freezing extra food safely

Judi, welcome if you're new.

I freeze in glass, and in plastic (or whatever it is made of, but think Tupperware) and have done all my life and so far no one in my family has been poisoned. I can't work out why glass would be bad.

However if you're worried, why don't you only use the freezer bags you can buy from the supermarkets?

Don't chuck out stuff you've already frozen, but when next you cook extra just use freezer bags as Grannyknot suggests.

judi I have been wondering about my old Tupperware too, which dates back to the 70s and 80s.

The worry concerns Bisphenol A, or BPA, a constituent of some plastics.
All Tupperware made since 2010 is BPA-free, ie older Tupperware isn't.
Whether it presents a real risk to health is another matter.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A#Health_effects

I'm not going to chuck out stuff in my freezer, but I think I might replace the Tupperware.

Oh my Tupperware type containers are all new anyway, because I'm forever losing them, or someone carries them off, or I can't find the lid!!

Perhaps glass shatters if the contents expand when freezing (like my bottle of elderflower presse which I tried to chill quickly in the freezer and forgot)

I have re-used the plastic containers more than once but never re-heat in them. I do like the Pyrex square dishes with plastic lids (again, remove the lids before heating)

I would be more concerned about microwaving the plastic containers than freezing food in them.

The cheap packs of plastic boxes from somewhere like Wilkos are good and cheap enough to throw out if you are concerned. (In the recycling bin I should add of course!!)

Yes I agree re glass. Water expands when frozen. Most food is a high % water. Glass does not expand - it cracks.
There is a lot of alarmist nonsense about plastic containers etc on the Internet. It stems from a school project some years ago in which a girl boiled cling film in oil for some time and showed that some chemicals were released. She won a prize and many people picked up the story and a panic was born.
I just freeze stuff in any cheap plastic containers with lids that I have in the cupboard.

Grannyknot - it's been mentioned before that we could have a get together where we marry lids and boxes.

I make and freeze stuff for DS1 and NEVER get the boxes back until I've bought a new load then it all goes winging it's way home. Ive been using Tupperware since I got married but I'm not sure that any of it survived this long. I hate those poly bags with a passion - they seem so wasteful - but I do like the pyrex dishes with lids although they take up even more room!

The main problem with the plastic boxes is that they all fall out on top of your head when you open the cupboard door.

[smug icon] that's why mine are in a bottom cupboard. I have recycled Chinese takeaway containers for freezing food ever since I can remember, with no ill effects.

Off now to re-dye my hair, the blue is starting to show through again !

My wide range of plastic boxes is in an even bigger plastic box on a shelf just above my head - so they don't all fall out when I open the cupboard door.

I would not be worried about freezing food in any of the containers but would not reheat food in them.

I also use Chinese takeaway containers because they stack really well and whatever I put in them is the correct portion size for two people.

I have too much stuff in not enough cupboards. If I put heavy stuff up there I could end up with a sore head.

Empty ice cream containers are good too.

I use and reuse Chinese takeaway containers, ice cream tubs and cheap plastic containers from Aldi. I often reheat the food in them too and none of us have died yet. I use freezer bags sometimes and when I've finished with them I use them when I'm cleaning the cat litter tray.

I freeze cooked food in the dish it will be cooked in, lined with Cling Film. When frozen I remove from the dish and place in a freezer bag. I do this because it is easy and takes up less space, but I ignore all the advice about not re-using.

For soups I reuse cream/yog tubs.

For stews etc I line a plate , for one portion, with cling film, add the mix and stick in the freezer.

When frozen extract all, put plate is a little warm water, to defrost plate. Cling film intact, and then wrap up and place in a small poly bag.

To serve take off cling film, put frozen stew in the original plate, and microwave

I use some tubs from Lakeland that are exactly the right portion size for us, I also use margarine/spreadable butter containers.

Like many others, I also sometimes use a freezer bag to line the saucepan, casserole dish freeze the stuff then take it out of the pan or dish and just leave it in the bag.

This helps to avoid the occurrence of Philpotts Syndrome when you come to actually re-heat the food.

I was "talking" to another GN member who was worried about re-freezing after making recipes from frozen mince. I was told at school that as long as you change the molecular structure of the food it is fine to freeze it.

So, if you de-frost some mince, make and cook a quantity of spag bol, chilli, shepherds pie etc, it is then perfectly safe to freeze them as sort of "ready meals".

I have done this for years, and I am not dead!

I've done it too phoenix and I'm fairly sure I'm not dead either.

(How is MrP, btw?)

Doing nicely, thank you kitty and he's not dead either! Away during the week, home weekends, along with shirts to be washed AND ironed!

Actually, I'd better do it now, rather than later..............

Lakeland has opened a shop near us - can't wait to go there! How sad.

I remember being told not to keep whiskey, etc. in a crystal decanter for longer then a few weeks as the lead leaks out. There are so many ways to kill yourself!

I dear I freeze lots of things and you've got me worried now!!!!