How to freeze your favourite foods with CHiQ

Are you getting the most out of your freezer? Is it saving you time on meal prep and keeping you stocked with nutrient-packed fruit and veg? Are you reaching for ready-made meals to reheat after a long day? If not, it’s time you learnt some cool new tricks to make your freezer your best friend in the kitchen.

The refrigeration experts at CHiQ are constantly evolving their kitchen appliances to simplify mealtimes, and the CHiQ 122L Vertical Hybrid Freezer is loaded with everything you need to add convenience to your set-up. With this upright freezer, you get space to store your big batch cook-ups, energy-efficient inverter cooling, sophisticated kitchen style, and six cooling and freezing modes for all of your food and drink needs.

To help you make your CHiQ freezer a valuable ally in the kitchen we sat down with Kate McHugh, founder of the app KitchenHand.io, which helps households reduce their food wastage. She has these fabulous tips for freezing food and making meal prep easier.

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“A hybrid fridge-freezer can change the way you entertain and prep meals day-to-day, allowing more flexibility than ever.” Peter Simic, The Good Guys Buyer – Refrigeration.

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Get Snappy

To quickly lock in food’s flavour and give it a longer shelf life, you’ll love the Fast Freeze function on your CHiQ 122L Vertical Hybrid Freezer. It makes it simple to snap-freeze your bounty because you can rapidly drop the temperature in the freezer at the press of a button. Better yet, CHiQ’s Frost Free tech means your food will freeze but your freezer walls will stay ice-free.

Switch It Up

Some days you want more freezer space for butcher bulk buys, but on others it’s fridge space you need for farmer’s market hauls. With the CHiQ 122L Vertical Hybrid Freezer you get what you need when you need it. Simply switch between six modes at the touch of a button on the digital display. Choose from:

• Freeze

• Soft Freeze

• Beverage

• Chill

• Fridge

• Cellar

“A hybrid fridge-freezer can change the way you entertain and prep meals day-to-day, allowing more flexibility than ever,” says Peter Simic, The Good Guys Buyer – Refrigeration. “Investing in a single appliance that can do the job of six is a no-brainer when it comes to setting up an efficient kitchen that changes with your family's needs.”

Stock Up

A fully stocked freezer is more economical to run because the cold air doesn’t need to circulate as much. If you have lots of empty space in yours, bulk buy items you’re bound to use like loaves of bread or chicken nuggets for the kids. The shelves, drawers and door storage in the CHiQ 122L Vertical Hybrid Freezer makes organising everything simple.

Become A Freezer Expert

“The freezer plays a crucial role in extending the shelf life and preserving the freshness of your perishable produce,” says kitchen waste warrior Kate McHugh. “Plus, with a little forward planning, you can turn your freezer into a treasure trove of convenient pre-made meals.”

Here’s how Kate recommends freezing your favourites…

Fruit

Simply rinse berries and grapes, and freeze them in a resealable bag. Fruits with a high water content, such as apples and stone fruit, should always be cut up before freezing. Better yet, consider stewing them before freezing, so they’re ready to thaw and add to your peach cobbler or apple pie.

Vegetables

Blanch vegetables before freezing them to preserve their colour, texture and nutritional value. Simply bring a pot of water to a boil and immerse the vegetables for a short period (usually 1–3 minutes, depending on the vegetable). Then, immediately transfer the vegetables to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, drain and portion them into freezer-safe containers. Voila!

Meat and Fish

The trick here is to package correctly to avoid freezer burn, caused by dehydration in the freezer. To do this, either wrap your proteins tightly in plastic wrap or aluminium foil, or place them in an airtight container. It’s important to remove as much air as possible from the packaging, as this reduces the amount of moisture that will evaporate from the food.

Baked goods

Cakes and pastries freeze surprisingly well. Just remember to slice cakes before you freeze them, then you only need to defrost what you’ll eat. Small pastries are best frozen separately so they don’t stick together.

Soups and stews

Meals you can prepare in large batches and freeze for later are the ultimate in convenience. Just be sure to let the soup or stew cool completely before freezing so that you don’t disrupt the temperature in your freezer.

Nuts

These are a great snack to keep on hand, but they can go rancid quickly if not stored properly. Freezing nuts is a great way to extend their shelf life. Just be sure to place the nuts in an airtight container, then they can be stored in the freezer for up to six months.

Keep it CHiQ

If you’ve found yourself researching, ’Is CHiQ a good brand’ or ‘Are CHiQ fridges any good’, it’s a resounding yes to both. Ticking the boxes for affordability, design, smart tech and efficiency, CHiQ appliances are the go-to for anyone looking to upgrade, or invest in something new.

Put the freeze on mealtime mayhem at your place and visit us in-store or online to shop the full range of CHiQ fridges and freezers. To help find your perfect-fit freezer, be sure to check out our handy Buying Guide to Freezers.