From Freezer to Table

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

Can you imagine a world without frozen food? I pondered this very question after recently finishing Mark Kurlanskey’s fascinating account of the frozen food pioneer, Clarence Birdseye. This book details an age where exploration and food preservation went hand in hand.

As inventor and explorer, Birdseye, while living in the arctic tundra, came across a technological breakthrough that allowed vegetables to be quickly frozen in their fresh state, thus preserving their integrity after thawing. He then applied his freezing process to preserving fish, using a bucket of brine and a fan, while working with the U.S. Fisheries Association.

Birdseye patented his quick freeze method and began selling quick-frozen fish filets in 1924 in Gloucester Mass. By 1928, Birdseye was able to quickly freeze many food items in commercial quantities and eventually sold his company to General Foods Corporation, in what was the beginning of the frozen food industry. Now it’s just part of a major global business.

So while no more than a hundred years ago, stocking your freezer with frozen veggies, fruits, and dinners was unheard of, nowadays home cooks have come to rely on the availability of "fresh frozen" (that is food frozen in its fresh state) items.

Depending on frozen items may not be the dream of the modern day foodie, with the growing interest in locally grown and produced foods. But back in the day, industrial, commercially prepared foods were revered over the food of family farms and wild local foods. By the mid-1950s frozen food had become a gigantic $50 billion industry, and became even bigger with the widespread marketing of an endless variety of frozen products and meals.

While I think home cooking beats frozen meals every time, I still have fond memories of those frozen dinners that came in a foil wrapped tin, complete with compartments for entrée, two sides, and dessert. My favorite was the fried chicken one; always a staple at our house on babysitter nights. Then there were the frozen home-style pot pies that came long before the days of the diet frozen entrees that are so prevalent today.

Although I try to stick to the perimeter aisles in the grocery store and as a general rule avoid processed and frozen meals, there are a few staples I can’t do without. Frozen veggies like peas and corn always live in my freezer. They are a great addition to soups, salads, and pastas. Another item that’s great to have on hand are edamame, which make a good healthy snack. To get dinner on the table quickly, I like to keep a bag of shrimp in the freezer for a quick sauté for stir-fry, risotto, or pasta.

Frozen veggies like peas, carrots, and pearl onions are the perfect addition to the aforementioned pot pie, which, along with being the ideal recipe to include frozen veggies, is also a great dish to make ahead for the freezer. It’s an easy family dinner to throw right from the freezer into the oven on a chilly fall night. Plus by making it at home you avoid all those icky additives, and the fresh taste may prevent you from ever buying store bought again.

Frozen fruit like mango, peaches, and blueberries make a great addition to a healthy homemade smoothie or oatmeal for breakfast. Or if you need to make an impromptu homemade dessert, frozen berries make a juicy base for homemade cobbler or fruit crisp. If you have a teething baby on hand frozen fruit in a baby safe mesh feeder almost always does the trick to soothe those aching gums.

So for all those times that we rely on staples from freezer, we can remember the spirit of curiosity and ingenuity of inventors like Birdseye. What are some of your favorite frozen food staples?

Serves/Makes: 6

***Crust***

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut up
• 1/4 cup cold water

***Filling***

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cream
• 3 tablespoons fresh herbs, such as thyme, rosemary and parsley, finely chopped
• 1 egg, BEATEN WITH
• 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)