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We've just made a load of sausages, which reminded me of a question I should have asked last year: What can we use instead of freezer bags?

Equally, this goes for any meat, fruit or veg we freeze. All ideas gratefully accepted in advance...

It's always a difficult one isn't it? I don't buy bread, or use plastic carrier bags. Although I do get mushrooms in plastic bags and save those. That doesn't amount to much.

My dilemma was solved by a cousin who apparently lives on takeaways. She gave me a carrier bag full of plastic trays and lids. Of course they don't last forever, but we've had them for a year now and still going strong.

I haven't worked out any, more permanent solution, that will cope with all the different things I might freeze - from veg and soups to sausages or ice cream.

I'll watch for any suggestions too.

I use the little plastic boxes you get with a takeaway. Although vaguely aware of some kind of plastic chemical leach which is a bit of a concern. hmmmmm. Can be any worse than a freezer bag?

I reuse any plastic bags I have managed to scrounge, and some ice cream tubs - but one of my favourite methods is for sauces or purees.

I freeze the liquid in a tub, then when frozen I turn it out, put it in the freezer, add a layer of paper, then stack frozen tub shapes one on top of the other, with some baking paper or the waxy paper from a cereal packet in between, so one tub freezes lots and lots, in portion sizes.

I also freeze soups and berry fruits like raspberries and blackberries into plastic bottles that are not being used in the garden as propagators (sp).

I have been freezing certain bits in the big glass coffee jars that instant coffee comes in - i get given most of them. With one brand the lid is glass too, apart from the rubbery plastic gromet. I let them defrost naturally without exposing them to hot water of course or they'd smash. I find it works well - i assume it's safer than using plastic which could leach into the food i guess. And i re-use and re-use until if for whatever reason i'm finished with them i then put them in for recycling.

Ooh, I'd been wondering about freezing things in glass jars.

I'd wondered if the glass would withstand freezing, so that answers part of the problem for me, thankyou

Jill, i haven't had a problem with it yet so fingers crossed it is fine to do it.

Excellent ideas. We use old ice cream tubs, too. And actually bought some tupperware a couple of years ago. I think the leaching chemicals from plastic is worse with bags, but have no evidence to back it up.

How about the meat issue, though? Sausages, bacon, mutton etc. Anyone any experience with newspaper?

Foodgrade plastic containers does it for me. Lasts long too.

devolutionary wrote:How about the meat issue, though? Sausages, bacon, mutton etc. Anyone any experience with newspaper?

It's actually often sausages that i freeze often in glass coffee jars and works very well for me.

Sorry, SE-isher. I wasn't paying attention to the largeness of your coffee jars.

shiela_robins wrote:Foodgrade plastic containers does it for me. Lasts long too.

Me too, I've got a whole enormous shelf full of plastic freezer containers. I also save marge tubs, after all if it was good enough for food to come in then it's good enough for food to be stored in it. I also use freezer bags again and again.

devolutionary wrote:
How about the meat issue, though? Sausages, bacon, mutton etc. Anyone any experience with newspaper?

I don't use newspaper because it goes so soggy when it defrosts - waxy paper or baking sheets are better as they don't dissolve as they get damp.

old takeaway boxes are great. We pack sausages in old bread bags. save food tubs etc. have inherited a lot of tuppaware

but i confess we did resort to buying freezer bags when we butchered our own pigs.

using old bread bags and takeaway tubs though - its like when we started using proper bags for the shopping instead of plastic bags - we ended up running out of bin bags...

don't get me wrong - we ended up buying bin bags and we do buy freezer bags but I'm so curious about alternatives.

what about fabric - old sheets, towels etc? Would that work instead of newspaper or wax paper?

Might give it a go and report back...