There are plenty of reasons to avoid freezing in plastic. Whether you’re trying to reduce plastic in your household or you’re worried about chemicals that could be leaching into your food, freezing in glass is an easy solution.
Freezing food is an important staple of a zero waste kitchen. You can freeze your veggie scraps for broth, freeze leftovers, do meal prep and freeze it…and so much more. The possibilities are endless and it can all be done using glass!
Here are some simple tips to keep this process easy and breakage-free.
1. Leave plenty of room for expansion.
When freezing liquids, a good rule of thumb is to leave 2 inches of space below the shoulders of the jar. This allows plenty of room for your broth or soup to expand. If using a wide mouth jar, leave 2 inches of space from the rim.
2. Avoid extreme temperature changes.
When freezing broth, I cool the broth first to room temperature before ladling it in. Then, I move the broth in the refrigerator for a few hours before moving it to the freezer. This ensures the temperature change doesn’t shock the glass jars, causing them to shatter. I thaw it in a similar way–I move the soup down to the refrigerator the day before I want to use it.
3. Use the right shaped jar.
Wide mouth jars are the most freezer friendly. The pressure between the shoulders of a too-full mason jar is often what causes breakage. Regular mason jars are still fine to use (just leave plenty of space). Never freeze in tall, narrow jars. This is a recipe for broken glass!
4. Leave space between jars.
Jars are more likely to break when touching during the freezing process. Avoid this by leaving space between jars. I’ve even heard of people putting clean socks around jars so that they can put them next to each other. Hey, whatever works!
5. Cap loosely (or not at all)!
Still a bit wary? Don’t tighten the cap all the way until your soup is completely frozen. Alternatively, leave the cap off until it’s frozen!
With these tips under your belt, you’re well on your way to successfully (and safely!) freezing your food in glass.
Let me know your experiences with or tips for freezing in glass in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
I just recently started freezing in jars so it was good to read your blog! I am sick of using plastic in the freezer because of the weird smells the bags give off. Your blog had some good tips And Iām excited to keep freezing in jars!
Yay! I was surprised to find how easy it is to freeze in jars. I’m glad the tips were helpful š
[…] I recently discovered you can freeze in glass! Another thing I thought I absolutely could not do without using plastic! If you’re new to freezing in glass, check out this shatter-proof guide here. […]