Comments on: Feeling Good About Creaminess

By: Pasta Cooking Tips | Endless Simmer

Pasta Cooking Tips | Endless Simmer — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:32:34 +0000

[...] is pretty much my favorite food group. Fettuccine, vermicelli, angel hair, rice noodles, udon, pasta-stuffed breadbowls — I love it all. I don’t write about it so much here because [...]

By: Lifeway Anna

Lifeway Anna — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:37:38 +0000

Heating it does indeed make the probiotic cultures inactive. But it’s still a tasty addition to recipes and you’re still getting the calcium, vitamins, etc. Freezing is perfectly fine though and will keep the probiotic cultures intact. Hope that helps

By: gansie

gansie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:54:14 +0000

and one more thing @KMango
does freezing it have the same effects? i whizzed kefir and blueberries together and stuck it in the freezer for a slushy-like treat. did i screw up the pro biotics again?

By: gansie

gansie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:21:29 +0000

@KMango
wait, so all of the pro biotics melted away while i was reducing it to make a sauce?
booo!

By: KMango

KMango — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:39:25 +0000

You might not have been aiming for their benefits anyway, but the friendly bacteria and beneficial yeast of kefir die off in a heated environment. Kudos for experimenting with the sauce you made, though, a super technique to kick the health up a notch for a typically heavy dish.

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:09:22 +0000

I definitely meant “substituting yogurt for milk, cream etc.” Got the order a bit mixed up. Sorry!

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:08:39 +0000

Oh no. I’ve frozen pesto in freezer bags as well. Why did I think it would pop right out?

Anyway, I love the idea of substituting milk, cream etc. for yogurt in recipes. A nice healthy alternative. Thanks for sharing your find.

By: Summer

Summer — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:58:29 +0000

If you want to freeze pesto or other liquidy things in a ziploc, try freezing them flat instead of upright. After you’ve put the stuff in the bag, lie the bag flat on the counter, get out as much air as possible, seal the bag and smoosh the contents until it’s a flat sheet. Then freeze the bag flat — you may want to freeze it on a tray so that the bottom of the bag is smooth and flat. When you want to use it, you can easily snap off a piece. The thinner the frozen sheet, the easier it will be to break. You can always whack it on the counter if necessary, though this sometimes results in the bag breaking as well, especially if you’re using the cheap dollar store bags I tend to buy.

Freezing bags flat like this also makes it easier to store lots of stuff in the freezer, since they stack nicely.

By: El

El — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:46:39 +0000

Gansie:

I freeze my pesto in an ice cube tray to start. Once solid you can move to a ziplock. But it makes for much easier retrieval.