Salvaging Accidentally Frozen Foods

Technology is a fickle thing; refrigerators are no exception. Sometimes when trying to keep all the food in the fridge chilled, the temperature doesn't get dispersed evenly and then you might be in for trouble.
More than once, my fridge has managed to freeze foods that I hadn't intended to freeze, leading me to shake my head in disbelief at all the potentially ruined good. Once foods have been frozen, they will rarely be the same again.

The Science Behind Freezer Ruined Foods

I'm not big into writing science on my blog, because, from what I see, people are less interested in the hows and the whys of things than in the fact that their expensive food just got ruined, but in this case, a little biology and chemistry will help you understand that that food doesn't need to go into the garbage.

When water freezes, because of its unique molecular structure, it expands. All living things are made up of cells, each consisting of a cellular wall and cytoplasm, among other things. Cytoplasm is water based, so when things comprised of cells get frozen, the cytoplasm expands and ruptures the cell walls, much like what happens when you put a glass bottle of water in the freezer- it bursts.
Since vegetables and fruit are built up of cells, when they've been frozen and their cell membranes rupture, they end up with a distinctly different texture. In essence, they loose their crispness and wilt.

When raw vegetables get frozen, either accidentally or on purpose, they will never be as they originally were. Cucumbers will become soggy, lettuce will become wilty, and carrots will become soft.

Salvaging Accidentally Frozen Foods

Some vegetables are often sold frozen. If they're sold that way, you can rest assured that your food won't be ruined by having been frozen. Examples of commonly frozen veggies and fruit are:

• Corn
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Green beans
• Peas
• Broccoli
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Onions
• Celery

If these foods, or any of their ilk, become frozen by a malfunctioning fridge, just pretend that you bought them frozen and leave it at that.

Basically he consistency of a frozen raw vegetable will usually be similar to that of a cooked vegetable.

To salvage an accidentally frozen vegetable, if you use it in a cooked dish, most of the time no one will know.

• Use frozen peppers in ratatouille or tomato sauce or stuff them as you would fresh peppers.
• Frozen cabbage works well in soup and stuffed cabbage.
• Frozen zucchini works well in casseroles, soups, and sauces.
• Frozen tomatoes work well in sauces and soups.

Some vegetables, like cucumbers and lettuce, are usually eaten raw. How can you salvage that?

• Cucumbers can be cooked! When cooked, their texture is similar to that of pickles- slightly wilted. There are many cooked cucumber recipes out there. Frozen cucumbers can be used in all of them without a problem. With my last batch of accidentally frozen cucumbers, I made an absolutely divine cucumber and lentil curry. You may be skeptical at first about cooked cucumbers, but they're really good- I assure you!
• Lettuce can also be cooked! If your lettuce gets wilted in the fridge, don't worry- it is still usable. Frozen lettuce (romaine) taste remarkably similar to spinach and can be used interchangeably in recipes.

Other foods that come to mind that slightly change their properties once frozen are milk and blended soups and gravies. 

• Frozen milk may start separating slightly. This isn't the hugest deal and most of the time it is barely noticeable. If your milk has been changed because of freezing, use your milk to make yogurt or ricotta cheese or other recipes that involve separating curds from whey, as you're part way there already. Alternatively, use this milk in pancakes or other baked goods.
• Blended thick soups and gravy often separate into solids and liquids when frozen. The quick way to salvage this is to just blend it again once defrosted and it'll be back to normal.

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Some foods that aren't fixable once frozen. Potatoes, kohlrabi, and turnips end up with very unappetizing textures once frozen. Cooking, unfortunately, doesn't fix this. In cases like this, simply chuck the whole thing into a pan of water, bring to a boil and then strain once cooked. This way you'll still be able to retain the flavor and the nutrients from the food that you still find too gross to eat.

Does your refrigerator ever freeze some of your foods? What do you do then? Do you toss the food, fix the food, or do something else? 

What foods have you discovered do not survive a freezing?