2 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:Since I don't cook much anymore but still like to have fun and interesting stuff to cook with, if I bought a jar of 'nduja, could I freeze it in spoonfuls so I had some to pull out to use in various things?
I've never bought 'nduja in a jar, but I have frozen portions of it successfully. Here's what a Serious Eats article had to say about storing it:
QuoteWe keep quite a lot of 'nduja at the ready in our test kitchen fridges because it pairs perfectly with so many dishes and because it virtually never goes bad. We can freeze it in pre-portioned slices for long-term storage (more for space-saving reasons than for spoilage concerns—fridge space is always in high demand for dry-aging ducks and whatnot) and defrost it as needed. Though this might be seen as sacrilegious, 'nduja’s extremely high fat content means it stands up quite well to this treatment. “Most people would be fine with freezing it,” Reilly says. “I'd just be a little more hesitant if I knew I was just going to be eating it as it is.” If you do plan to spread it on toast or eat it with a spoon (I’m not judging you), you might prefer to leave your 'nduja in the refrigerator, where it will continue to taste fresh for months. If you do go this route, just make sure to wrap the exposed side of the 'nduja tightly. Fat is more prone to absorbing surrounding flavor than lean protein, so don’t store your 'nduja next to a half-used onion unless you’re looking to infuse it with the flavors of your produce drawer.
Also, I have to say that the 'nduja that the Pasta Grammar folks recommended, made in Seattle by a company from Calabria, is better than the Tempesta brand that I'd gotten previously. The Tempesta wasn't bad by any means, I quite liked it, but this stuff has more of the fermented tang you find in the stuff made in Calabria.
