9 Foods You Should Actually Store In The Freezer, According To Chefs

Vanilla Ice was onto something in 1990 when he rapped, “Ice, ice baby.”

The USDA confirms that nearly every food—except eggs in shells and canned foods—can be frozen. Still, that doesn’t mean that all foods and drinks should be frozen. Certain items like high-moisture content vegetables (we’re looking at you, lettuce), mayonnaise, cream sauces, and anything gelatin-based are definitely best to store in the fridge instead.

“Most food products are best stored in a refrigerator, but some unexpected items can also hold up really well in a freezer, especially if you’re aiming for longer preservation,” explains Jae Lee.

Ahead, Southern chefs dish about foods and drinks you’re probably storing at room temperature or in the refrigerator, but might want to switch to storing on ice.

Meet The Experts

• Jae Lee, executive chef at The Joule in Dallas, Texas

Freezer Storage Tips

Since it extends the life of perishable items by weeks to months, “freezer storage is an amazing way to reduce food waste,” explains Gangeri.

• How Long: So how long can you say “freeze” and keep items below 0° F? Use the USDA’s freezer storage chart as a guide. It lists the number of months major categories are “best by.” Frozen food remains safe “indefinitely,” according to the USDA; this timeline is just a matter of quality.

Lee recommends that home cooks treat their freezers like restaurant chefs handle their refrigerators. Follow the philosophy of “FIFO,” or “first in, first out.”

• First In, First Out: “This promotes the rotation of products by using the previously purchased items before the new ones,” Lee says. “A home freezer is not ideal for extremely long-term preservation because most modern freezers go through a daily defrost cycle to prevent the buildup of ice. The fluctuations in temperature can be detrimental to the shelf life of products. While you may not notice differences at first, if you keep an item in the freezer for several weeks or months, you will see visual changes in color, texture, and overall quality.”

• Watch for Freezer Burn: A freezer tends to dehydrate food over time, and foods that are not properly wrapped can fall victim to freezer burn.

• Proper Storage: “Use clear containers and vacuum-seal items, if possible, and label them with the date and the name of the product, so you know exactly what’s in your freezer and can rotate items to avoid spoilage. Freezing in portion sizes also makes defrosting easier and more efficient, ”Gangeri says.

Foods You Should Freeze

Whole Grains

Any grains that include the kernel are ideal to store in the freezer to extend their shelf-life and preserve their nutrition. This includes classic stone-ground Southern grits as well as whole grains like barley, farro, oats, and sorghum.

How Long: When stored properly in a vacuum-sealed vessel, zip-top bag, or airtight storage container, grains can typically be frozen for up to 1 year.

“The freezer reduces exposure to air, moisture, light, and heat, helping to extend their lifetime,” says Woods. (It can also keep the healthy fats in the germ of these grains from going rancid.)

Bread

Once you bake those grains into bread, it’s wise to store it in the freezer if you don’t anticipate that you can make it through the whole loaf in 2 to 4 days, per the USDA. While you could essentially put spoilage into slow-motion by refrigerating your bread (the USDA confirms that stretches its shelf- life to about 7 to 14 days), “the air pockets in bread help it freeze better than it does when refrigerated,” Lee says. “At cool temperatures, the starch molecules in bread crystallize, leading to a stale texture more quickly.”

How to: Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap, then vacuum seal or transfer it to a zip-top bag, pressing out as much air as possible.

How long: You can typically store bread—homemade, artisanal, or store-bought—for up to 3 months. Thaw it on the counter overnight or reheat it in the oven or toaster straight from frozen, Gangeri recommends.

Related: 7 Things You Shouldn’t Keep In Your Kitchen Cabinets

Nuts

Nuts contain even more of those healthy fats than grains, and storing your pecans, almonds, cashews, or otherwise at room temperature can allow those fats to go rancid far faster than most of us can make it through the common 8- to 16-ounce bags.

“Store nuts in the freezer to prevent their oils from going rancid,” Gangeri says. “The freezer halts the oxidation process that spoils oils in nuts. They can last up to 1 year or longer in the freezer, whereas they go stale faster in the fridge,” or at room temp.

How to: Vacuum-seal or store in a zip-top bag (again, press as much air out as possible and label with the date and name). When you’re ready to go nuts, there’s no need to thaw. Feel free to use them straight from the freezer.

Stocks and Sauces

Whether you’re preserving your summer basil bounty in pesto sauce or have quarts of turkey stock left after making the most of your Thanksgiving leftovers, your freezer is the ideal home for extra.

“Storing stocks and sauces in the freezer is an old chef’s trick. Liquids can hold up well as long as they are wrapped and sealed effectively. Producing stocks and sauces can take a lot of effort and time, so it would be a shame to waste them if there are leftovers,” Lee says.

How to: Transfer any liquids to an ice cube tray, freeze, then pop them out and place the cubes in a labeled zip-top bag. “These frozen blocks are full of flavor and can add the chef’s kiss to many dishes,” Lee says, and they can stay on ice and at the ready for up to 1 year. Alternatively, freeze sauces or stocks in larger freezer-safe containers. Just be sure to allow for room for expansion (in other words, don’t pack the liquid up to the top, as it will expand as it chills and eventually freezes).

Fresh Herbs

Not quite sure how you want to harness the power of the flavor and aroma of your herbs? No need to commit to an exact sauce in the moment. Instead, “freeze herbs in olive oil in ice cube trays,” Gangeri proposes. When stored in oil, fresh herbs retain their flavor—and don’t get wilted, brown, or spoil.

How to: Wash and chop any fresh herbs (we particularly like to preserve parsley, sage, basil, oregano, and rosemary this way), then place them in ice cube tray wells, filling each three-quarters of the way with chopped herbs. Add enough olive oil to cover the herbs, then freeze overnight. The next day, pop the cubes out of the tray and into a zip-top bag, then freeze for up to 1 year.

Stir a cube or two into a sauce, soup, or stew, melt one in a skillet before making scrambled eggs or sautéed vegetables, allow a couple cubes to melt in a jar at room temp and shake up a salad dressing, or warm one in a small bowl in the microwave to drizzle over popcorn or stir into cooked rice.

Brewed Coffee

Another form of cool cubes to keep on hand: coffee! Ideal for keeping everything from your Bourbon Espresso Martini to your iced coffee chilled, storing brewed coffee in the freezer is a brilliant way to ensure that a java fix is never more than moments away.

How to: To freeze brewed coffee, allow it to cool completely, then pour it into an ice cube tray. (For reference, each well holds 2 tablespoons.)

How long: Freeze for 4 hours or until completely solid, then remove the cubes from the tray, transfer them to a zip-top bag, label, and aim to use within 2 months.

Berries

Berry season is sweet, but it’s fleeting. And since blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and their peers tend to last up to 7 days in the fridge (if we’re lucky), freezer storage is a stellar solution to savor the season long and trim down on food waste.

“Freezing berries preserves their freshness, texture, and flavor,” Gangeri says, and means that your next batch of muffins, fruit smoothie, or fruit pie can feature peak season fruit even in the middle of winter.

How to: Store berries in a zip-top bag or airtight container for up to 6 months, then use them directly from frozen; no need to thaw. (Psst…These Bakeshop Blueberry Muffins and Mixed Berry Smoothies are two of our favorite vehicles for frozen berries.)

Hard Cheeses

While soft cheeses and other moisture-rich dairy products like sour cream don’t tend to freeze well, hard cheeses like Parmesan and cheddar can be frozen and thawed just fine. Rather than risking that they get moldy (which can easily happen after 3 to 4 weeks of opening, the USDA estimates), freeze your fromage.

How to: Vacuum-seal or wrap cheese in plastic wrap, then place your block(s) in a labeled zip-top bag.

How long: Freeze for up to 6 months, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using, Gangeri suggests.

Spirits

“High-proof spirits are a fun item to keep in your freezer. Concentrated alcohol will not freeze due to its lower freezing temperature, so it remains in liquid form at extremely cold temperatures,” Lee says.

There are no extensive prep steps required here. Simply place your bottle of vodka, rum, tequila—any spirit with more than 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) or 80 proof—in the freezer. A properly-sealed bottle of high-proof alcohol should last for more than a year, and you can pour it into a glass or cocktail shaker straight from the freezer; no ice required.

Keep in mind that the frigid temperatures can mute the flavor of your spirit, so if you have something like a high-quality bourbon that you want to taste and smell in its full glory, store the bottle at room temp.

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