Curry Recipes Online
Curry Chat => Lets Talk Curry => Topic started by: Vinda looo on January 24, 2007, 12:11 PM
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When you freeze your base sauce, then take it out to use. Is it better to let it defrost then heat or heat up from frozen, or does it make not make any difference.
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Hi,
From a personal opinion i would let it de-frost first.
Of course we dont freeze it but that is what i would do
Regards
Andy
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Usualy I get some sauce out at the same time as chicken breasts that are frozen so it actualy defrosts before being heated. On occasion I have heated it up from frozen in a pan over a gentle heat and in all honesty I coudn't tell a difference.
cK
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It mat not apply to base, which is very mild anyway; but it does apply to the completed dishes. It is the water that does the damage because it freezes quickly and damages the spices and the consistency. You also tend to get more separation in the sauce. So my advice (and I label all my stuff likewise) for what its worth is to let it defrost naturally in the fridge overnight, and warm it up very slowly on lowest heat, stirring occasionally, until you reach a minimum of 80 degrees C or piping hot as they say.
CP
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Thanks for that advice. Ive been taking it straight out the freezer and putting it straight in the microwave 5 mins its done.
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Always use the base hot and you should also reblend the sauce after freezing to get the same texture back
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sorry if this has been covered before , :-[
I have used a frozen batch of base gravy and reheated it to make a curry (and very nice it was too :P)
Can i now re freeze the rest of the curry or do i have to eat it now?
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Well I have, and been alright, but I wouldnt re freeze if the meat you put in your curry has previously been frozen. Other than that it should be ok, although it might affect the taste a bit.
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You can refreeze the final dish also, make sure you get it piping hot when reheated though
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Thanks for the replies, ill save some for next week :P
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Hi Bangra,
Strictly speaking, I'm pretty sure that it is best not to not re-freeze ANY food that has been previously frozen and fully thawed (outside of a fridge)....unless if was raw and subseqeuntly fully cooked. This goes for curry base too. Not only does the quality of the food deteriorate, but, more importantly, there is an increased health risk due to increased bacterial growth in the food.
Having said that, I do it all the time with curry base, as you describe, and so far I'm all right Jack...honest! :P Well, probably like you, I aint gonna waste a perfectly good curry now, am I! :P
Regards,
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When you freeze your base sauce, then take it out to use. Is it better to let it defrost then heat or heat up from frozen, or does it make not make any difference.
Hi Vindaloo,
Similar to CK - I usually take out curry base and chicken breasts and defrost them, at room temperature (defrosting in a fridge is best, but it takes forever!), for several hours, before use.
If I haven't planned ahead, I simply defrost them both in a microwave. Otherwise, I simply defrost the curry base, in pan, on low heat. I haven't really detected much of a difference (quality wise) either way.
Regards,
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Just been thinking more regards the cooling down and re heating. Here goes an example of what can happen.
boil your base sauce till its done
let it cool to blend
re heat/boil to cook through again
let it cool to put in freezer
de frost
then re heat again when ready for a curry
let curry cool if you want to freeze again
when ready to eat
let thaw out
then re heat again
and finally eat.
It seems to me that you must lose an awful lot of taste if doing this procedure which I have done myself, but it just goes to show how many times you could re heat, thaw, cool, freeze. It must have some effect on the final dish.
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I don't know if it's true
but Pat Chapman's chinese cook book mentions a stock that has been going for about fifty years
Imagine the responsibility of that!
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And didnt it get flown over from China to England when the family moved?
Great story, whether you like PC's recipes or not the books are a good read.