I am replacing plastic containers with Pyrex Glass. I have learned that washing plastic containers in the dishwasher or placing plastic containers in the microwave, causes a carcinogenic reaction. Now I have to retrain myself with freezing. Can I find a good and safe freezer paper?
Many thanks for helping me.
Jean & Marcia, Thank you for your good ideas.
Marcia, have you seen the metal brownie tray that has a metal "ice cube" type divider so that the brownies can come out already cut. This might be helpful for you.
The traditional freezing paper is "waxed paper". Often, one wraps the product in waxed paper then gives the product another wrap in either butcher paper, freezer paper, or foil. I remember the old butcher paper to be something like brown mailing wrap; but it also came in white. Freezer paper used to have one side coated in wax but now, I think the wax has been replaced with plastic. Again, it came in brown with a lesser coating of wax and cheaper; and then also in white with thicker paper and a thicker wax coating. (Some folks used paper grocery bags and string. Definitely NOT a good idea as most are now pesticided to keep down bug infestations.)
Waxed paper of today is not what it was when I was a kid. It is MUCH thinner with MUCH less wax. If you use it, double it up.
Before the plastic freezing containers, which were expensive and often sold at Tupperware parties, plastic bags were what we used. Often, we used "freezing bags" which were probably the same plastic as "baggies" but in a thicker mill and in larger range of sizes. I understand that there is more than one type of plastic and contamination concern. We often washed/rinsed the bags out, turned them inside out, dried them, and re-used them until they couldn’t any more. And, the thrifty person saved their bread bags all year long for the summer freezing season. But, I don’t know much about plastic bags let alone what appear to be plastic bags made out of different plastics. I do know that bread bags in the past, supposedly taken care of by now, had bad things in the paint/print on the outsides of them. On the other hand, properly filled and stacked bags freeze the product quicker and faster; then with proper stacking onto the non-freezing shelf can take up less space than the containers.
I haven’t particularly solved the freezing dilema myself. But, I have solved, I think, one aspect of it. What I used to do: is take left overs, batches of cooked beans, and sauce based items; put them in a soft margarine/cottage cheese type container; freeze them; pop them out of the container like an ice cube; then stuff them down a bread bag seperated by two pieces of waxed paper. Loaf goods I pre-sliced, seperated the slices with waxed paper, and stuffed down a bread bag. The bread bags stack in the freezer nicely. Now, I have some Pyrex bowls that I lightly coat with either water or oil (depends upon the product) for freezing then I use warm/hot water to get my cubes out. I’ve still been using the bread bags (I can get bagel bags without printing on the bag) but completely wrap each cube in waxed paper. – I use the old fashioned "Cut-Rite" which is coated in paraphin wax; I’m sure its not ideal but it’s certainly had less bad press.
In the "summer seasonal" department in some of our stores, we are getting "nylon" dishware. I haven’t actually bought any. But, it may be more body friendly. However, I’ve used the microwave as my tester for years. I heat up some canned chili containing a heavy dose of fat, some beef, tomato, and ???. If the chili leaves a stain, or worse yet a rough/pebbly surface, then that plastic type item is out; the very worse is that it melts. I’ve been waiting to hear something more about some of the silicone baking containers of various types too. Although expensive, if they were safe they could be used for freezing the products that lend themselves to becoming cubes; and they would be a LOT easier than glass when de-panning. I just wish I could find some of the old fashioned, metal, ice cube trays; I think.
That is a good question and I will work on finding an answer (I could use some also). I have never seen it for sale in a health food store. I would also ditch the microwave. They do just what they say they do, NUKE food. When you eat anything (water included for you guys that just make tea and coffee in them) that has been microwaved your body no longer recgonizes it as food and all your organs go to work to get rid of the invader. Microwaves are bad news.