My own frozen mango stash
Got a green dilemma? Ask me! I'll be answering a new question each week.
Q: I freeze a lot in plastic bags because most experts say there needs to be as little air as possible. But it makes me feel very guilty. Any suggestions for an equally effective alternative? —Sallyann Roberts
A: First of all, don’t feel guilty! It’s great you’re freezing food, no matter what kind of container you use. As it happens, I’ve been freezing mangoes from our productive front-yard tree. In addition to resealable plastic bags, you can reuse plastic containers from yogurt and other foods. (Just, of course, never heat in microwave to thaw because toxic plastic chemicals such as Bisphenol-A have been found to leach from them. I like to fill cleaned-out feta cheese tubs with sliced mango, right up to the top–there’s no air left.
You can also freeze in heat-safe tempered glassware or Mason jars, which are made to take the heat of canning and can serve double duty in your kitchen should you feel inspired to make preserves.
Mindy Pennybacker is Whole Living’s “Econundrums” columnist. She regularly answers readers' green-living questions. She is also editor of GreenerPenny.com and author of Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth Through Simple, Everyday Choices.
From: Jen | 7/21/11 at 5:12 pm
Thanks for this. I make all my baby's food and use plastic bags to storage it in the freezer, after freezing in an ice cube tray. I have always felt guilty using so many bags though I knew it was better than packaged food. I'll try some of your other suggestions too for storing in reusable glass or plastic, sometimes however the issue is freezer space.
From: Freshly Pressed: A Top Chef Star’s Spicy Guacamole | cleanse your body | 7/22/11 at 7:22 am
[...] Is It Bad To Freeze Food In Plastic Bags? – Whole Living Daily [...]
From: Mindy Pennybacker | 7/22/11 at 12:40 pm
Good point re storage space! Although I prefer reusable containers, plastic bags are, as you say, more compressible. Most ziplock type bags are made of #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene), which is pretty much BPA free unless heated---so freezing's fine! A food storage shopping list: http://greenerpenny.com/guides/foodstorage_guide.html
From: Mrs. P | 3/2/12 at 9:59 am
Is it safe to reuse lids from glass pasta bottles to freeze food? I know they can only be used to seal food to make it shelf-safe once, but I have a lot of empty bottles that I'd like to reuse.