A little ingenuity and imagination can go a long way in making the dullest meal exciting. Cooking is a process by which food is prepared through heat. There are few guidelines which need to be mastered to have the cooking done ahead of time. The main source of preserving the food is the freezer. The palatability varies with different kinds of food items. Some food items lose their color, flavor and quality when kept under low temperature to maintain the safety of the food.



It is better to avoid the following food items from freezing since they have their negative aspects of a major change in texture, flavor and also color. Tomatoes when thawed tend to break down or burst due to their high water content. But such tomatoes can be used when you need them in a ready made cooked form for instance in pasta sauce. Here freezing can be mandatory.

Custards tend to get lumpy and change in their quality and texture when frozen. Frying of certain food items other than onions and the French fries tend to exhibit a sour taste since the fat content in the oil turns the flavor of the food item rancid.

The whites of a boiled egg may get watery and the milk tends to curdle when frozen. When freezing cooked potatoes you can notice that they tend to darken and lose their quality and texture.

Freezing of spicy food items tend to leave the taste of cloves and garlic more than onions, salt and herbs. Pepper tends to taste bitter and the curry leaves get a musty flavor.

Hence if at all you have a definite need of preserving your food items for couple of days, ensure that they are packed in an airtight containers or bags to avoid losing flavor, color and the quality of the item preserved. The need of an air tight container is mandatory to avoid losing the palatability and the nutritional value.

It is a known fact that cooking time can be brought down by planning the menu to be prepared beforehand. It is important that your freezer is cold enough to get the preserved items safe enough for consuming. If you feel that your milk is getting sour or your ice cream is soft, change the control setting according to the items cooling requirements. When you are freezing a chicken ensure that the polythene bag with the chicken is deficient of air bubbles. Just twist the end of the bag to squeeze the remaining air bubbles and tie it with a thread to ensure the firmness.

In case of quick dinners, just prepare the required items prior to the dinner time and place them on plastic trays and cover them with a foil and allow to freeze. Later at dinner time just release the foil and puncture the tray to provide a vent for the steam and heat them in a microwave.

There are tapes available for freezing so that you don't lose the texture, color and flavor of the items wrapped with this tape since it acts as an adhesive and make them air tight.