Prepare your food in advance
COOKING Christmas dinner ranks as one of the most stressful activities of the festive season, but the level of stress can be eased with these tips and advice from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council.
Cooking for more people than normal can mean having to handle different defrosting and cooking times for food.
To solve this problem, cooking the turkey in advance minimises stress on the day and also helps save valuable fridge space for other foods. Just remember that meat previously cooked and frozen should only be reheated once.
All vegetables can also be prepared in advance. Potatoes can be parboiled for five minutes, then drained and cooled before freezing.
The same can be done with wedges of carrot and parsnip, or even Brussels sprouts, which will need slightly less cooking time than usual.
Cranberry sauce, bread sauce and chestnut stuffing can also be frozen in advance, although a splash of cream or milk will just have to be added to the bread sauce after reheating it.
If turkeys are frozen, it is important to check the guidance well in advance to defrost it according to its size – a typical large turkey weighing 6-7kg could take three days to fully thaw in the fridge.
Cooks should also always defrost the frozen turkey fully before cooking. Partially defrosted turkey may not cook evenly, which means that harmful bacteria could survive the cooking process.
To make the most of the turkey, try using juices to make a stock, or leftovers to make a soup.
Kevin Morrell, the borough council’s member for environmental services, said: “It’s important that people know about the safest way to defrost food to avoid poisoning their families and friends and also to reduce food waste.”
To prevent food waste, it is important to remember that any warm dishes are cool before putting them in the freezer.
If there is any leftover wine, it can be poured into an ice cube tray and frozen for use at a later date in sauces, gravy or, if it’s white, even as an alcoholic ice cube.
Finally, fresh herbs that are leftover do not need to go to waste. Instead, they can be pureed and frozen in an ice cube tray to add to dishes as and when they are needed.
For more information visit www.food.gov.uk/freezerfairy