Using Ice Trays to Preserve Foods: Creative Ways to Save Small Portions of Food and Herbs

In this day and age, I suppose many people don't even own an ice tray. Most new freezers are equipped with ice makers, and the humble ice tray may be becoming obsolete. However, even if you don't need your ice trays for ice, don't neglect them as a very important tool in preserving foods, especially those that you will use in small amounts.

At the end of the summer, ice trays are the perfect way to preserve fresh herbs for use in the winter time. Just wash and chop up your herbs, and either mix them with filtered water and pour them into ice trays to freeze or put a tablespoon of the herb into each slot in your ice tray and then fill the slots with fresh filtered water. Freeze the trays, then put the cubes into labeled plastic bags in your freezer. When you need fresh herbs, just grab the right number of cubes and add them to your dish. You'll be adding a bit of filtered water, but it won't be enough to make a big difference. Each cube holds about 2 tablespoons of liquid. Your herbs will be just as fresh as the day you froze them.

Another good thing to preserve in cubes is broth. You can make a big pot of fresh beef, chicken or vegetable broth, then freeze it in cubes. Just use the number of cubes you need whenever you make soups, stews, vegetables, or any other dish that can be enhanced by fresh broth.

Your cat or small dog may like a thawed out broth cube occasionally, and you can save money on tasty pet treats by freezing such yummy items as tuna, mashed jack mackerel and its juice, small portions of cat or dog food, and so forth. With this method, you can buy the giant economy size canned food and reap the savings benefits, even for a very small pet. This will also work to freeze small portions of fresh produce for pets like vegetarian lizards, tortoises and so on.

Here are a few more ideas:

• Freeze homemade baby food in individual portions.
• Make mini popsicles.
• Make coffee cubes to use in coffee flavored smoothies.
• Make tea cubes to keep your iced tea from getting watery.
• Make fruit juice cubes to keep your juice from getting watery or just to enjoy!
• Freeze applesauce to use in baking.

Of course, you can freeze anything you may wish to use in small amounts. This is a convenient way to have the ingredients of frequently made dishes readily available and pre-measured at any time of year. Think about the items you usually make. I'm sure you will come up with innovative ways to use your ice cube trays to make your meal preparation easier and more delicious!

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