I was chopping and freezing Swiss chard and basil today. As I was trying to make room for the chard in the kitchen freezer, I had to smash down a whole bunch of bags. Miscellaneous containers just seemed to take up more space than the foods they contained.
As much of a nuisance as the hard-sided containers are, I do prefer those over bags for freezing liquids (blackberry juice, crabapple juice) and semi-liquids (pumpkin puree and applesauce).
I'm now at the end of my supply of both containers and freezer bags, and I'm needing more for putting away additional garden produce. So I've got to decide what to acquire more of, bags or containers.
So, I'm thinking this through. Maybe you can help by pointing out what I'm missing. Here's my pro and con list:
Starting with freezer bags
Bags -- pros
- store in small amount of space when not in use
- when filled and in the freezer, no additional airspace taking up valuable room
- with less air in the bag, less chance of frost build-up or freezer burn on food
- for loose foods in a large storage bag, like a gallon of peas or green beans, as the bag slowly empties, it can collapse and take up less space in the freezer
- washable for reuse
- lack durability, can be used a handful of times each
- any holes in the bag or damaged seal could cause leaking when thawing frozen items for cooking
- if freezing semi-liquids or liquids, the bag will freeze solid in the shape it is in when placed in the freezer, possibly making it harder to stack with other bags in the freezer
- need to be washed by hand
- very durable, can last many years
- good for liquids and semi-liquids
- easy to wash in the dishwasher
- stackable in the freezer
- depending on shape, they may not tessellate well with other containers in the freezer
- cost -- more expensive to buy
- if the food doesn't completely fill the container, the airspace not only takes up unnecessary space in the freezer, but frost can build up on the food
- frozen containers are prone to cracking and chipping when dropped
- bulky for storage when not in use