Eggs, Yogurt, and Other Kinds of Food You Should Never Freeze

Caroline Tien
·7 min read

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Whenever you make a big batch of something, you probably want to stick those extra servings right in the freezer. And while that’s great for some meals, other foods don’t fare quite as well (like eggs, yogurt, and some others). Sometimes the taste or texture takes a hit; in other cases it’s a full-fledged food safety issue—so you definitely want to know how a specific food or dish will react before you close the door.

This is important because you don’t want to take freezing off the table entirely. “Because it’s allowing us to store food at subzero temperatures, it really slows or completely stops the growth of bacteria in foods and therefore decreases the risk of foodborne illness,” Vincci Tsui, RD, a certified intuitive eating counselor based in Canada, tells SELF. Under the right circumstances, freezing can significantly extend the lifespan of your meal or specific ingredient, which can help prevent food waste and save you some serious cash. “In a refrigerator, you’re talking three to four days” before an item spoils, Darin Detwiler, PhD, a food safety expert and associate teaching professor at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies, tells SELF. Whereas “in most freezers, you’re talking three to four months for certain foods.” Simply thaw your dish, reheat it in the microwave, and it’ll essentially be as good as new.

That said, there are exceptions to that rule—and you’ll want to know what they are so your frozen leftovers don’t end up in your kitchen trash. To find out which ones should avoid the big chill, we asked several experts to share the foods that top their do-not-freeze list. Read on to learn more about eggs, yogurt, and six other kinds of foods you should never freeze.

1. Raw eggs…

Soda cans aren’t the only kind of item at risk of exploding in the freezer, according to Dr. Detwiler. Since shell eggs are liquid on the inside, he explains, they expand when they freeze, cracking and potentially creating “quite a mess.”

Unpleasant as it is to find your freezer littered with shards of broken shell and splotches of yolk, that isn’t necessarily the worst that could happen. Like raw meat and poultry, eggs can harbor salmonella bacteria, so an eggy explosion could put those bugs in contact with other items in the freezer. In short, a frozen egg isn’t only a cleanup hazard—it’s also “a contamination risk,” Dr. Detwiler says. Even if it doesn’t explode, it still won’t be all that usable: Frozen egg yolks have a thick, syrupy texture that prevents them from blending well with the whites or other ingredients, the USDA reports.

However, egg prices are sky-high right now (all thanks to bird flu), so we don’t blame you for wanting to freeze the ones you have on hand to preserve them for the long term. Just don’t freeze eggs whole. Instead, crack them and beat the yolk and whites together first. Plus, keep in mind that you can freeze liquid pasteurized eggs or egg substitutes for up to one year—as long as they’re unopened.

2. …and cooked eggs.

Similarly, cooked eggs (like scrambled or omelets) aren’t super freezer-friendly, but for different reasons, Tsui says. In this case, she says, freezing doesn’t pose health concerns, but it is “really going to affect the texture and the taste”—and not for the better. For instance, cooked egg whites become “soft, tough, rubbery, and spongy,” according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia. Products made from cooked egg may be affected as well, like egg salad, mayonnaise (which separates), meringues (which toughen and shrink), and some icings (which may turn frothy or sticky and weep).

3. Dairy

Freezing can cause a wide range of dairy products to separate, including soft cheeses like brie, ricotta, and cream cheese, according to Dr. Detwiler. (Cottage cheese, too, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.) On the other hand, hard and semihard cheeses—think cheddar, provolone, or Muenster—can be frozen, though not without some deterioration in quality, per the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Other dairy products that may be negatively affected by freezing include half-and-half; homemade eggnog; heavy whipping cream; whipped butter; milk-based sauces and gravies; cream and custard fillings (on their own or in pies); and cultured products like yogurt, buttermilk, and sour cream. That said, flavored yogurt may be more freezer-stable due to the added fruit and sugar, according to North Dakota State University.

And as for milk itself, it isn’t exempt from these freezing issues, either. You may notice that it has separated or turned grainy once it thaws. Thankfully, shaking or blending can help restore the original texture.

4. Fried foods

Unfortunately, that homemade fried chicken you stuck in the freezer to save for a rainy day will probably never be the same. When frozen, fried foods “lose their crispy magic and turn soggy,” Dr. Detwiler says—and that kind of defeats the whole purpose in the first place. Whether you’re dealing with calamari, corn fritters, beer-battered fish, or, hell, even a fried Oreo, it’s best to enjoy them the same day, when they’ve still got some crunch to spare.

5. Raw vegetables…

As tempted as you may be to get a marathon meal-prep veggie chopping session in the works, you may want to limit it to stuff you can actually use within the next few days. That’s because foods that have a high water content don’t fare well in the freezer—they’re better kept in the fridge. This holds especially true for leafy greens like lettuce, cabbage, celery, parsley, radishes, tomatoes, and cucumbers, according to Tsui. Due to the cold temps, “the [inner] water crystals will solidify and expand,” Dr. Detwiler explains, compromising the whole structure of the item and leaching it of any crunch or crispness. Basically, “they’ll just kind of become soggy and mushy,” Tsui says. Or, in Dr. Detwiler’s words: “A watery, limp mess.” (If you’re wondering why the bagged veggies you buy frozen don’t have this issue, it’s because most of them are blanched first.)

In some cases, marinating or cooking can solve this problem. Cabbage and cucumbers freeze okay as marinated “freezer slaw” or “freezer pickles,” respectively. Cabbage, celery, and tomatoes can be frozen in soups or casseroles. Meanwhile, whole potatoes or potato chunks can be mashed or twice-baked.

6. …and fruits.

For the same reason, you can expect some of your fruity faves to follow that playbook as well. Watermelon is one, as are grapes, apples, oranges, clementines, and other citrus varieties. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you can turn leftover or aging fruit into jam rather than freeze it to avoid that decline in quality. (Just make sure you don’t use a recipe that calls for gelatin, because that ingredient tends to weep.)

7. Pasta

If your eyeballed serving of noodles turns out to be a little too much pasta after it boils, you probably should plan on eating the rest within the next couple of days. That’s because rotini, ravioli, rigatoni, and their ilk will suffer a similar fate in the freezer as the veggies above, according to Tsui. “As it thaws, the starches break down even more and absorb more of the water that's remaining,” she says. Ultimately, this will result in “really mushy pasta”—a fate we wouldn’t wish on our worst enemy. Even macaroni salad won’t survive the freezer unscathed.

Your best way around this problem is the ol’ cooking solution. Like cabbage, celery, and tomatoes, pasta can be better frozen as an ingredient in a cooked dish. Think: lasagna, turkey tetrazzini, and tuna casserole. That way, the sauce and all the other good stuff “help preserve the original texture of the dish,” Tsui says.

8. Heavily seasoned food

Last but not least, you’ll want to avoid freezing meals that contain a lot of certain spices and seasonings: The cold temps can throw off the taste in a big way. Onion and paprika are two examples, but there’s way more, too, per the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Curry can develop a musty tang, while celery seasonings may become more potent. Sage, cloves, garlic, pepper, green pepper, imitation vanilla, and some herbs tend to take on a strong, bitter flavor. (On the other hand, herbs like mint, dill, chives, basil, parsley, tarragon, and lemon balm freeze well.) So season food lightly before freezing—simply add additional flavoring when reheating or serving.

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Originally Appeared on Self

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