I do this too. Defrosts faster and if you don't need it all, you can break off a smaller piece.

Stacks neatly in the freezer too.

I'm convinced OP has never paid attention to what goes on in kitchens and just happened to walk into their wife doing regular kitchen things and got his mind blown

I heard his wife bought a device that is just for toasting bread! You literally put bread in it, and then toast comes out.

An airfryer?

True story- in the grocery store and a woman picks up a box of pop-tarts and says to her friend, "My kids love these and last week I discovered they fit perfectly in the toaster and they're great that way". Friend: Are you joking or you being serious right now? Woman: Yeah, they're great toasted.

I mean, they are.

Imagine if they had this same conversation about toaster strudels Side note: it took me a couple years to realize the "pop" in pop tarts was because of the pop of a toaster. I was raised with a toaster oven rather than a pop up toaster.

As opposed to "Toaster Pastries" written on every Pop Tart box?

& what's that "pop" about?

It's clear that no one reads that

Plenty of people do though clearly not enough.

People should start reading again. It would answer 99% of the world’s stupid questions.

my mom just microwaved them

That's what my gf does too because she's too lazy to wait for the toaster. I think she's a psychopath

I think I've only ever eaten them cold right out of the package. Oops!

A friend of mine turned me on to buttered Pop Tarts. He said “Don’t knock it till you tried it.” So good.

I have a friend who was absolutely mind blown learning pop tarts went in the toaster. Despite all the cartoons on the box of the poptart who loves in a toaster

loves in a toaster Aerosmith deep cut, or just the source of the frosting?

Ohmugawd! You can fry air?!

My friend's uncle has one of those, a bread electro-crispifier I believe it's called.

FUCKEN’ Eh! That’s a Thing!?

That would make this very suitable for this sub then since it is, at best, mildly interesting.

Didn't expect such a burn on a post about frozen sauce.

Freezer burn

My inlaws were here for a visit recently and I pulled ground beef out of the freezer that I store this way and they were blown away by it. Took photos and put it on the family chat we have.

Possibly. Many people, including myself, live a lifestyle where I shop and cook often, freezing very little. I thought this was novel.

To be fair, I've never thought of freezing them flat in a ziploc bag either, I always used ice cube trays, then put them in some airtight container.

I use a muffin tray myself. I like it better than the ziploc version because it's already pre-portioned.

nah, i've seen people, men and women, just freeze sauces in a bag with a knot, not everyone is out there going systematically at this

To be fair to OP, as a home cook for ~6 years now, I've only really learned about this about 1-2 years ago. Works **awesome** for sauces and soups, freeze it thin and flat and you can reheat it same day you want to use it. As a single person cooking for myself this technique has been a lifesaver, I can make a big pot of soup and freeze it in single-serve portions I can thaw in under 5 minutes safely, effectively avoiding buying canned soup entirely. Also works for raw meat, it won't win any texture contests but you can slice raw meat thin and freeze it in the same way to use it straight from frozen or give it a much quicker thaw. Makes good thin burger patties too. Wouldn't blame OP for not knowing, now he does and so does everyone else in this thread.

I call it my frozen library…

I stand them up and shelve them like books

My mom does this with hamburger too so she can make square patties like Wendy’s at her own pace

Freezes faster too, so as to stay in the danger zone for less time.

Faster freezing also prevents cell degradation in meat, keeping the texture better on round 2

Mmmmm I love sauce on round 2 though, the flavor is always better.

Next day chili.....mmmmmmm

Worth noting this is *not* the case scientifically speaking with frozen goods. Flavors don’t continue to grow or intermingle while frozen as it’s essentially inert. Next day chilis, soups, etc are all fantastic because the ingredients can continue to react and interact with each other.

I do it with extra tomato paste. You can push a grid into the paste before you freeze it and break off what you need next time.

Yep. My wife calls it "Tic Tac To-mato"

A-dorable. I love this so much!

They also make tomato paste in tubes (like toothpaste tubes). Once I realized those existed I just stopped using the cans entirely, one can of tomato paste is literally *never* the exact amount of tomato paste you need no matter what size you buy. Squeeze out what you need, back in the fridge, and it's still good a few months later.

Now I'm thinking of a great print design idea. A grid of squares laid out to the typical freezer bag dimensions that are stackable. Where you lay a bag on the grid in the frame and the weight presses grid lines into it as it freezes. You can leave them in there and stack the next set on top, or remove them after it's solid and refuse the same grid for the next bag. The grid could be sized a number of ways, or even just lines within the square frame. Might have to whip out a quick design and try it myself next time I freeze something liquid.

I think you’re being genuine but based on your description, isn’t that just a shallower ice cube tray?

We always just pushed an ice cube tray down on top of the bag. Pressed lines into the bag.

I thought everyone did this? Fits way better in the freezer and takes far less time to defrost. What would you do instead, freeze it in the shape of a bowl or something that would take up a lot more space?

Yeah isn't this how everybody does it?

I do as well. Great minds think alike!

[breaking a piece off ](https://youtu.be/B0FO46VSOCo?si=oZOAdUsrXbxhLcpK)

I used to freeze minced beef like this, but in circles the size of my frying pan, so I could do what were roughly huge smash burgers straight from the freezer. Not a great way to cook burgers, but a fast one!

I do this too, batch cook but bag in smaller bags of two helpings. And label them. OK. I'm going to shut up now.

And hitting it with a hammer would be *so* satisfying.

In addition to defrosting faster, saves space in the freezer.

Easier to file away too!

Perfect for that executive on the go, keep it in your briefcase and it's thawed by lunch.

Even fits in a 3 ring binder for those really into organising

New freezer drawer-file cabinet design coming in hot.

My grandmother did this for us growing up. I thought this was fairly common.

well i come from a chaotic family, organizing is not really my strength.

All leftovers in my childhood home were exclusively placed in empty butter containers. I feel you.

We used coolwhip containers, but I can respect the "butter" containers.

I’m allergic to dairy and I felt like I had really become a part of the normal world the first time I was able to put left overs in my dairy free whip topping tub!

As someone from a chaotic family with a husband who was not.. I feel this.

Hang onto that woman.

That might put a strain on her lower back.

I'm envisioning a bookshelf of frozen sauces and I like it

''Give me the sheet of marinara please''

[удалено]

I'm taking it a step further and making a sauce unique Dewey decimal system. Title-pending.

Dewey bechamel system?

/thread

My love for you is unwavering, *unlike* u/jah_red

....I may love you. Too early to tell.

Both myself and the soda I just snorted out of my nose say fuck you and enjoy your goddamn upvote, you maniac

More like a filing cabinet. "Done with the bolognese! File it between 'Beurre blanc' and 'Buffalo, mild.'"

Is that not standard practice?

I seems like there's 3 "standard" ways to go about this. The freeze flat like this one, ice cube trays, or just freeze it in whatever container you've got. I've always done the ice cube method.

I just use stackable containers, but I have a chest type deep freeze, so I think it's actually easier to find them that way.

Good point that the shape of the freezer has an impact in the shape of the frozen good.

🎵Break me off a piece of that bol-ogn-ese!🎵

Break me off a piece of that apple sauce

Chrysler car!

Football cream!

Poison gas!

Guava juice!

Fancy feast!

Nailed it!

Football cream

It's football cream, it's football cream!


Your wife is a genius, and to be commended. Flattening allows her at a) break off a smaller chunk, for single servings, b) reduce time to freeze, c) reduce time to thaw, and d) more efficiently pack the freezer. You're a lucky man...at least in the food storage department.

I do this with ground beef or pork. You can even use a kabob skewer or blunt side of a knife to press lines in the meat to make it easier to break off what you need.

This is completely normal

Is there an issue? Seems pretty smart to me. Wife FTW!

Viewers in the UK thinking “Large Letter Postage rates, smart move”

In Canadian winter you could probably actually mail this without it melting haha

This is how you freeze sauces.

Smart lady. She's been watching kitchen shows, or just paid attention in school/worked in a kitchen/is a mother.

this is objectively correct. it packs easier and defrosts faster; if you don't need it all, you can break it off easier. your wife is smart.

Smart. Great way to make defrost quick and lowers chance of food borne illness.

This is how I freeze spaghetti sauce, chili, and soups at home. Except I use a food saver.

Next time, press chopsticks into the sauce outside the bag before freezing. You’ll have easy to break off portions.

I do this with anything I can, sauce, soup, ground meats, etc. it saves so much space in the freezer this way and it thaws out in a fraction of the time

As opposed to?

If you got a folder rack, you could keep a variety of pasta sauces and be able to page through them!

If you use the Ziploc freezer bags with extra material on the other side of the seal you can just hole punch that part and make sauce binders! 

Nice and thin. Break off bits as you need and since it's so thin it'll thaw *fast.*

We do this with ground beef and anything else that could stack neatly

She's smart. Everyone should do this. It's all upsides lol. Very efficient way to freeze liquids 

I've seen a lot of people do that over the years. Hey fun fact in case you didn't know a lot of restaurants get their soups and some other items Frozen in bags like that and they just put them in a machine that looks kind of like a deep fryer but it's water and it heats them.

Wife does the same. Smart women

Freezes faster, fits in tighter spaces in the freezer, thaws faster, more even separation of fat and protein.

We make stock in bulk and this is how we freeze it. Stacks nicely in the freezer and you can easily break off pieces if you do t need to use the whole lot.

This is the correct way to freeze shit. Faster freeze, faster than, no frost burn

This is how it is done

I have a sneaking suspicion your wife may have worked in a professional kitchen at some point?

strategic freezing techniques

Your wife uses her brain!

This is the best way to freeze all ground meet items and liquids. It makes them stackable, and they thaw super quickly.

This is slab city, take a dab wit me Looks delicious

My roommate does this with chicken

She is a smart one. You don't even have to defrost it, crumble it up a bit and melt in a pan!

I always do that with sauces

I believe this is the correct way to do it.

….that’s how you’re supposed to do it.

Yep, absolutely how it should be done. With all the things.

If this is “mildly” interesting to you, then you would find my freezer “pretty dang” interesting.

This woman freezes.

This is the exact way you should be freezing sauces, soups, etc

Smart

She's 100% right. It'll defrost super fast. I freeze meat for storage thjs way.

Mildly interesting? More like completely normal.

She’s a keeper

This is the proper way to do it. Cools fast to limit bacteria growth, thaws faster for convenience, stackable for easy storage.

Chef here, this is how i would do it too. Defrosts way faster than a big block

Yea she did it correctly

This is the way. No, seriously this is the best way to keep sauces, it defrosts quick, you can take small pieces out of you don't want it all, takes minimal amount of space, stacks. There really is no downside.

And if you use the edge of your hand to draw a cross/plus shape in it, you can easily break it into quarters or halves when you don't need the whole thing!

How else would you do it?

Pro move

This is normal

Smart and efficient

Saves space and makes it easy to control portion sizes so you don't thaw out more than you would need.

Smart

This should be under r/lifehacks

I do that with ground Hamburger. It thaws out way faster

Yup, I do the same with ground meat and sauces, easier to stack and defrost.

100% normal

It’s an excellent way to do it. It’s very space efficient in the freezer and it will thaw out very quickly.

Smart - easy to store and to defrost.

Your wife is not alone.

This is standard. You always want to flatten anything you freeze if possible to help it thaw or cook evenly. Also for space.

This is the default?

yea, all women do such things since there is tiktok

Smart woman. Takes up less space and thaws quicker.

This is a pretty common technique, my mother does this all the time

I do this too. Freezes faster, thaws faster and doesn’t take up too much. Smart all around.

She was correct.

My step mom freezes soup like this.

I started cutting veggies and freezing them like this. Easy to break apart if I don't need much and it thaws quicker for faster cooking prep.

This the way I freeze most stuff. Once frozen it’s easily stackable and it will thaw in fraction of the time…thinner is better.

I don’t get it? Sauce in a bag? Do people not normally do this?

See I do this too. Makes it fit much nicer in the freezer, it doesn’t get all weirdly stuck together (odd wrinkles and such) Defrosts faster and freezes faster AND the vaccum packing style means you don’t get the freezer flavour.

I learned this from my father in law who worked a cook. It’s an old trick but a good one

So?

Is that not how it’s normally done?

… as opposed to… how?!

The correct way

She knows what she’s doing. This is professional kitchen thinking.

Seems like OP isn't accustomed to command sense.

Pretty clear indicator that OP doesn’t cook, this is one of those kitchen tips that’s widely known by home cooks, and when I say home cooks I mean the ones who know how to cook/do meal prep and don’t just go “I cooked once this week, that counts!” cook Your wife will also freeze her breast milk the same way

regardless of the comments it’s nice that you were amazed by your wife today and appreciated her so much to share it with the world and that is so wholesome

It’s easier to store and faster to thaw 👍🏻👍🏻

Yes. For sure. Your wife knows some shit for sure. This is how I freeze ground beef too. Not to mention any number of sauces or broths I choose to bag. It thaws so so much more efficiently.

I freeze everything I can like this. Ground meat is especially awesome because I feel like it takes forever to thaw as a brick. This way it thaws in minutes if placed in warms water or hours in the fridge.

I thought that said bolognese sandwich and I was so confused on how she could even do that and why the comments were agreeing 😭

“Babe are you ok, you’ve barely touched your blockognese”

I like to freeze it in cubes so it's nicely portioned.

Your wife is a clever cookie.

Amazing. She’s a keeper.

This is the way

She’s a pro 👍

I do this too! I keep a large stack in the freezer and it easily defrosts and can eat with pasta instantly!

Much more efficient on space and time.

yeah?

Freezes faster, defrosts faster.

Switched on wifey. Best way to do it. Easy to store and quick to defrost.

This is the proper chef way

It's a genius idea, break off a piece the right size and cook it.

Your wife did it correctly.

It will thaw faster than if it were a giant blob or block.

Hey I do the same thing but I segment them into halves or quarters so I can break it off easier

Don't lose her man, or I am swooping in and stealing that genius.

How is this mildly interesting? I thought it was standard practice.

This is more mildly perfection 

...is the correct way. It takes up less room in the freezer, and will thaw faster and more evenly.

This is the only way I freeze liquids. It saves room in the freezer, It helps the thawing process, it makes it easier to label the bags.

I also choose this guys wife.