Guest Author - Catherine Bridges
Freezing Part 3 Whole Sandwiches
While it is best to eat sandwiches when they are freshly made, there may be occasions when you find you must freeze them for later use. Here are some simple tips to obtain the best results when freezing whole sandwiches:
One of the first things you can do to prepare your sandwiches for freezing is to spread a liberal amount of butter or margarine on the insides of the bread to prevent the fillings from seeping through. Not all fillings will freeze well, and you should learn the freezer life for specific ingredients in your sandwiches. Some fillings to consider include: cream cheese, cheddar cheese, peanut butter, corned beef with mustard, roast beef with horseradish, pork, ham, chicken, turkey, tuna and salmon.
As mentioned in previous articles, try to avoid cooked egg whites, raw vegetables, and mayonnaise.
Pack your sandwiches in groups, rather than individually, and place an extra slice of bread on each end of the package to help prevent them from drying out. When you are ready to use them, let them sit out at room temperature for two to four hours.
More suggestions:
1. Breadcrumbs - Turn stale bread into breadcrumbs instantly by placing slices into a blender (no defrosting!) Then freeze the breadcrumbs in convenient portions.
2. Croissants - Cooked croissants may be frozen, as well as unbaked croissant dough. Simply prepare the dough to the stage where the butter is added, but do not give the final rolling. The croissants have a freezer life of about three months, while the dough is good for only about six weeks.
3. Pizza - Pizza can be frozen as soon as it has cooled and has a freezer life of about three months. It can be reheated directly from the freezer or left at room temperature to defrost for about two hours.
4. Yeast - Fresh yeast can be divided into small cubes, wrapped in foil and frozen for approximately one month. Defrost at room temperature for about 30 minutes or place into lukewarm water (to activate) as usual.
