand grater and watch as it crumbles instead of shreds. Most of the time, this crumbly cheese won't be an issue since it will be used in dishes that will be baked/heated. But if you expect to be able to make pretty slices or nice shreds for your taco bar condiments, it's likely you won't be happy with the results.

[Magictofu]

I made two experiments:

1) pork roast with dijon mustard on sliced bread

2) bagel with cream cheese

The pork roast sandwich was decent but the bread did soak too much mustard to my taste. I did not use butter which I am sure would have helped a bit. The lack of veggies was a problem: there was nothing providing a good crunch or the needed juicyness. That being said, it is still better than the pre-made sandwiches at the cafeteria in my building and much better than those at the vending machine.

The bagel was a bit too tough to my taste but the cream cheese held up surprisingly well. I should mention that I used a Montreal style bagel and these are very dense and don't keep well for more than a day. I think cream cheese is a keeper but not this particular type of bagel.

I'm not sure I want sandwiches again this week so the next experiments will have to wait until next week.

[Magictofu]

Last week I made 6 bagel sandwiches with cream cheese, capers and smoked salmon and placed them in the freezer.

I just had one of these and its a major improvement over what I had last week. The bagel is alright although it is of the slighly more mushy kind than I'm used to. The cream cheese lost some of its creamyness but kept all its tang. The smoked salmon is still perfect and so are the capers. I only wish I had fresh onions but I did not dare freezing onion slices. Horseradish would probably be nice if the capers were taken out.

I now think I can beat the cafeteria in my building with my frozen sandwiches even though I know there will be times when I'll crave for fresher produces.

[Toliver]

I only wish I had fresh onions but I did not dare freezing onion slices.

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Why not?

Have you tried freezing thin onion slices as an experiment? I know you can buy bags of frozen pre-diced white onion in the grocery stores so fresh onion slices may survive being frozen for a short time.

I think the caveat against freezing fresh vegetables has to do with their water content more than anything else. The water in the veggies freezes which damages the cells which causes the veggies to become mushy when thawed.

It's worth a try with onions...

[Magictofu]

I only wish I had fresh onions but I did not dare freezing onion slices.

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Why not?

Have you tried freezing thin onion slices as an experiment? I know you can buy bags of frozen pre-diced white onion in the grocery stores so fresh onion slices may survive being frozen for a short time.

I think the caveat against freezing fresh vegetables has to do with their water content more than anything else. The water in the veggies freezes which damages the cells which causes the veggies to become mushy when thawed.

It's worth a try with onions...

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This is exactly why I did not want to try freezing onion slices. I love their crunch!

Besides, I also have the feeling that they could also develop that unpleasant sulphur taste so typical of bad onions.

You are right though, if I am into experimenting maybe I should go all the way...