Wonderful world of freezer living with your Coldspot time bank freezer

              MODEL 1969
21.4 Cubic Feet
holds 7481bs.
of food
Beautiful Coldspot Time Banks
in gleaming White or elegant
Shaded Coppertone-frostless,
so there's no defrosting ... ever.
Adjustable Spacemaster interiors
with exclusive Blast Freeze
section-Select-0-Cube Automatic Ice Makers for an
endless supply of crescents in
the size you prefer.
COLDSPOT FROSTLESS
SPACEMASTER UPRIGHT
MODEL 2949
17.0 Cubic Feet
holds 595 lbs.
of food
.:....5,.. ~
IX
I, 10
(.,.)(.~50
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Dear Homemaker:
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Page
Welcome to the exciting world
of freezer living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
What is a Coldspot Time Bank? . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Is it different from other freezers? . . . . . . . . . 4
How to use your Coldspot Time Bank . . . . . . 5
Packaging foods for Time Bank Storage .. .. 6
Tray Freezing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Storage Timetable .......... ... ......... 10-11
What NOT to freeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Weight Watcher's Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Hors d'Oeuvres and Party Foods . . . . . . . . . . 14
Special Ideas for extra meal-appeal . . . . . . . 15
Commercially frozen foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Home-prepared foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Complete dishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Sandwiches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Meat ............................... 18
Poultry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Fruits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Fish and Seafood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Dairy Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Bread and Pastry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Wild Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
The Last Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Each time you store food in your Coldspot freezer during the coming months and
years, it will be very much like depositing money in your Bank savings account­storing
it up toward some special goal. Your Coldspot freezer is a TIME Bank
that lets you deposit extra time in the form of future meals prepared on the days
you have time to cook, and allows you to withdraw that time later for civic or
public service activities, special family outings, shopping trips-or a leisurely
weekend without the drudgery of meal preparation. The time you earn by cooking
and freezing good meals ahead of time will be yours to use precisely as you wish,
whenever you like ... with no penalty of thrown-together family meals to pay.
The purchase of your Coldspot Freezer or Refrigerator-Freezer-your personal
TIME Bank-can add more convenience, more leisure, more enjoyable TIME to
your role as Homemaker than just about any other essential household appliance
you can name. The more you use your Coldspot Time Bank freezer, the more
pleasure it will provide; the more often you put food in, the more often you
can take time out. Start enjoying the dividends of your Coldspot Time Bank
as quickly as possible ... put a few free hours on deposit soon!
Director, Home Economics Laboratory
Dept. 817, Sears, Roebuck and Company
Chicago, Illinois 60607
P.S. If you have any question s, don' t hesitate to write!
Sincerely,
Welcome to the exciting world of freezer living:
The purchase of your Coldspot Time
Bank Freezer is the first step in discover­ing
a wonderfully exciting new way of
life-an entirely new approach to family
living which offers more convenience,
more economy, more leisure than you
ever dreamed a household appliance
could provide!
Freezer living is ideal for working wives
and their families-for homemakers with
very small children-for families with
teen-agers-for couples and for "sin­gles."
The advantages are precisely the
same for all-and there is no family
which cannot live better, more econom-ically,
and with greater satisfaction
through the proper use of a Coldspot
Time Bank Freezer!
The purchase of a Coldspot freezer is one
of the finest "Blue Chip" investments in
economy and good living available to­day,
with possibly the highest rate of re­turn
on investment.
Used properly-this book tells you how
-and used often, your Coldspot Time
Bank will consistently save you work,
frustration, money, and time; and free
you for the exciting new world of con­venience
and good living you never had
the chance to explore, till now!
What is a Coldspot Time Bank?
It's a budget-stretcher, a food-preserver
and a time-extender! Along with conve­nience
and economy in food purchase
and storage, your Coldspot Time Bank
Freezer provides what no other house­hold
appliance can offer-extra TIME
when you want it, the one most precious
and irreplaceable commodity in busy
modern life! It lets you invest time now,
for free time later. It allows you to work
"ahead," so you can take a little time off
occasionally and still not be "behind."
Many household tasks you can't do "a
little extra" today, so you don't have to
do them tomorrow, or next week, or next
month. Dusting and sweeping, for exam­ple-
washing and ironing-scrubbing
and polishing; all jobs that must be done,
but never stay done. But cooking can be
the least demanding, most convenient
and pleasant household task you perform
-you can do it months in advance-and
it stays safely "done" until you decide to
use it!
When you deposit money in your savings
account at the Bank, you know it can be
withdrawn at any time in the future ...
with interest. The same thing is true
when you deposit food in your Coldspot
Time Bank! The food can be withdrawn
whenever you desire-your "interest" is
the time it would take you to prepare that
Time Bank meal today, from scratch.
That time belongs to you, to use as you
wish. You can thoroughly enjoy those
free hours without one lick-and-promise
meal. Your family will still have the
benefit of good food, carefully prepared.
The only difference is that you did it then
... when you could spare the hours ...
not now.
And in addition to letting you stop the
clock when you want to, your Coldspot
Time Bank lets you freeze prices, as well.
The carefully engineered interior of your
Time Bank allows you to store foods in
quantity; lets you take advantage of spe­cial
buys and unexpected price cuts; and
freezes cost, as well as food and time, for
your enjoyment later. You can buy in vol­ume,
and enjoy volume savings; keep a
supermarket selection of fine foods at
your fingertips, generally at lower cost
than you can shop on a strictly week-to­week
basis! Your Time Bank offers all
these advantages, plus the fact that you
control the clock whenever you like ...
cook when you want to, and "play" when
you want to:
less shopping time
Now you can shop once a week, or even
less. Buy food for several weeks at a time.
Your freezer safely stores the surplus
amounts. No more hurried trips to the
store, or shopping in bad weather.
less shopping expense
Buy foods at the peak of the season, when
prices are lowest. Buy in quantity, and
store in freezer for use when prices are
extremely high because of low supplies.
3
less cooking time
Cook when you want to cook. Your
freezer lets you prepare entire meals for
use when time is limited, or when you
just don't feel like cooking.
less canni(lg expense
Much smaller investment in jars, lids and
special canning equipment. Frozen foods
retain more natural flavor and nutrient
value, with far less work and expense.
Now you'll probably can only the foods
that don't freeze well.
less baking time
Bake at your convenience. Make anum­ber
of cakes, several pies, a variety of
cookies. Your Time Bank keeps them
fresh and moist, for enjoyment long after
"baking day" is over.
no more food emergencies
Now you'll always have an abundant sup­ply
of food on hand. Last-minute meals
are no problem ... unexpected guests can
be royally entertained ... the time-con­suming
job of lunch-packing is cut to a
minimum.
save what you raise
Gardening can be economical as well as
relaxing. Freeze products you have grown
yourself, for enjoyment by the whole
family all year through.
save on leftovers
Use more of the food you buy! Make ap­petizing
meals from leftovers, to serve
weeks later ... with freshness and flavor
dependably preserved by your Time
Bank.
preserve your catch
Hunting and fishing can be money-saving
recreation now. Store fish and game in
the freezer, for deliciously "different"
meals throughout the year.
enjoy special occasions
Prepare holiday menus and special meals
weeks ahead of time. Have much of the
bustle of cooking finished long before the
Big Day arrives. Your festive occasions
will be a pleasure for you, as well as for
the rest of the family.
have a better balanced diet
You can serve your family completely
balanced nutritional meals, without pay­ing
attention to in-season, out-of-season
food problems.
Is it different
from other freezers?
It certainly is! Your Coldspot Time Bank
Freezer is designed to provide the same
versatility, flexibility and adaptability for
family food preparation and storage as
modern life demands of you personally!
Your Time Bank is a new and essential
household appliance, specifically de­signed
for truly modern living!
Not too long ago, food freezers were basi­cally
cold, dark caverns in which foods
were dumped-and forgotten. Why for­gotten?
Because there was no real at­tempt
to organize the interior of food
freezers for really efficient use. Foods
were hidden in the dark depths of the
freezer, all indistinguishable from the
other close-packed bundles stored away
inside. Foods might actually have to be
removed from the interior of the freezer
in order to find any particular package.
Proper rotation of foods ... essential to
efficient use of a freezer ... becomes al-most
impossible under those circum­stances.
A great deal of food must have
been thrown away simply because it
wasn't used within the prescribed safe
storage time ... because it couldn't be
found! Unfortunately, many food freez-
ers . still present these problems to their
owners. But not your Coldspot Time
Bank!
Unique Spacemaster design lets you see
and classify the food you've so carefully
prepared-puts everything at your fin­gertips,
so you can find exactly the foods
you want, when you want them. You can
adjust the entire interior of your Cold­spot
Time Bank to suit your individual
needs-have a freezer that fits the food,
instead of having to fit your food to the
freezer.
If your Time Bank has a Blast Freeze or
Fast Freeze section, you'll be able to take
advantage of the greatest time-saver any
freezer owner can enjoy-you'll be able
to tray (or "component") freeze foods.
This is similar to the procedures used by
commercial frozen food companies. A
single layer of meat, vegetables, etc., is
spread upon a flat metal sheet (a cookie
sheet is ideal) and frozen in the Blast
Freeze or Fast Freeze section ... un­covered
and unwrapped. After a few
hours these separate pieces will be
solidly frozen, and should then be sealed
in polyethylene bags or cartons for stor­age.
Once tray frozen and stored, they
will not stick together ... therefore no
thawing is necessary before cooking.
Component freezing saves time at the
beginning and at the end of freezer stor­age;
and can be used for most of the
foods you will store in your Time Bank.
See page 9 for the complete Component
Freezing story.
If your Time Bank is a chest type and
does not have the special Blast or Fast
Freeze section, follow procedures listed
for wrapping and packaging foods, and
place "new" items next to the walls of
your chest freezer for fastest possible
freezing. ·Advanced Coldspot engineering
guarantees that foods stored in any Cold­spot
Time Bank will reach Zero Degrees
safe-storage temperature in the shortest
possible time; and will stay at Zero De-grees
until they're taken from your Time
Bank for use.
You can see everything, find everything,
reach everything in your Coldspot Time
Bank. With Spacemaster models, you can
quickly and easily adjust the. interior ar­rangement
of your Time Bank to fit your
personal needs and desires, and change
it again when your needs change. Your
Time Bank is as individual as your family
.. . as modern as the life you lead ... as
versatile and dependable as your role as
a modern homemaker requires you to be!
SALE
How to use your
Coldspot Time Bank
keep things moving
First-use your Time Bank to keep foods
moving in and out-store up free time,
enjoy using it, and store up some more
for future use. That's the beautifully
basic purpose of your Time Bank. If you
put only food in, and never take time out,
you're not only denying yourself the
pleasure of using stored time for your en­joyment
... you also have a full freezer,
with no space left for special buys-and
too much food to use within the safe­storage
time limits. Remember, your
Time Bank isn't another mouth to feed
... it's a convenient, economical and en­tirely
dependable source of safe storage
when you have time to cook, and of com­pletely
prepared meals when you don't
have time to cook.
save some space
As a general rule, figure to keep your
freezer about half full to two-thirds full,
5
6
except for comparatively short periods.
With all that space, why not entirely full?
Because then you'll always have space to
store more food ... and more time saved
for your enjoyment. You can take advan­tage
of special buys, like occasional
4-for-$1 sales on commercially frozen
products, or unexpectedly low prices on
meat, etc. If your freezer is full, these
money-saving specials can't save you a
dime because you have no place to put
the food. It doesn't cost you any more to
run the freezer half or two-thirds full
than to run it full-and the extra space
can save you money if it's wisely used!
Then when the "specials" come along,
you can take full advantage of them. Be
sure the freezer you buy is big enough to
allow for these special buys.
add food wisely
The size of your Time Bank and the tem­perature
of the room in which the freezer
is located have a lot to do with how
much "new" food you should add at one
time. The U.S. Department of Agriculture
suggests that a maximum of three pounds
of food for each cubic foot of freezer
space should be about right-for exam­ple,
60 pounds of "new" food would be
the maximum addition at one time for a
20 cu. ft. freezer located in a warm room.
label every package
Proper rotation of foods you store in
your Time Bank will insure maximum use
and minimum waste. Work on the "first
in, first out" principle. Mark each pack­age
you put into the Time Bank with
what's inside, and the date it went into
the freezer. (With see-through polyethyl­ene
bags, put this information on a piece
of paper inside the bag. Write large and
legibly.) If you use your Time Bank prop­erly,
labeling the packages is all you
really need to do. You'll almost automati­cally
use "first in" packages first, since
you can see from your label when it went
in the freezer. However, some people like
to keep records outside the freezer. If you
prefer to do that, invest in a small note-book
for the purpose, and make duplicate
entries in your book and on your package
label each time.
cook now ... play later
Perhaps you've had the idea that a freezer
is a wonderful thing but it takes a lot of
extra cooking to keep it well stocked.
Right now is the time to change your
mind. Actually, your Time Bank will not
only provide leisure time later, but pre­paring
foods to go into your freezer can
also take less time in many cases. Sup­pose,
for example, that your family is
very partial to your special spaghetti;
and you've planned to make it soon. In
the time it takes to make sauce for one
spaghetti dinner, you can make the sauce
for three-a Time Bank bonus of two full
meals later on! Start with enough ingre­dients
to make three family-size spaghetti
meals. Before the sauce is quite done,
take out enough for two meals and set it
aside to cool while you finish up the one­meal
portion ready for the table. Once it's
cooled, you simply divide the "extra"
sauce into two freezer cartons, and
freeze. For almost exactly the same
amount of time it took to make one meal,
you've prepared for three, and stored two
future suppers away. When you take the
sauce out for use ... weeks or months
from now . . . fresh spaghetti will cook
easily in the time it takes to heat the
sauce, and the time-consuming part of
preparing your dinner is done before you
start! It works the same way for every
pre-cooked meal you deposit in your
Time Bank . . . a few extra minutes of
preparation now, for hours of free time
later.
Packaging foods for
Time Bank storage
out goes the bad air
There are three basic requirements for
any materials used to package foods
which will be stored in your Time Bank:
They should be moisture-proof, vapor­proof,
and as nearly airtight as possible.
When properly packaged, no tastes or
odors will be transferred from one pack­age
to another during Time Bank storage.
When packages are airtight, oxygen can­not
cause peculiar changes in food flavors
during storage. Obviously, the only way
an absolutely airtight package can be
created is to heat-seal the package-but
it isn't necessary to go that far in order
to establish freezer storage. Just be sure
packages are as closely wrapped and
tightly sealed as possible, and that lids
for containers fit snugly all around; also
have some sort of clamp or twist closure
to apply to polyethylene bags-pipe
cleaners are excellent; rubber bands are
good, too, but they deteriorate somewhat
in freezer storage; and the plastic clips
from bread wrappers may be used, if the
end of the polyethylene bag is doubled
over so the clip goes around the "neck"
of the bag and the folded-over "tail" as
well.
food wrapping materials
Modern Coldspot packaging materials,
available at your Sears store, are tested
and approved by Sears Laboratories, and
provide dependable wraps and contain­ers
in which to store food in your Time
Bank. While you're learning to use your
freezer, you'll probably want to rely en­tirely
on these Sears materials. However,
once you have learned to confidently
depend on the performance of your Cold­spot
Time Bank, there are several short­cut
packaging methods that may be used
at little or no extra cost; and which will
prove as satisfactory (when you use your
freezer properly) as the "official" pack­aging
materials. Remember that all the
suggestions presented here are guides,
not rules. Some you'll try and like; others
you won't-and you'll work out a whole
set of shortcuts for yourself as you go
along; but here are a few to get you
started:
waxed or plastic-coated milk cartons
These are marvelous for storing soups,
chili, and lots of other loose things. The
selection of size among waxed milk con­tainers
lets you freeze in individual, fam­ily,
company and party-size portions,
simply by storing foods in pint, quart,
half-gallon or gallon cartons. To prepare
for freezer use, just rinse carton thor­oughly
with very cold water immediately
after all the milk has been used. Dry car­ton
thoroughly, and store until you are
ready to use. Although you will need to
remove the staples holding the peak of
the carton in order to wash and dry thor­oughly-
and for ease in filling the carton
later-do not tear or cut off this portion
of the carton. Once filled and re-stapled,
the peak will give you headspace into
which foods may expand while freezing.
When you remove the carton from your
Time Bank for use, simply tear the waxed
carton away from the frozen block of
food. The best part of this is that as long
as you're buying milk, you're getting
freezer cartons free!
plastic ice cream containers
You may already be using these handy
containers for refrigerator storage of left­over
foods ... and they're absolutely
ideal for storing food in your Time Bank!
The rigid polyethylene containers do not
absorb tastes or odors, and lids snap tight
for very nearly airtight coverage. Again,
there is a choice on sizes-from pint to
gallon capacities. These lidded contain­ers
are commercially designed for freezer
storage ... at the ice cream plant, at your
retail store, and (why not?) in your Time
Bank! Just remember to leave about an
inch at the top for food expansion during
freezing. Otherwise, just fill 'em-fit lids
on 'em-and freeze 'em!
plastic ice cube trays
These are just great for freezing soup,
gravy stock, eggs, and lots of other liquid
or semi-liquid items. The trays take very
little freezer space while the freezing
7
8
process is going on; and as soon as the
contents are solidly frozen, the cubes can
be stored in a polyethylene bag until
needed. Frozen cubes won't stick to­gether
in the bag.
a word about glass
Specially designed glass containers
which have no "shoulders" to keep
frozen food from sliding out, and are
tapered down from lid to bottom may be
used for freezer storage. Be sure to leave
a little more expansion room at the top,
though-maybe 1 Yz ll or so-so there's no
chance of expanding food breaking the
glass.
Drugstore Wrap
1 Measure off enough freezer wrap to
go around the meat about one and a
half times. Lay meat in the center of
the wrap, and be sure there's a good
wide margin of wrap on each side.
Separate the layers of meat with
double thicknesses of freezer paper,
so the layers won't freeze together.
2 Bring the ends of the paper together,
and start folding ends together over
the center of the meat. Turn the edges
over to make a fold about an inch
deep, and crease tightly.
3 Keep turning the paper over the fold,
creasing each time. The last fold
should pull the paper tightly around
the meat. As much air as possible must
be removed from the package; that's
the reason for so many folds, and why
the package should be so closely
wrapped.
4 Fold ends together, and press the
paper down close to the sides of the
meat so all possible air is closed out.
Then fold in each of the four corners
of the paper, to make a poin.t at each
end of the package.
5 Fold the pointed ends of the paper
down snugly, and under the package.
Turn par:kage upside-down and fold
each point under about an inch-this
makes a moisture/ vapor-proof, near
airtight package.
6 Seal the ends, and label the package.
Show the kind and amount of meat
inside and the date you put it in the
freezer. Now the package is ready to
go into your Time Bank. Store with
sealed ends under, and the smooth
side of the package on top. Put "new"
packages against the walls or on the
freezing shelves of your Time Bank
(the coldest area in the chest type is
in contact with the walls) until solidly
frozen. Then store in section set aside
for meats.
two containers are better than one
Freeze in single-meal quantities rather
than double or triple recipes. Or, to put it
another way, freeze foods in the volume
in which they will be eaten-with no left­ove
·r. Re-freezing foods is never a really
good idea; and thawing twice as much as
you need isn't very wise either. It's a lot
faster to thaw two smaller family-size
blocks of the same food when you have
company, than to try to thaw a double
recipe. And just from a common-sense
point of view, why take the time to thaw
a company-size block for a family meal?
cool it!
All foods must be cooled after cooking,
before being packaged for Time Bank
storage. Always cool food as quickly as
possible-uncovered in your refrigera­tor;
or in a cool room with good air cir­culation;
or place the pan in a container
of ice-cold water, or water with ice in it.
As soon as the food has cooled, package
and freeze it. If it is a kind of food that
can be tray frozen, and your Time Bank
has a Blast or Fast Freeze section (see
next section for full particulars), arrange
on cookie sheet, freeze unwrapped, then
store in polyethylene bag(s) until wanted.
always leave breathing space
Be sure (and we'll say it dozens of times
in this book) to leave about an inch of
space at the top of cartons, so food has
room to expand as it freezes. Otherwise
containers will pop their lids in the
freezer. Remember what oxygen does to
food flavors?
don't use your refrigerator for a freezer
Zero degrees or lower is recommended
for safe storage of frozen foods, and ice­cube
compartments in many refrigerators
don't get that cold. Never leave frozen
foods in your refrigerator ice-cube com­partment
for more than two weeks, un­less
it is a true Zero Degrees freezer.
label packages clearly
Use crayon or waxy marking pencil to
mark the date stored and the contents on
freezer packages and cartons. Waxy ma­terials
don't smear when they're damp,
so your packages will stay clearly marked
through months of storage. When using
see-through polyethylene bags for stor­age,
put the information on a piece of
paper and put it inside the bag. It's visible
through the bag, and can't come loose
from the bag through being moved, or
from dampness.
freezer burn
This dried-out, seared-looking (hence
"burn") condition is caused by exposure
to air because of improper packaging. It
can also be caused by too great a varia­tion
in freezer temperature. Coldspot
freezers are designed to maintain zero
degrees or below even under extreme
conditions.
Tray Freezing
If your Time Bank has a Blast Freeze or
Fast Freeze section, this is probably the
most valuable part of your "Wonderful
World of Freezer Living" book, in terms
of freezing procedures that save you
work, frustration and TIME in your ex­citing
new world of freezer living.
now-
Tray (or "component") freezing is the
fastest, least fussy, and generally most
satisfactory way to quick-freeze any­thing
except complete-meal dishes and
liquid items; and you can even use it for
some of them! You'll need several cookie
sheets or sheet cake pans with raised
edges at least Yz" high (so things can't roll
off), and several sizes of polyethylene
bags, with clamp or twist closures.
First, prepare the food as you would for
carton or freezer-wrap storage; i.e., peel
vegetables, trim fat from meat, etc.-or
cook vegetables and meat, if they are to
be cooked before freezing. In general, you
will tray freeze things that are ordinarily
served in pieces . . . chops, steaks, hors
d'oeuvres, mushrooms and so on.
Once prepared the way you want them
before freezing, arrange on a cookie sheet
in a single layer and put the unwrapped
food on the unwrapped sheet (tray) in the
Blast or Fast Freeze section of your Time
Bank. Things being frozen "raw" may be
dipped in water and then put on the tray.
The Blast cold will solidly freeze tray
contents in the shortest possible time.
(Those dipped in water will have an ice
shield frozen around them in minutes, ef­fectively
sealing the surface of the food.)
After several hours, when tray foods are
solidly frozen, store in quantities you de­sire
in polyethylene bags clearly labeled
with date and contents. Seal with twist
or clamp closures. Once frozen, the foods
will not stick to each other in storage ...
speeding up thawing time when you're
ready to use them, as well as letting you
remove exactly the number and kind you
wish from the freezer at one time. This
way you don't have to thaw a bundle of
food when all you really want is a couple
of chops or a few pieces of dark meat,
and a few of light.
9
10
Storage
Cooked . . . . .. . ... . .. .. .... . .. ..... . .. . 4 to 6 months
Fresh . . . . . . .... . ... .. . .. ......... .... . 9 to 12 months
Mushrooms . . . . . . .... ... ..... . .. . .... . . 6 months
Citrus ... . . .... . . . . . . ........ . .. .. . . . .. 2 to 3 months
Citrus Concentrates . .. . .. . .... . . . .. ..... 9 to 12 months
Other Fruit .. .. . .. ... . ................. . 9 to 12 months
All sweetbreads and brains . . . . . ... . . . .. .. less than 1 month
Beef, corned . .. . ... . ...... . . ..... . . .. .. 2 weeks
Beef, ground ............ ........... .. . . 3 to 4 months
Beef heart ........ .... .. ... . . .. .. . .. . .. 3 to 4 months
Beef liver .. ... . . .... . . . . . .. .. . ... . ... . . 3 to 4 months
Beef roasts and steaks .. .. .. ... . . .. . . . . .. 6 to 12 months
Beef stew meat .. .. . ..... ... . . . ......... 4 to 6 months
Beef tongue ... .. . . .. . ........... . .. . . . 3 to 4 months
Cold cuts ... . . . . .... .. . . . .. . .. . .. . . .... less than 1 month
Lamb liver . . .. . . ... . . . .. ... . . . .. .. . ... . 3 to 4 months
Lamb roast and chops . ..... . . . .... . .... . 6 to 7 months
Pork-bacon slabs * . . .. . ... . .. . . ..... .. . 1 to 2 months
Pork-Ground .. ... .... . .. .... . ....... . . 2 to 3 months
Pork-Ham (unsl iced) * ... .. .. . . . ... . . . . . 1 to 2 months
Pork liver .. . . . . ...... . . .. .............. less than 1 month
Pork roasts and chops ... .. . ......... .. .. 3 to 4 months
Pork sausage (unseasoned) .. . . . . .. ...... 2 to 3 months
Pork sausage (seasoned) .. .. . .... .. . .... . less than 1 month
Veal roasts ...... .... . ....... . . .. . . . . .. 3 to 4 months
* (Storage of sliced bacon or ham not recommended for more than
1 month)
Chicken-broilers {whole or cut up) . . .. ... . 6 to 7 months
Chicken-commercially packaged (cut up) . . 6 to 7 months
Chicken-commercially packaged (whole) . . 6 to 7 months
Chicken-cooked .. . . . . .. . .. .. .. . . . . . ... 2 to 3 months
Chicken-cut up (uncooked) .. ...... . ... . 6 to 7 months
Chicken giblets .... . . . . ... . . ... .. . . ... .. 2 to 3 months
Chicken livers .... .... . .. . ... .. .. . . . . . . . less than 1 month
Chicken-whole (uncooked) .. . .. ..... . . . . 6 to 7 months
Duck . .... .. .. . . . . ..... . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . 6 months
Geese .. . .. . ........ .... .. . . .. . .. . .... 4 months
Turkey . . .. . .. .. . . ..... . ............. .. 6 to 7 months
Turkey (cooked) . . . . . .... . .. . .. . . ....... 2 to 3 months
Timetable
Lean fish .... .. ........................ 4 to 6 months
Fatty fish .............................. 2 to 4 months
Shell fish . .. ... .. .. . . .. .... ... ......... 2 to 4 months
Shrimp (cooked) ........................ 2 to 3 months
Shrimp (uncooked) .. . .. ... . .. . . . ..... . .. 4 to 6 months
Crab and Lobster (cooked) ............... 2 to 3 months
Butter .. . .. .... . .. .. . . . . . .. . .... ....... 6 months
Cheese:
Cheddar, Bleu, Brick, Port du Salut,
Swiss, Provoloni, Mozzarella,
Liederkranz, Parmesan, Romano ...... ... 6 to 8 months
Cream (thick-40% butterfat or more) ...... 4 months
Cream-whipped .. ... ...... . ........... less than 1 month
Dry Cottage Cheese ... . .......... .. . .. .. 1 month
Uncreamed Cottage Cheese ........... . . . 1 to 2 weeks
Ice Cream ... . .... . ...... . .... . .. ... .. . less than 1 month
Milk-homogenized ........ ... . ...... ... less than 1 month
Margarine ....... ................... ... 9 months
Eggs:
Yolks ............................... 6 to 9 months
Whites .............................. 9 to 12 months
Whole .............................. 6 to 9 months
Casseroles (cooked) .. . .... . ...... . ..... 4 to 6 months
Macaroni, Rice, Spaghetti, Noodles .. ....... 1 month
Meats (cooked) .... ..... . ............... 3 to 4 months
Salads (gelatin) . . . .... . ...... ... . .. .... . 2 to 3 months
Sandwiches ............................ less than 1 month
Soups ... ..... . .... . .. .. ........ ... ... 6 months
Breads-quick, baked ................... 3 to 6 months
Breads-yeast (rolls), baked .... .......... 6 to 8 months
Cakes and Cup Cakes-baked ..... .... ... 3 to 4 months
Cookies, baked ......................... 9 months
Cookies (unbaked dough) ................ 4 to 6 months
Pies:
Baked ... ... ...... . ... . .... ..... . .. . 2 months
Unbaked (whole pie) .. . . ..... ... .... .. 6 to 8 months
Unbaked (dough) ..................... 4 to 6 months
Pies-Chiffon .... .. ........... ....... less than 1 month
Rolls-Brown 'n' Serve ....... .. ... ...... less than 1 month
Game animals .......................... 6 to 8 month
Game birds ... ............ . .... ....... . 8 to 12 months
11
12
What NOT to freeze
MAYONNAISE and OIL-BASED SALAD
DRESSINGS separate when frozen, re­sulting
in peculiar taste and appearance.
Substitute other "binders" for sandwich
fillings (see page 18), and save addition
of dressings to salads until after the other
ingredients have thawed completely.
RAW POT A TOES turn mushy after
freezing. Always cook potatoes not­quite-
done, cool and freeze.
LETTUCE, CELERY, CARROT STICKS
and other fresh vegetables eaten un­cooked
lose their crispness and become
limp and unappetizing after freezing.
Add these vegetables fresh after sand­wiches,
etc., have been thawed.
HARD-COOKED EGGS don't freeze
well; the whites turn tough and rubbery.
Add fresh hard-cooked eggs to thawed
casseroles and other dishes.
FRESH TOMATOES have a very high
water content, and they collapse when
thawed. Don't freeze them for any pur­pose.
POT A TO SALAD needs fully cooked po­tatoes,
mayonnaise or other salad dress­ing,
and hard-cooked eggs-none of
which freeze well. Never store potato
salad in your Time Bank ... always pre­pare
and eat it "fresh."
HOME-FROZEN UNCOOKED STUFFED
POULTRY provides an ideal vehicle for
the growth of harmful bacteria. It's not
the bird ... it's the stuffing that's poten­tially
dangerous. Freeze the poultry raw
and unstuffed. Prepare stuffing fresh and
add it just before you put the poultry in
to roast. Never freeze raw stuffing. Left­over
poultry and stuffing can be frozen,
but store in separate containers. Com­mercially
frozen stuffed poultry is ac­ceptable
for freezing since special
processing techniques are used.
CRACKER CANAPES get soggy and un­palatable
when thawed. Store canape
spreads for crackers in the freezer. Thaw
and spread on crisp, fresh crackers just
before serving.
UNBAKED YEAST DOUGH does not
generally freeze well. Always prepare
and bake yeast products as you would to
use them immediately ... then cool and
freeze.
EGG-WHITE FROSTINGS don't hold up
well during freezing and thawing. Frost
cakes for freezing with butter, fudge or
penuche icings ... they come out of the
freezer just as luscious as they went in.
CUSTARD PIES get very watery and
unpleasant-looking and tough in the
freezing and thawing process. Don't
freeze them.
LAYER CAKES WITH SOFT FILLINGS
are soggy when thawed. If you want to
use a soft filling (custard, pudding, etc.),
freeze the cake layers separately, and add
fresh filling after the cake is thawed.
EGGS IN THE SHELL expand during
freezing, and crack the shell-exposing
the egg to air and bacteria. See the Dairy
Products section for proper procedure in
freezing eggs.
UNBLANCHED VEGETABLES take on
odd flavors and lose nutritional value and
fresh color in a few weeks' time. Always
blanch vegetables before freezing, ac­cording
to the directions in the Vegeta­bles
section of this book.
STORE MEAT UNSEASONED for true
flavor when the meat is thawed and
cooked. Seasoned uncooked meat some­times
changes flavor when frozen be­cause
onion, garlic, pepper and clove
flavoring gets stronger during freezer
storage, and salt and chili powder get
weaker. Season meat the way you want
it when you're preparing the meat for the
table.
FRIED FOODS (completely cooked) lose
crispness and become a little soggy when
thawed. Cook only partially done before
freezing.
PIE MERINGUE gets watery during
thawing, and doesn't "stand up" well.
Make meringue fresh, while your frozen
pie is thawing and baking. Put meringue
on when pie is almost completely baked.
Brown lightly, and serve.
Weight Watcher's Friend
If your family is seriously counting cal­ories,
or if one of the family must ob­serve
restricted diet rules for special
health reasons, your Coldspot Time Bank
can offer an extra measure of conve­nience
and time-saving efficiency.
As a general rule, the less "fuss" caused
by diet considerations, the more likely
the dieter is to stay with prescribed foods
-the less apparent difference between
meals served dieters and non-dieters, the
more content the dieter can be with the
foods he is allowed. Since both aesthetic
and strictly medical dietary restrictions
require foods in as natural a state as pos­sible,
with very little addition in the way
of spices, sweeteners, etc., your Coldspot
Time Bank is the ideal assistant for pre­serving
these foods in volume.
Set aside a portion of your Time Bank
specifically for storage of diet foods.
Each time you prepare regular family
dishes for freezing, separate whatever
portion of those foods the dieter may
have, and prepare them according to diet
restrictions at the same time. After cool­ing,
package, label and store family foods
as usual; package and label diet foods
and put them in the diet section. In this
way, approximation of family meals can
be made with diet foods . . . and you are
in no doubt as to which is which.
Vegetables are frozen without seasoning;
in most cases, so are meats . . . therefore
these two areas present no problems in
planning diet meals. Any required differ­ence
in seasonings can be observed after
foods are thawed, while they are being
prepared for the table.
Unsweetened or artificially sweetened
fruits are often the mainstay of diet des­serts.
Although storage periods are con­siderably
shorter for unsweetened fruit,
all fruits may be frozen without sugar or
syrup. Fruits stored without sweetening
will keep longer if they are covered with
liquid-preferably unsweetened fruit
juice. Containers of unsweetened fruit
should be used frequently during the first
few months of storage in order to check
on satisfactory "keeping" quality. If the
fruits show signs of rapid change, the
rest should be used as quickly as possible.
14
Peaches and apricots should be covered
with water containing Coldspot Ascorbic
Mixture (CAM). This helps the fruit re­tain
both color and flavor for the longest
possible time. Package as for fruits in
syrup, and store in the diet section of the
freezer.
Single-serving containers of gelatin salad
may be prepared, using the same gelatin
flavor but different additional ingredients
(but not crisp-type raw vegetables!) so
that a whole series of different salads is
produced at one time. They'll keep sev­eral
months in your Time Bank; and will
assist in providing the variety of taste
that helps make dieting bearable.
Liquid dietary foods may be frozen in
their original containers, and may be
served as ice cream desserts rather than
in their liquid form; or thaw in the re­frigerator
to return to liquid state.
Hors d'Oeuvres
and Party Foods
Your Time Bank can make home enter­taining
both easier and more elaborate,
because you can keep an assortment of
elegant special foods on hand at all times,
safely stored for future enjoyment in
your Coldspot freezer. Just prepare hors
d'oeuvres and canapes according to di­rections,
and freeze on trays, unwrapped;
then package in cartons, polyethylene
bags, or stack in layers in candy boxes or
shoe boxes for compact freezer storage.
Almost any variety of bread can be used,
cut into odd or pretty shapes with a sharp
knife and deep cookie cutters, and gar­nished
with your favorite spreads. Use
bread a day or two old, rather than soft­fresh
bread. Cover the entire surface of
the bread with very soft butter or mar­garine
(see Sandwich section) and then a
generous amount of spread. Or use a
pastry decorating tube to garnish, for
really professional appearance. Tray
freeze ... wrap ... and store.
If cracker hors d'oeuvres or canapes are
your favorites, freeze just the spreads;
then prepare with fresh crackers after
spreads are thawed for use. Crackers get
soggy and unappetizing when they thaw
out ... no point in wasting freezer space
or good spreads on 'em. Put containers of
frozen spread in the refrigerator, un­opened,
and allow to thaw-and be sure
to use really crisp, fresh crackers with _
the spread for the utmost in enjoyment.
Spreads and garnishes intended to be
served hot can be completely prepared
and stored in your Time Bank. Thaw un­opened
in the refrigerator till ready for
use. Then heat, and serve immediately.
Remember not to use mayonnaise, oil­based
salad dressings and hard-cooked
eggs when preparing hors d'oeuvres or
canape spreads-just about anything else
goes!
You might try an exotic mousse, too ... or
a gorgeous bombe-delectable things too
big for everyday refrigerator storage.
They stay fresh and ready in your Cold­spot
Time Bank till you have the urge to
impress your family or your guests-all
made when you wanted to prepare them,
and kept safely frozen till you want to use
them!
Special Ideas for
extra meal-appeal
The following are quick, simple "extras"
that help you turn family meals into gour­met
fare ... with the help of your Cold­spot
Time Bank.
Chopped chives and parsley. Package
separately (in polyethylene bags) and
freeze.
Chop fresh herbs and store in polyethyl­ene
bags-flavor is more delicate than
dried flakes.
Chop green peppers ... also try to get
some that have turned red. Makes pretty
garnishes, and keeps very well.
Freeze big 'n' little mushrooms for special
taste-appeal. See Vegetable Section for
instructions on freezing mushrooms.
Chop and freeze fresh onions. Store in
airtight containers; use like "fresh" any­time.
Store olive oil in the freezer to prevent
rancidity. Oil clouds when frozen, but
clears as soon as it reaches room temper­ature.
Thaw completely before using.
Freeze fresh apple cider and fruit juices
in lidded containers or waxed milk car­tons.
Let stand at room temperature to
thaw.
Keep a stock of "nibbles" on hand in your
Time Bank. All varieties of nutmeats
freeze well. So does candied fruit, nougat
and caramel candy, toffee and divinity.
Opened packages of caramel corn and
peanuts can be stored in polyethylene
bags, sealed tightly, and frozen for later
use.
Freeze water in half-gallon milk cartons,
for good-sized chunks of ice for cooling
picnic foods, icing drinks, etc. You'll
never need to fill the cooler with your
precious ice cubes again!
Freeze milk in its original waxed cartons.
Have several frozen half-gallons on hand
all the time, to rule out special "milk
runs" to the store.
Freeze marshmallows in their "store"
packages. When cut for salads or des­serts
(after thawing) they do not stick to
your fingers or kitchen shears.
Store cranberry relish in cartons or plas­tic
containers. It freezes well, and keeps
several months.
Don't throw away orange or lemon peel.
Store in a polyethylene bag and freeze;
grate later, when ready to use the peel as
garnishes, or for extra taste-appeal.
Keep baked apples on hand in your Time
Bank. Do not overbake-store in carton,
plastic container or polyethylene bag.
Fill ice-cube trays with fruit juice. When
partially frozen, insert sticks-have a
supply of homemade popsicles.
Store buttered or plain bread crumbs in
poly bag or plastic container and freeze.
Use later for coating foods to be deep-fat
fried.
Cut margarine quarters into individual
pats ... tray freeze, and store in poly
bags. Make butter balls and curls, too­freeze
the same way. Prepare a pound of
garlic butter, and process the same way;
but go very easy on the garlic, it gets
stronger during freezer storage.
When you serve waffles, make up an ex­tra
batch and freeze them. Reheat in your
toaster. Works with French toast, too!
Color ice cubes with vegetable food col­oring,
freeze, and use in chilled drinks.
Or put a red or green maraschino cherry
in each cube and freeze. Make frozen
cubes of lemonade, iced tea and iced cof­fee,
and use them to cool fresh drinks of
the same kind-no diluted drinks!
Freeze concentrated soup stock in ice-
16
cube trays, for flavoring and to use as
consomme. Store cubes in polyethylene
bag.
Freeze sliced, buttered French bread for
.u se with spaghetti dinners.
Freeze pancakes, French toast, Dutch
babies, etc., for fast breakfasts and
brunches.
Commercially frozen foods
An increasing selection of completely
prepared, commercially frozen foods and
complete meals is available in the frozen
food section of your supermarket, along
with an extensive choice of frozen vege­tables,
fruits, and desserts. All these
foods put on the market by reputable
firms are prepared according to very
strict government regulations, and can
often save you both time and money. By
all means, buy them if you prefer. The
basic function of your Coldspot Time
Bank is to keep frozen foods safely
stored for long periods of time, and if
commercially prepared foods work out
better for you than personal preparation,
you should certainly use your freezer in
the way that is most efficient for you.
However, after you've owned your Time
Bank a little while and have become ac­customed
to relying on its dependability
you will probably find that the contents
of your Coldspot freezer are a combina­tion
of commercially frozen and home­prepared
foods ... with fresh meats and
complete dishes (casseroles, soups, des­serts,
etc.) predominating. In time your
pride in your own good cooking, along
with the fine performance of your Time
Bank, may shift the balance even more
heavily in favor of home-prepared foods
stored for future use. In any case, the ver­satility
and flexibility of your Coldspot
freezer will give you years of pleasure
and satisfaction-and will adapt to your
personal way of life with the reliability
you expect from every fine product that
bears the Coldspot name.
Home-prepared foods
One day very soon, you'll be re-reading
this section of the book as a guide to pre­paring
and storing your first "home­made"
foods in your Time Bank .
Remember ... your Coldspot freezer is to
use and experiment with, not to be afraid
of! Your Time Bank is engineered to do
precisely what you want it to do-to
keep foods safely stored for considerable
periods of time; to let you cook when you
want to, and play when you want to; and
to help you save precious time and money
year after year after year.
The following pages explain the things • you should know for successful food
freezing. Follow the specific directions
for the food you want to prepare-pack­age
the food as directed-label and date
clearly with waxy marking pencil-and
store in your Time Bank. That's all there
is to it ... it's really as simple as it
sounds; and with the help of your Cold­spot
Time Bank, you simply can't go
wrong!
Complete dishes
Experiment with your favorite recipes in
your Coldspot Time Bank! Your own
common sense will dictate that you
freeze only a small amount of something
new, until you know how well it does.
The various charts in this booklet tell you
what freezes well. With that information
... perhaps by leaving out one ingredient
that doesn't freeze well, until the dish is
thawed and ready to heat ... there is
practically no limit to the variety of
dishes you can have, completely prepared
and ready to heat and serve. The bibliog­raphy
at the back of this booklet gives
you several references to books filled
with recipes for freezer storage. They
should be available at your public li­brary,
and will give you literally hun­dreds
of tested and approved dishes with
which to fill your freezer.
Foods should be not-quite-done in pre­paring
dishes for the freezer, since they
will cook after thawing while being
heated for serving, and will tend to get
mushy if they are completely cooked be­~
ore freezing. Be sure foods are thor­oughly
cooled before you store them in
your Time Bank. Cool quickly and Blast
Freeze if possible-quick cooling and im­mediate
freezing help to preserve full
natural flavors during freezer storage.
One way to quick-cool is to set the pan
containing the hot food into a large pan of
ice-cold water which contains ice cubes.
Stir the food occasionally, so cooling will
be uniform. Freeze as soon as the food is
completely cool.
Never freeze raw potatoes. Boiled pota­toes
shouldn't be frozen either; they get
watery and tough.
Baked potatoes freeze very well. They
may be peeled, diced and prepared for
any later intended use. They can be used
unthawed for frying, creamed potatoes,
etc., or they can be thawed and success­fully
used in fresh-made potato salad and
other dishes.
Mashed potatoes may be frozen in a pie
plate, ready for heating at 325 o for 30 to
40 minutes.
French fries may be cooked until light
golden brown, frozen, and later reheated
on a cookie sheet at 450° for 15 to 20
minutes.
Freeze gelatin salads in individual serv­ing
portions. When frozen in family
sizes, the gelatin near the outside is apt to
become watery before the inside is
thawed. Serve as soon as the salad is
completely thawed. Do not freeze crisp
salad vegetables in the gelatin, since
these wilt and get limp when frozen.
Spaghetti, macaroni and noodles can be­come
mushy when heated after freezing,
if they have been completely cooked be-fore
being combined with sauce and be­ing
stored in the freezer. Cook them
about half-done if you want to freeze
paste products and sauce together, or,
since the sauce will have to heat before
being served ... and cooking time for
"raw" spaghetti, etc., is comparatively
short ... perhaps you'll want to freeze
just the sauce, and cook paste products
just before serving.
If gravies or cream sauces separate when
frozen, continuous stirring while they
heat can sometimes make them smooth
again. If not, mix a small amount of thick­ening
and add it to the hot mixture, stir­ring
until smooth and thickened.
Concentrated cream soups also make
good "binders" for creamed dishes and
casseroles because the thickening agent
in them does not separate when frozen.
(Manufacturers of commercially frozen
foods do not use regular flour as a thick­ening
agent, so there should be no prob­lems
when heating casseroles, meat pies
with gravy, etc., which you purchase
from the frozen food section of your su­permarket.)
Preparation for serving
Prepared dishes may be heated directly
from the frozen state, without thawing.
Either a saucepan of proper size, or a dou­ble
boiler may be used for heating. If a
double boiler is used, have water boiling
rapidly; place food in top of double boiler
and heat, stirring occasionally.
Casseroles may be prepared, cooled and
frozen in the same baking dish. As soon
as solidly frozen, the "chunk" should be
stored in a polyethylene bag, and the cas­serole
dish returned to out-of-freezer use.
Do not store casserole dish in the freezer.
When ready to use the casserole meal, re­move
from freezer and return to casserole
dish in which it was originally frozen.
Use a cover on the container until the
food has completely thawed in the oven
17
18
-the cover holds heat inside the dish, in­suring
that the inside of the frozen meal
is thaw,ed as completely as the outside so
heating is uniform throughout. The cover
may be removed near the end of the heat­ing
period if the surface of the food
should be browned. If the container does
not have a cover, use aluminum foil. Be
sure to put the shiny side of the foil
toward the food. The bright side reflects
the heat, while the dull surface absorbs
it-holding the heat inside so the food
warms quickly and thoroughly.
Sandwiches
Sandwiches enough for several weeks'
use may be prepared at one time, and
stored in your Time Bank. All varieties of
bread freeze well, and the choice of fill­ings
is almost unlimited. Either fresh or
frozen slices of bread may be used in pre­paring
sandwiches.
To prepare sandwiches for freezing,
cream butter or margarine until it is soft
and fluffy. Spread evenly over the entire
slice ... right out to the edges of the
bread-this keeps fillings from soaking
in. Add filling and buttered top slice of
bread, and wrap in freezer paper using
drugstore fold or store in sandwich-size
polyethylene bags. Store in your Time
Bank.
In preparing sandwich fillings, omit let­tuce,
celery and other garnishes that lose
crispness in freezing (see "What Not to
Freeze" section); and substitute another
"binder" for mayonnaise. Oil-based salad
dressing and mayonnaise separate when
frozen-but French or Russian dressing,
lightly flavored peanut butter, milk and
pineapple juice all make delicious substi­tutes
for the oil dressings; and you'll
work out others as you experiment with
what your freezer can do.
Frozen sandwiches packed in a lunch box
in the morning will be completely
thawed and ready to eat at noon. When
using sandwiches for a meal at home,
simply thaw them in the unopened wrap­per
at room temperature for a few hours.
Meat
One of the largest and most frequently
used portions of your Time Bank will
probably be the section in which you
store fresh meat. The majority of your
meat purchases will probably be made
at your local grocery or supermarket
meat department. If you choose meat
carefully, making sure of quality and
freshness, there's no reason why it
should not freeze well.
Many people prefer to buy a quarter of
beef or more through a commercial meat
outlet, a meat purveyor or a nearby
farmer. There are several advantages to
purchasing meat this way:
1. You can have it cut up to your liking.
2. You can get choice or premium grades
of meat at economical prices.
3. You get consistent quality.
4. You save considerable time and shop­ping
expense by not having to make
weekly selections at your local meat
counter.
general rules for freezing meat
Refrigerate all meat as quickly as possi­ble
after purchase. When you are ready
to prepare it for freezing, proceed as fol­lows:
1. Tray Freezing-Dip cuts of meat in
water, and arrange one layer thick on
cookie sheet or sheets. Put tray(s) in the
Blast Freeze section of your Time Bank.
When meat is solidly frozen (figure about
four hours) , store in polyethylene bags,
with type of meat and date stored on
package label placed inside the bag.
2. Freezer Wrap-Use drugstore fold for
wrapping. Separate the steaks, chops
and patties with two thicknesses of
freezer paper so they can be easily sep­arated.
Date and label packages, and
store in your Time Bank immediately.
Do not season uncooked meat before
freezing. Some spices, including pepper,
get stronger during freezing. So do onions
and garlic. Others, like salt, get weaker.
Wait to add seasoning until you are pre­paring
the meat for the table.
Form beef or lamb patties. Do not season.
Tray freeze, with final storage in poly­ethylene
bag; or separate with two sheets
of freezer paper, drugstore wrap, seal,
label and freeze.
Organic meats (livers, hearts, etc.) don't
store as well for as long as other varieties
of meats. Dip them in cold water, tray
freeze, and store in polyethylene bag sep­arate
from other meat. Or drugstore
wrap, label, and freeze. Keep a close
check on how soon they should be used
(see chart), and use well within the maxi­mum
storage time.
Soup and gravy stock can be completely
prepared just as you would for immediate
use. Cool, and freeze in ice-cube trays.
When solidly frozen, remove from trays
and store cubes in polyethylene bags. La­bel,
and return to freezer.
Thawing meat
Meat doesn't have to be thawed before
cooking, unless you're going to do one of
the following in preparing the meat for
the table:
1. Cut it into pieces, grind, shape or stuff it.
2. Dredge it in flour or crumbs, or roll it in
batter or eggs. (None of these coatings
will stick to frozen meat.)
3. If it's to be deep-fat fried .
If cuts of meat were tray frozen, or were
separated with two thicknesses of freezer
paper in the freezer-wrap package, they
don't have to be thawed at all.
Thawing is required for large cuts of meat
like roasts-otherwise the outside would
be overcooked when the inside was still
barely warm. Meat should always be
thawed in the refrigerator, because room­temperature
thawing causes meat to thaw
quickly on the outside .. . much more
slowly on the inside. Flavor and meat
juices can be lost this way. (See thawing
instructions on page 20.)
Low oven temperature can help reduce
shrinkage. Insert a meat thermometer in
the thickest part of the roast about half­way
through the cooking time, so you can
make sure the inside of the roast is cook­ing
properly.
Steaks and chops about one inch thick
can be used for oven or outdoor grill
broiling. Thinner cuts should be pan­broiled.
For pan-broiling, start over low
heat to prevent the outside of the meat
from browning too much before the in­side
is thoroughly cooked.
If you cook large cuts of meat directly
from the frozen state, approximately dou­ble
the cooking time shown on the Guide
for Cooking Thawed Meats should be al­lowed.
About one-and-a-half times the
suggested thawed times should be al­lowed
for smaller pieces, or for chops.
Completely thawed meats are cooked
with the same methods and cooking times
as though the meat had just been brought
fresh from the store.
NOTE: When braising frozen meat, allow ap­proximately
the same time as for cooking
fresh or thawed meats.
20
Guide for thawing frozen meats
MEAT
Rolled Rib Roast
Standing Rib Roast
Rump
Sirloin Steak-1-inch
Round Steak
Ground Beef-1-pound pkg.
Patties (separated)
Stew Meat-1-pound pkg.
Chops-%-inch thick
Cutlets
Steak
Sausage-1-pound pkg.
Chops-% to% inch
Leg
TIME-THAW IN REFRIGERATOR
8 to 10 hours per pound
7 to 8 hours per pound
7 to 8 hours per pound
8 to 10 hours per pound
5 to 6 hours ... total thawing time
18 to 20 hours ... total thawing time
5 to 6 hours
18 to 20 hours . .. total thawing time
4 to 5 hours .. . total thawing time
7 to 8 hours per pound
7 to 8 hours per pound
18 to 20 hours ... total thawing time
7 to 8 hours .. . total thawing time
7 to 8 hours ... total thawing time
Guide for cooking thawed meats
Cooking
Approx. Approx. Total Internal
Kind of Meat
Method
Weight Cooking Time Temperature
(lbs.) (Hrs. at 325° F) (when cooked)
Rolled Rib Roast Roast 4 to 6 2 to 3 Rare ..... 140F.
2112 to 3% Medium .. 160 F.
3 to 4 Well ..... 170 F.
Standing Rib Roast Roast 4 to 6 1% to 2 Rare ..... 140 F.
2 to 2112 Medium .. 160 F.
2112 to 31/3 Well ..... 170 F.
Rump Roast or 5 2% Rare .. ... 140 F.
Braise 3 Medium .. 160 F.
3% Well ..... 170 F.
Sirloin Steak-1-inch Broil About 15 min. Rare ..... 140 F.
Top Round Steak,
1f2 -inch Braise 20to 30 min.
Ground Beef Patties Pan-Broil 8 min. total
Stew Meat Stew 1 to 2 2112 to 3 total
Chops-3!4-inch Braise 30 min. total
Cured Roast 6 21!2 to31f2 Well Done 160 F.
Fresh Roast 5 3 to 31f2 Well Done 185 F.
Ham, Whole Roast 12 4 Well Done 160 F.
Chops and Cutlets-
1f2 to %-inch Braise 3f4 to 1
Roast Loin Roast 5 to 8 2112 to 3112 Well Done 170 F.
Roast Leg Roast 5 to 8 3112 to 41f2 Well Done 170 F.
Chops-1-inch Broil 12 min. total Well Done 180 F.
Roast Roast 5 to 7 3 to 3% Well Done 180 F.
22
Poultry
If your family prefers some special por­tion
of poultry more than the rest, it
might be smart to purchase just that por­tion
for freezing; after all, there's nothing
more tasteless than a chicken wing if you
don't like chicken wings. But if poultry is
a general favorite, make sure you have
plenty in your Time Bank. Directions for
preparation given here apply to all other
fowl as well as chickens.
Wash thoroughly in running water. Tray
freeze and package giblets in separate
poly bag ... they don't store well as long
as the fowl itself.
Split broilers in halves or quarters. Dip in
water and tray freeze; store in polyethyl­ene
bag. Or separate with two sheets of
freezer paper, and store in poly bag. Label
and date bag.
Fryers should be disjointed into serving­size
pieces. Dip in water and tray freeze;
or wrap each piece in freezer paper­store
in poly bag, carton, or wrap. Label,
date, store in Time Bank. (Do the same to
prepare chicken for fricassee and stew.)
Preparing Broilers
Split in half or quarter. Dip in water and tray freeze.
Store in polyethylene bag . Or separate with two
sheets of freezer paper, and store in poly bag . Label
and date bag .
For a really tight seal on poultry, put tray
frozen or separately wrapped pieces in a
large polyethylene bag. Lower the bag
into a large pail or tub of warm water,
being careful not to get water inside the
bag. (When lowered into the water, the
air is forced out of the bag and the poly
film is pushed tightly against the con­tents.)
Twist and fold over the neck of
the bag and fasten securely. Freeze im­mediately.
Roasting chickens should not be stuffed
before freezing at home, although ready­stuffed
commercially prepared chickens
may be stored with stuffing inside. (This
is because of the exceedingly low tem­peratures
possible for freezing in com­mercial
plants.) Stuffing can be added to
your thawed home-frozen chicken just
before putting it into the oven. If cooking
chicken from the frozen state, prepare
and cook stuffing separately. If you are
freezing a bird that has already been
cooked, remove all stuffing and freeze
poultry and stuffing separately.
Preparing Fryers
Disjoint. Dip pieces in water and arrange on cookie
sheet. Freeze. Store in polyethylene bag ... or sepa­rate
into thighs, breasts, legs, etc. , and have sepa­rate
bag for each; add pieces to each bag later,
when you buy more chicken. Or you can wrap ind i­vidual
pieces in plastic wrap or freezer paper, then
package in aluminum foil , freezer paper or poly bag.
Label , date, and freeze.
To prepare a roasting chicken for freez­ing,
wash bird thoroughly in cold run­ning
water. Draw legs and wings tightly
to body, and tie. Use poly bag-in-water­pail
method to cover tightly, seal bag and
label. Freeze right away. Or use the drug­store
fold and package the bird in alu­minum
foil or other meat wrap. Don't
roast poultry in the aluminum foil it was
frozen in-it can cause a steamed flavor,
and the bird doesn't look as appetizing
as if you start "new."
Poultry may be breaded, fried, cooled and
packaged for freezing in any of the
freezer wraps or containers; and then
stored in polyethylene bags. Mark all
packages with kind of poultry, intended
use, and date of storage. Store in your
Time Bank.
Thawing and cooking poultry
Always thaw poultry completely before
cooking. Skins get tough and dry when
exposed to the air, so thaw in unopened
package in the refrigerator; or by immers­ing
in cold water. Cook immediately after
thawing is complete.
Sometimes broiling chickens and young
fryers or roasters darken around the
bones when frozen. Don't worry about it
- this is caused by the oxidation of iron
from the bone marrow, and it doesn't af­fect
flavor or food value in any way.
Thawing chart for poultry
CHICKEN
TURKEY
KIND
Cut-up-3112 pounds
Whole-S pounds
8 to 11 pounds
11 to 18 pounds
18 to 24 pounds
THAW IN REFRIGERATOR
10 to 20 hours
1 to 2 days
(4 to 5 hours under running water)
1 to 2 days
2 to 3 days
3 to 4 days
For quicker thawing, place under cold running water. Thawing times as listed above apply to duck, geese and
wild fowl as well as to chicken and turkey, provided sizes and weights are approximately the same.
CHICKEN
I
DUCK
GOOSE
TURKEY
Roasting timetable for poultry
Kind of
Weight
Oven
Poultry
Oven-Ready*
(pounds) Temperature
Whole 2112 to 31f2 350 F.
4 to 5 350 F.
5 to 7 350 F.
8 to 12 325 F.
Small 6 to 8 325 F.
Medium 8 to 12 325 F.
Medium Large 12 to 16 325 F.
Large 16 to 20 325 F.
Approx. Roasting
Time for Thawed Bird
(hours)
1V2 to 2
2 to 3
2112 to 3112
3 to 4112
2 to 2112
2112 to 3
3 to 33!4
33!4 to 4
*Includes weight of average amount of stuffing. (Reduce roasting time a little if bird is not stuffed.)
23
24
Vegetables
If really fresh vegetables are available
at markets or stands near you, do not
hesitate about buying and freezing those
vegetables at home. But if produce avail­able
isn't at peak condition, don't take
up freezer space with it. Buy and use
produce "fresh," or invest in commer­cially
frozen vegetables which are frozen
at best possible condition.
Don't freeze uncooked tomatoes, lettuce,
radishes, celery, carrots and so on ...
crisp things and "fresh salad" ingredients.
The crisp vegetables get limp after freez­ing,
and tomatoes collapse as they thaw.
Aside from those few things, practically
all vegetables freeze beautifully, and stay
safely frozen for very extended periods
of time.
Blanching (the quick partial cooking of
vegetables) stops the action of certain
elements of change known as enzymes.
These enzymes are responsible for the
1. Use collander, wire basket or cheesecloth
bag for handling vegetables while blanch­ing.
(See instructions.)
2. Chill immediately after blanching .
maturing in fruits and vegetables that we
call ripening. The same continuous ripen­ing
process would continue (slower, of
course) with unblanched vegetables
stored in your freezer. Blanching stabi­lizes
vitamin content, also; and the fresh
color of green vegetables is retained
throughout freezer storage.
How to blanch vegetables*
You need a large aluminum or enamel­ware
kettle; a collander, wire basket or
large piece of cheesecloth; and another
large container to hold cold water. Do
not use copper or iron utensils for blanch­ing.
Water should be boiling rapidly be­fore
vegetables are added, and should
keep boiling briskly through the entire
blanching period. Place approximately
a pound (not more) of prepared vegeta­bles
at one time (in collander, wire basket
or cheesecloth) in not less than four
quarts of boiling water. Make sure the
* NOTE: See Chart on pages 26 and 27.
3. Package in cartons or lidded containers; or
tray freeze, and store in polyethylene bags.
4. Seal, label with date and contents, freeze.
kettle is tightly covered, and heat is
turned high. Begin timing the blanching
process immediately after adding the veg­etables.
When the blanching period is
over, remove the container of vegetables
and plunge into a large pan containing
very cold (or iced) water. Leave the con­tainer
of vegetables in the cold water
twice as long as the blanching period. If
very cold water is not available, use cold­as-
possible running tap water to cool. Re­move
from the cold water, and allow to
finish cooling at room temperature. Tray
freeze, uncovered, and store in polyeth­ylene
bags; or package in cartons or rigid
plastic containers. Label with contents
and date, and freeze.
Preparing vegetables for serving
Since vegetables are partially cooked dur­ing
the blanching process, they'll need
only about one-half to two-thirds of the
cooking time of fresh vegetables. Except
for corn on the cob, all frozen vegetables
may be cooked directly from the frozen
state, no thawing required.
Corn on the cob must be completely
thawed before cooking. This takes about
four hours at room temperature. To pre­vent
sogginess while heating, stand the
thawed corn on end in a kettle containing
about an inch of water. Cover and steam
for five to eight minutes.
Unopened packages of asparagus and
broccoli (other greens, too) can be par­tially
thawed, and then the stalks may be
broken apart for more even cooking.
Thaw one hour at room temperature; four
hours in the refrigerator ... just enough
to speed up the cooking process, that's
all that's necessary.
One-third to one-half cup of water is usu­ally
enough to cook one pint of frozen
vegetables. Measure the water into a
saucepan, add Y2 teaspoon of salt, and
bring the water to a boil. Drop the vegeta­bles
into the rapidly boiling water; cover,
and let water return to a boil-this takes
3 to 6 minutes. Remove the cover and
separate the vegetables with a fork. Re­place
cover, reduce heat and cook for the
time shown on the cooking chart.
Cooking times for frozen vegetables
Asparagus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 to 10
Beans, green or wax ............ 12 to 15
Beans, lima ................... 15 to 20
Beets, sliced .. Heat to serving temperature
Beets, whole .................. 18 to 20
Broccoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 to 10
Brussels Sprouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 to 8
Carrots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 to 8
Cauliflower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 to 6
Corn, cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 to 6
Corn on the cob* .......... Steam 5 to 8
Kale ......................... 10 to 20
*Thaw for about four hours before steaming.
Cooking Time
Vegetables (Minutes)
Kohlrabi ...................... 8 to 10
Mushrooms ................. (no water)
Saute in butter ............... 10 to 15
Okra ......................... 15 to 20
Peas ........................ 5 to 8
Rhubarb ..................... 1 0 to 12
Rutabaga, Turnips ............. 12 to 15
Spinach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 to 5
Other Greens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 to 10
Squash, summer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 to 10
Squash, winter ...... Serving Temperature
Sweet Potatoes** ... Serving Temperature
** May be pureed for pies, warmed in oven and served, candied, mashed, or any other way freshly cooked sweet
potato is used.
25
SELECTION
Table ready
Use tender tips
Pick before pods dry
Medium size
Young, tender
stringless
Young, tender
Fresh, compact,
dark green heads
Dark green firm
heads
Fresh, small,
young
Compact, tender
white heads
Slightly immature
formed kernels
with milk thin
and sweet
Mature
Young tender
leaves
Young, tender
VEGETABLE FREEZING CHART
PREPARATION
Cut off top of bud; trim to a
cone; wash
Wash ; leave whole or cut
Shell, wash
Sort pods according to size;
blanch before shelling (or
can shell before blanching;
sort beans acco~ding to size;
blanch two to four min .; drain)
Cut crosswise, French cut, or
leave whole
Cook until tender; peel and
cool , then dice or leave tiny
beets whole
Cover entirely with salt solu­tion;
let soak Y2 hour. Cut
lengthwise into pieces
Cut from stem; wash; strip
outer leaves if necessary
Wash, scrape and slice
Cut into pieces about 1 in.
thick; sort according to size
Husk, remove silk, wash and
trim ; blanch. Chill in ice wa­ter
4 min. ; place in refrigera­tor
10-15 min . Cut after
blanching for kernel corn
Peel, slice YJ in. thick
Wash thoroughly; cut off and
discard main stem
Cut off tops; peel and dice in
Y2 in. cubes
BLANCHING TIME
8-10 min. in boiling water; chill and
drain
Small stalks 2 min. in boiling water;
large stalks 3 min.; chill and drain
1 min. in boiling water; chill and
drain
Small pods 1 min. in boiling water;
large pods 2Y2 min. Chill and drain.
Shell and sort beans; package white
and green separately
2 min. in boiling water; chill and
drain
No further preparation needed
3-5 min. in boiling water, depend­ing
on thickness. Chill and drain
3-5 min. in boiling water, depend­ing
on size. Chill and drain
3 min. in boiling water; chill and
drain
Small pieces 3 min. in boiling wa­ter;
medium pieces 4 min.; cool in
CAM solution (6 tsp. per 1 gal. wa­ter},
drain and package
Steam blanch-small ears 6 Y2
min.; medium ears 8Y2 min .; large
ears 1 OY2 min. Water blanch Y2
min. less than steam blanch. Blanch
no more than 6 ears at a time
4 min. in boiling water, cool in CAM
solution (4 Y2 tsp. per qt. water} ,
then in cold water; drain
70 sec. in boiling water; chill and
drain
1 min. in boiling water; chill and
drain
Follow directions for individual vegetables. Tray freeze ; pack together
minute longer than time shown on chart.
-preparing vegetables for freezing
SELECTION
Small to medium
sized ; white,
tight caps
Young pods
Top quality,
fully mature
Fresh
Young
Young, tender,
not starchy
Crisp, green
Mature
Young, tender, well­colored
Young and tender
Young, green
Young, tender
Tender, before rind
hardens
Well-ripened with
hard rind
Medium-size
Ripe
PREPARATION
Wash, trim and sort. Soak 5
min . in solution of 1 tsp .
lemon juice to 2 cups cold
water. Drain
Wash, slice after scalding if
desired
Peel, wash and chop or slice
Wash , leave whole until
blanched, then chop if de­sired
. Pack in portions to be
used in cooking
Sliced or diced
Shell
Wash; slice or halve or leave
unblanched if to be used in
uncooked foods
Prepare as for "fresh" use.
Do not cook completely
done. DO NOT FREEZE
RAW POTATOES
Peel, dice
Cut into 1 in. lengths
Peel, dice
Pre-cook in the pod 5 min. in
boiling water; chill and hull
Wash thoroughly ; discard
thick stems
Wash and cut into V2 in .
slices
Peel, cut into 1 in. cubes
Halve, slice or puree after
cooking
Stew according to your fa­vorite
recipe. Omit bread or
crackers until tomatoes are
served
BLANCHING TIME
Small-3 min . in boiling water;
large-4-5 min. in boiling water.
Chill and drain
Whole pods of medium size 3 min.
in boiling water; large pods 4-5
min. Chill and drain
No heat treatment needed
15 seconds in boiling water; chill
and drain
3 min. in boiling water; chill and
drain
1 min. in boiling water; chill and
drain
2 min. in boiling water; chill and
drain
Pre-cook and puree. Cool
1 Y2 min. in boiling water; cool-or
pack unsweetened without scalding
-or pack in 40% syrup
2-3 min. in boiling water
No further treatment needed
2V2 min. in boiling water; chill and
drain. Use 8 qt. water to 1 lb. spin­ach
or other greens
3Y2 min. in boiling water; chill and
drain
Cook until soft
Cook unpeeled in boiling water un­til
about 3/4 (:lone. Cool, peel , slice.
Dip slices in solution of 2 Tbsp.
lemon juice to 1 cup water
Cool and package. Freeze
See Fruit Preparation chart, under "other juices"
27
28
Fruits
Preparing fruits for your freezer is ac­tually
a very simple process; but be sure
to choose really fresh fruits ... unblem­ished,
firm, just-ripe products that require
a minimum of handling ... for a satis­factory
finished result.
Coldspot Ascorbic Mixture is necessary
for light-colored fruits. This is a blend of
ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and citric acid,
which is available at all Sears stores or
through the catalog. Coldspot Ascorbic
Mixture keeps fruit from turning dark
during storage, helps preserve the natural
fresh flavor of many fruits, and increases
the amount of vitamin C nutrients in the
diet.
Some fruits store best in a sugar syrup,
others may be dry sugar packed ... and
a very few fruits (shown on the chart)
may simply be washed, dried, and pack-
1. Scald peaches. Chill, and remove skins.
2. Add Coldspot Ascorbic Mixture to prepared
syrup.
aged without sugar or syrup. (If you are
counting calories or observing a special
diet, see the weight-watcher page.)
dry sugar pack
Use dry granulated sugar for fruits to be
sugar-packed. If Coldspot Ascorbic Mix­ture
is needed, add 1 teaspoonful for each
cup of sugar. Cover all surfaces with the
mixture, and package for freezing.
sugar syrups for fruit
Light (30%) 2 cups sugar 1 qt. water
Medium (40% to 50%) 4-5 cups sugar 1 qt. water
Heavy (50% to 60%) 6-7 cups sugar 1 qt. water
Dissolve the sugar in the quart of hot
water, and cool. The syrup may be made
in advance and stored in the refrigerator
until needed. If Coldspot Ascorbic Mix­ture
is needed, add 2 tsp. to each pint (2
cups) of syrup when you are ready to
3. Slice peaches into syrup.
--
4. Seal properly. Label, date and freeze.
prepare the fruit. Be sure the syrup is cold
before it is combined with fruit to be
frozen.
The fruit preparation chart will tell you
how to prepare individual fruits for
freezing, and the preferred packing
method for each.
In preparing peaches, scald five or six at
a time for 30 seconds in rapidly boiling
water deep enough to cover the fruit. Re­move
and chill in cold water. Skins will
slip off easily when fruit is cool.
Lidded cartons or rigid plastic containers
with tight-fitting lids are the most satis­factory
packaging materials for fruits.
When packing in syrup, be sure the top
• surface of the fruit is entirely covered
with syrup. Leave one-half inch of ex­pansion
space at the top of the carton.
Seal container, and freeze.
thawing and serving fruits
All frozen fruits darken and become soft
in texture rapidly once they are removed
from the package, so always thaw fruits
in the unopened package. Plan to thaw
as close as possible to the time of serv­ing,
except in cases where fruit will be
cooked, as in pies or upside-down cakes.
One pint of frozen fruit takes from thirty
minutes to one hour to thaw in cold
water; two to four hours at room temper­ature;
and from five to eight hours in the
refrigerator. Thawing in the refrigerator
is recommended because thawing is more
uniform and the texture of the fruit is
better. Fruits to be eaten in salads or fruit
cups should still have ice crystals present
when they are served.
A nine-inch pie will take about a quart
of sugar-packed fruit. Thaw fruit in un­opened
container. Prepare dough accord­ing
to your favorite recipes, and DOUBLE
the amount of thickening materials (corn­starch,
tapioca, flour) used. If the fruits
were frozen without sugar, add the
amount of thickening called for and ADD
TWO MORE TEASPOONFULS.
For shortcake, use either sugar-packed
or syrup-packed strawberries, peaches,
apricots, raspberries, or blueberries. Pre­pare
the shortcake as usual. Thaw fruit
to little-ice-crystals stage, and serve.
Preparing
SELECTION PREPARATION SUGAR OR SYRUP
--------------~~----------------------+---------------------------
Tart, juicy apples
Mature, firm
Firm, well-colored,
mature fruit
Firm, fully ripened
Well-ripened,
large berries
Firm, well-ripened
Bright, uniformly
red cherries
Large cherries;
uniform maturity
and color
Fully ripe
Firm berries
Firm, even colored
Ripe figs
Firm, even green
Quarter and cook slowly un­til
soft; strain
Wash, peel and slice into
salted water (2 Tbsp. per gal.
water). Drain. Steam 1 V2
minutes
Peel, cut into halves; drop
into cold syrup containing 2
tsp. CAM per pint syrup-or
into sugar mixed with 1 tsp.
CAM per cup sugar
Wash, sort and handle as
little as possible
Wash in iced water and drain.
(Scald wild berries in steam
for 1 minute; cool quickly)
(See Melon)
Wash, chill and pit
Stem and wash; pit or not, as
desired; place in syrup con­taining
2 tsp. CAM per pint
syrup-or in sugar mixed
with 1 tsp . CAM per cup
sugar
Wash, section and remove all
membrane and seeds
Stem and wash
Wash and stem; crush with
sugar
Wash, peel, if desired
Stem and wash; crush slightly
Add sugar to taste
Cover with sugar (1 cup sugar to 5
cups sliced apples) mixed with 1
tsp. CAM per cup sugar
Cover with 40% syrup or add 1 cup
sugar to 4-6 cups apricots
For dessert-40-50% syrup; for
jam-use 2 cups sugar to 8 cups
berries. Dry pack without sugar for
pies
Dry pack with no sugar recom­mended
2 cups dry sugar to 8 cups cherries ;
mix lightly
Cover with 40-50% syrup-or add
1 cup sugar to 4-5 cups cherries
Cover with 40% syrup. Separate
layers of sections with freezer paper
when whole sections are desired
No sugar or syrup needed; may use
50% syrup, if desired
2 cups dry sugar to 6 cups cu r­rants
or dry pack
50% syrup-or-coat with sugar, 2
cups to 4 lbs. figs
2 cups dry sugar to 6 cups berries
or dry pack
Fruits
SELECTION
Ripe grapes
Fully ripe fruit,
juice-type
Fully ripe fruit
Firm, well-ripened
Firm, well-colored,
mature fruit
Firm. well-colored,
mature fruit
Fully ripe
Mature, well-colored
fruit
Firm, ripe
Young, tender,
well-colored
Fully ripe, firm
PREPARATION
Stem and wash
Chill, wash, juice and remove
seeds
SUGAR OR SYRUP
40-50% syrup
Sweeten as desired and add 2 tsp.
CAM per quart of juice; freeze
promptly
To freeze the juices of most fruits and tomatoes, add Y2 cup water per
pint to firmer fruits like apples and pineapple. Add sugar to taste, and
water if necessary. Simmer. do not boil, until the juice separates from the
pulp. Strain fruit through a cloth bag, cool and package. Leave room for
expansion. Simmer soft fruits, like grapes, without water. Strain, add and
dissolve 1 cup sugar per gallon fruit juice. Cut tomatoes into small
pieces, simmer. Put pulp through food mill. Cool, season to taste and
package
Peel, cut into Y2 in. cubes or
balls
Follow directions given for
peaches
Shell; package
Peel; quarter. halve. or slice
into cold syrup containing 2
tsp. CAM per pint of syrup
Peel, core, slice, or cube
Pit; cut in halves into syrup
containing 2 tsp. CAM per
pint syrup-or sugar mixed
with 1 tsp. CAM per cup
sugar; or puree fruit
Wash in ice water; avoid un­necessary
handling
Cut into 1-inch lengths
Prepare immediately; wash,
sort, stem, and slice or leave
whole
2 cups sugar to 10 cups melon-or
cover with 40% syrup-or dry pack
40% syrup
Cover with 40-50% syrup
Cover with 40% syrup
Cover with 60% syrup
Cover with 40% syrup-or add 2
cups sugar to 8 cups berries,
slightly crushed
1 Y2 min. in boiling water. Cool; or
pack without scalding; or pack in
40% syrup
1 cup sugar to 6-8 cups berries-or
cover with 40% syrup-whole ber­ries
may be packed dry with no
sugar, but quality is not as good as
when sweetened
31
32
Fish and Seafood
Freeze only the freshest sea products
available ... process quickly ... and pack­age
carefully; those are the basic rules
for satisfactory storage of fish and sea­food
in your Time Bank! Clean and pre­pare
fish as you would if they were to be
cooked immediately. If you're freezing
fish whole, just tray freeze and store in
polyethylene bag or drugstore wrap and
freeze ... no further preparation is nec­essary.
If you're cutting fish into steaks
or fillets, you'll need to treat the surfaces
of the fish with a preservative solution,
as explained below.
lean fish
White-meat fish-carp, cod, flounder,
haddock, halibut, rockfish (striped bass),
rosefish (ocean perch), sea bass, sea trout,
shellfish, sole, yellow perch and yellow
pike-are non-fatty creatures, and re­quire
only a simple salt brine. Dip fillets
or steaks in a solution of Yz cup salt per
gallon of cold water. Keep in solution for
30 seconds. Drain.
fatty fish
Pink or coral-meat fish-catfish, herring,
lake trout, mackerel, salmon, shad, smelt
and whitefish are deeper-flavored and
comparatively "fat," and need to be
brushed with a solution of 1 Tbsp. Cold-spot
Ascorbic Mixture to a pint of cold
water.
After using the proper preservative, wrap
individual pieces of fish in freezer paper
and then wrap in meal-size amounts in
approved freezer wrap using the drug­store
fold. Label, seal tightly, and store
in your Time Bank. Or you can use a
freezer carton or clean milk carton . . .
place it inside a polyethylene freezer bag
and put the fish inside the carton. Fill
carton with water, seal poly bag, and
store in the freezer.
clams, oysters and scallops
Wash outside well in running water. Re­move
from shell, saving liquid. Rinse sea­food
in solution of Yz cup salt per gallon
of water ... or in sea water, if available.
Drain and package in lidded cartons or
plastic lidded containers. Cover seafood
with its own liquid (if there is not enough,
add brine solution to cover), leaving Yz
inch for expansion in the carton. Close
carton tightly, freeze immediately.
lobsters and crabs
Wash thoroughly. Drop live into boiling
salted water, and allow to remain for
twenty minutes. Cool. Place lobster on
its back to cool. Crack shell and remove
meat. Package tightly in cartons or lidded
containers (leaving headspace) and freeze
immediately.
shrimp
Remove heads, peel, clean and package
... raw ... in cartons or lidded contain­ers.
Or remove heads and back veins and
wash thoroughly .. . leaving in shell. Pack
for freezing. Cooked shrimp toughens
during storage, so freeze shrimp raw,
with or without shells.
1. Clean; leave whole or cut into steaks or
fillets.
2. Add preservative. (See instructions in text.)
thawing and cooking
Frozen fish and seafood may be thawed
completely, or just enough to separate
the pieces. Thaw unopened in the refrig­erator.
One pound of seafood requires
eight to ten hours of refrigerator thaw­ing.
When cooking fish from a partially
frozen state, allow a longer cooking time
and cook at lower temperatures. If fish is
completely thawed, cook as fresh ... and
cook immediately.
4. Package properly in approved wrap. Store
in coldest part of freezer.
33
34
Dairy Products
All dairy products sold in wax-coated
cartons may be stored in your Time Bank
without additional freezer wrappings.
This includes butter and margarine.
Homogenized milk in waxed cartons may
be frozen for use within a month. Non-fat
homogenized milk and fortified milk
freeze well, but should be used within
two weeks.
Rich, heavy cream (40% butterfat or
more) freezes well for cooking or for use
in making ice cream, but it doesn't whip
well after freezing. However, pre­whipped
cream can be frozen in individ­ual
portions for use as dessert toppings.
Whip the cream to the desired consis­tency,
using sugar as usual. Arrange in­dividual-
size servings on a cookie sheet
and freeze unwrapped. After they are
solidly frozen, package in polyethylene
bags, and store in your Time Bank for
future use.
For whipped cream pie topping, prepare
the pie and cream topping as though you
were going to serve them immediately.
Allow to freeze, uncovered, until solid.
Package in a polyethylene bag for Time
Bank storage.
Freeze "store-bought" ice creams in their
original cartons. Homemade ice creams
shoul<;i be packed in cartons or lidded
plastic containers. Freeze at once.
Some cheeses freeze extremely well ...
others don't; see the storage chart on
page 11 for those that do. Hard cheeses
get crumbly when thawing time is too
long, so freeze sections of cheese no
larger than Y2 pound to the package in
order to cut thawing time as short as
possible. Wrap cheese tightly in freezer
wrap, using the drugstore fold. To thaw,
allow cheese to remain in the unopened
package in the refrigerator until thawing
is complete. For best flavor when served,
hold cheese at room temperature several
hours after thawing.
thawing
All dairy products should be thawed in
the refrigerator to guarantee uniform
thawing and the least possible standing
at room temperature before serving. All
dairy products except ice creams and in­dividual
whipped cream toppings should
be completely thawed before using.
eggs
Never freeze eggs in the shell; freezing
expands the egg and cracks the shell,
leaving the egg itself literally open to
bacteria and oxygen action. Eggs should
be frozen in single-use amounts ...
enough for one meal, one pie, etc. NEVER
RE-FREEZE EGGS! They can be frozen
whole, i.e., with yolks and whites mixed
... yolks only ... or whites only. Egg
whites which have been frozen whip just
as satisfactorily after thawing as fresh
egg whites, and may be used in angel
food cake as well as all other recipes
calling for beaten egg white.
DO NOT FREEZE HARD-COOKED EGGS:
the whites get tough and rubbery when frozen.
Freezing and thawing eggs
Type Preparation Packaging and Freezing Thawing and Serving
WHOLE EGGS ... for
scrambled eggs, om­elets,
and souffles
For cakes, or
sweet dishes
Individual eggs
for poaching or
frying
EGG YOLKS
EGG WHITES
Break eggs one at a
time into a cup. Exam­ine
each carefully and
remove any bits of shell.
Combine desired num­ber
of eggs in a bowl
and mix slightly with a
fork. Add 1 tsp. of salt
per 10 eggs (about 2
cups) to keep yolks from
coagulating.
Prepare eggs as above,
except add 1 Tbsp.
sugar, syrup, or honey
per 10 eggs, to keep
yolks from coagulating.
Prepare eggs as for
scrambling .
Prepare as whole eggs,
but add 1 tsp. of salt
and 2 Tbsp. sugar,
syrup, or honey per cup
of yolks.
Freeze as is. No addi­tional
ingredient neces­sary.
Package desired
amount in Coldspot
containers, leaving Y2
inch for expansion.
Package desired
amount in Coldspot
containers, leaving Y2
inch for expansion.
Pour into ice-cube tray;
freeze; remove from tray
and wrap individually in
moisture -vapor- proof
paper and pack in a
waxed carton . Return
eggs to the freezer.
Package as whole eggs.
Package desired
amount as whole eggs.
Thaw in unopened con­tainer
on refrigerator
shelf or at room tem­perature.
Use promptly.
Allow 2Y2 Tbsp. for
each whole egg called
for in recipe. Adjust
seasoning to allow for
salt added in freezing.
Thaw eggs as above,
adjusting recipe to al­low
for the sugar, syrup
or honey used in freez­ing.
Eggs may be used from
the frozen state. Re­move
wrap, place in
water or fat over low
heat and allow a little
extra time to cook.
Thaw and use as whole
eggs. One tablespoon
of thawed yolk equals
one fresh yolk.
Thaw as whole eggs.
Allow 1 Y2 Tbsp. of
thawed egg white for
each egg white called
for in the recipe.
35
36
Bread and Pastry
Practically all "baked goods" can be suc­cessfully
frozen. Some require pre-baking
before freezing; others can be stored in
your Time Bank either baked or unbaked.
yeast breads
Prepare recipe as usual, bake and cool.
(Do not freeze unbaked yeast dough.)
Freeze unwrapped until solid to avoid
"sticking"; then package in polyethylene
bag for Time Bank storage. To thaw, let
stand about half an hour at room temper­ature
in the unopened freezer wrap. To
serve warm, take frozen loaf from the
Time Bank and remove wrappings, then
put the loaf on a cookie sheet and brush
the top with butter or margarine. Heat in
a 350-degree oven for about twenty min­utes.
quick breads
Date-nut and fruit loaves, muffins, pop­overs,
etc., freeze beautifully and provide
a delicious variety of breads "on call" in
your Time Bank. Prepare the recipe and
bake. Cool. Freeze unwrapped until solid.
Then place in polyethylene bags for stor­age.
PIES
Custard pies do not freeze well ... it's
wiser to bake and serve them "fresh."
Chess and pecan pies should always be
baked before freezing. Unbaked fruit pies
freeze better than baked ones. Use tapi­oca
for thickening instead of cornstarch,
so that soaking is cut to a minimum.
baked
Prepare recipe, bake and cool. Package
in freezer paper or polyethylene bag, and
freeze. To thaw, let stand unopened at
room temperature. When thawed, remove
wrappings and heat in 350-degree oven
for about 20 minutes.
unbaked
Prepare recipe and freeze unwrapped in
pie plate. If it is a fruit pie with a double
crust, do not slit top crust. Package in
polyethylene bag for storage. To thaw,
remove wrappings and slit top crust.
Brush top with milk or egg white. Bake
in 450-degree oven until brown (about
25 minutes), then reduce heat to 350 de­grees
until pie is done. The center of the
top crust puffs up when the pie is heated
through.
unbaked pie crust
Prepare crust as usual and roll out about
two inches larger than the tin you will
use to bake it in. Stack rolled crusts on
cookie sheet with two layers of waxed
~. ~ :. ;;------
• • I
.. '
paper between and freeze. Package in a
polyethylene bag for storage. To use, let
crust stand at room temperature for five
or ten minutes. When thawed enough to
handle, shape into pie tin and use as fresh
dough. If crust is baked unfilled, be sure
to prick thoroughly with a fork ... pie
crust puffs up more than usual after
freezing.
CAKES
Baked cakes freeze very well and retain
excellent flavor and texture. Cakes may
be frozen either plain or iced. Egg white
frostings don't hold up during freezing,
but butter, fudge and penuche icings
freeze beautifully. DO NOT STORE UN­BAKED
CAKE BATTER. Don't freeze
soft fillings in baked cakes either; they
make the cake soggy when thawed. If
you'll want to use cream or custard fill­ings,
freeze the baked layers only-and
then make filling fresh later while the
cake layers are thawing.
un-iced cakes
Prepare recipe, bake and cool. Store in
polyethylene bag. To thaw, let stand in
wrappings at room temperature for about
an hour; or about ten minutes, un­wrapped,
in a 300-degree oven.
iced cakes
Prepare recipe as usual. Bake, and cool.
Frost with preferred icing and freeze un­wrapped
until solidly frozen. Store in
polyethylene bag. To thaw, remove
freezer wrap and thaw as for un-iced
cake. Loaf cakes, either iced or plain, will
thaw more slowly than layers. Iced cakes
thawed unwrapped sometimes collect
beads of moisture on the surface. After
removing from freezer wrap, cover with
plastic cake cover, or an inverted pan
deep enough so icing does not touch sur­face
of pan.
COOKIES
baked
All kinds of baked cookies may be frozen
successfully. Prepare recipe, bake and
cool. Package in lidded cartons or poly­ethylene
bags and freeze. For use, thaw
at room temperature and serve.
unbaked
All unbaked cookie dough may be han­dled
as refrigerator cookies, if desired.
Prepare recipe. Shape into rolls and wrap
with freezer paper, or package dough in
lidded cartons or containers. For use,
thaw completely in unopened package
at room temperature ... bake as fresh
made dough. Or slice Ys" thick from fro­zen
rolls and bake until golden brown.
38
Wild Game
Many states have strict laws about the
amount of game you can store. There are
also legal limits on the length of time wild
game may be kept on hand. Write your
State Conservation Office or Provincial
Government for details of these regula­tions.
There is more risk of spoilage with wild
game, which must be transported long
distances from origin to freezer, than
with foods that can be processed very
soon after purchase. If proper precau­tions
are taken, however, the taste of wild
game can brighten many an otherwise
routine meal.
GAME BIRDS should be frozen in the
same way as domestic poultry. Scald the
bird very soon after killing. Clean, dress
and cut for packaging. If it cannot be
froze·n immediately, keep chilled in a
refrigerator or on ice.
RABBITS AND OTHER SMALL GAME
should be frozen the same day they are
killed. Cool, skin and remove internal
organs. Wash very carefully. Cut into
pieces ready for cooking, wrap and seal
tightly, and freeze as soon as possible.
VENISON, MOOSE AND OTHER
LARGE GAME should be handled in the
same way as beef. Have game cut,
wrapped and frozen by a commercial
locker plant in your area.
shipping game
Game must be protected against heat dur­ing
transport between the hunting area
and your freezer. Birds should always be
cleaned before shipment. Game should be
shipped in a frozen condition whenever
possible. All game, frozen and wrapped
separately, should be packed in a carton
filled with dry ice. About twenty-five
pounds of dry ice to each seventy-five
pounds of game will keep it frozen for
approximately five days. After filling
carton with game and dry ice, close and
wrap generously with freezer paper. Seal
all exposed edges of paper with tape.
Place filled carton inside a slightly larger
one, and fill extra space (top, bottom and
sides) with insulating material ... crum­pled
newspaper will serve, if you have
nothing else. Seal outside carton tightly
and send package on its way as quickly
as possible. Upon arrival, open immedi­ately
and check packages to make sure
contents are solidly frozen. Store in
freezer immediately.
CAUTION: Be sure to wear gloves when han­dling
dry ice . . . it can severely burn un­protected
hands.
THE LAST WORD . ..
If you've read this book all the way
through, you know everything about us­ing
your Coldspot Time Bank. Consult the
book for reference as you take your first
steps into the exciting world of Freezer
Living. We've kept no "secrets" ... no
involved or highly technical procedures
are needed ... no specialized equipment
is required. It's precisely as simple, and
convenient, and fast as we've said it is.
We made sure of that by engineering your
Time Bank to be the most efficient, most
reliable, easiest-to-use household appli­ance
you can own.
The amount of savings returned on your
investment in your Coldspot Time Bank
will be entirely up to you. You'll do the
buying, and you'll prepare the food to be
frozen. The pleasure and convenience
your Time Bank will provide is also up
to you-as well as the total number of
leisure hours you store away. In order
to realize all the benefits of your freezer,
use it! Use it properly ... use it confi­dently
. .. and use it often. Day-to-day
living will take on an entirely new, pres­sure-
free ease with an ample supply of
. prepared foods stored away for use; the
sometimes hectic rush of meal deadlines
can be a thing of the past for you, starting
now.
Don't hesitate to experiment- with con­tainers,
with new dishes, with ways to
freeze. This is your Time Bank, to be used
as you wish. We've explained the definite
"don'ts"; and given you a start on the
"do's." You'll work out a lot of others for
yourself as time goes on. Try things. If
they don't work, forget them. If they do,
it's a new method . . . a new food ... a
new satisfaction for you. Try a little the
first time-go all out, once you know it
works. Every homemaker cooks as much
with her eyes and her nose as with her
hands; let them be your guide with Time
Bank foods exactly as they are with foods
that are new-from-the-store. Frozen food
is fresh food, held exactly as it was when
"new" until you're ready to use it.
Preparing foods for the freezer is as sim­ple
as we've told you here. Packaging
foods for your Time Bank really is as easy
and uncomplicated as we've explained.
Don't make it a complex job ... it doesn't
need to be. Your Coldspot Time Bank was
designed for one specific purpose-to
help you establish a more convenient,
more leisurely homemaking life. Enjoy it!
40
Bibliography
The following volumes and reference materials were consulted as
aids in the preparation of this book, and should be available from
your local library. Any of the materials, with the exception of gov­ernment
bulletins which do not list such information, are excellent
sources for tested recipes which keep beautifully in freezer stor­age,
and will help you fill your Coldspot Time Bank with hundreds
of leisure hours through the corning years.
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR FOOD FREEZER, by Marie Armstrong Essepoff
(Revised and Enlarged by Edwina Jackson)
Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York), 1961
THE COMPLETE BOOK OF HOME FREEZING (Revised Edition) by Hazel Meyer
J. B. Lippincott Company (Philadelphia & New York) , 1964
THE FANNIE FARMER COOKBOOK (Revised by Wilma Lord Perkins) 11th Edition
Little, Brown & Company (Boston, Toronto), 1965
THE FREEZE AND PLEASE HOME FREEZER COOKBOOK by June Roth
Frederick Fell, Inc. (New York), 1963
THE COMPLETE BOOK OF HOME FREEZING by Anne Seranne
Doubleday & Company, Inc., New. York, 1966
THE AMERICAN HER IT AGE COOKBOOK-Book Trade Distribution by
Simon & Schuster, Inc. (New York), 1964
U.S. Department of Agriculture Horne and Garden Bulletins:
#40-FREEZING COMBINATION MAIN DISHES
#10-HOME FREEZING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
#93-FREEZING MEAT AND FISH IN THE HOME
#70-HOME FREEZING OF POULTRY
The "personal" Refrigerator-Freezer,
designed for your personal touch
Rearrange the shelves to fit your food
-rearrange the doors to fit your
kitchen-add decorator door panels
to blend with new decorating schemes.
MODEL 07
• 21.4 Cubic Feet-Total Capacity
• Frostless Freezer stores 297 lbs. of food
• Automatic Ice Maker-an endless supply of ice
• Adjustable Spacemaster Shelves in both
Refrigerator and Freezer
PART NO. 579099 11/68 PRINTED IN U.S.A.