Freezing Fruit Crumbles / Pies ?

[Farmer_Gyles]

thanks for the ideas guys
i'll be batch cooking so it'll be lots of crumbles in one go

the foil trays sounds good - not found foil things anywhere tho
muffin trays is a good idea - cook lots of individual portions in one go - but as i'm batch cooking, i'll need quite a lot of trays anyway - and as muffins are round, that's a lot of wasted space in the tray, hence more batches to cook etc

i'm tempted to get a couple more large rectangular pyrex dishes and take a chance on chilling the crumbles enough to divide them up without making too much mess

there must be some other large tray / cooking dish ready divided like the muffin tray, but with more capacity than the muffin trays??

[trebellangeminired]

thanks for the ideas guys
i'll be batch cooking so it'll be lots of crumbles in one go

the foil trays sounds good - not found foil things anywhere tho
muffin trays is a good idea - cook lots of individual portions in one go - but as i'm batch cooking, i'll need quite a lot of trays anyway - and as muffins are round, that's a lot of wasted space in the tray, hence more batches to cook etc

i'm tempted to get a couple more large rectangular pyrex dishes and take a chance on chilling the crumbles enough to divide them up without making too much mess

there must be some other large tray / cooking dish ready divided like the muffin tray, but with more capacity than the muffin trays??

Point taken re: muffin trays but can't think of anything similar but with more capacity.

Haven't tried this but what about putting cooled crumble in one of your pyrex dishes in the freezer for a short while until it is starting to freeze but not solid and then dividing into portions? In theory it should be no more difficult to cut than ice cream, especially with a warmed blade. Or is that what you meant by chilled?

There are sites on the internet selling foil dishes in bulk but I can't recommend one as I normally get mine from The Chef's Shop
Unit A, North Walls, Stafford, Staffordshire ST16 3AD Tel: 01785 259960. I don't know if they do mail order but it might be worth asking.

TGR

[Farmer_Gyles]

Haven't tried this but what about putting cooled crumble in one of your pyrex dishes in the freezer for a short while until it is starting to freeze but not solid and then dividing into portions? In theory it should be no more difficult to cut than ice cream, especially with a warmed blade. Or is that what you meant by chilled?

thats what i think i'll have to do - i'll need half a dozen pyrex things anyway as i'll be making lots of lasagnes, shepherds pies etc etc etc - basically preparing and freezing lots of meals for one to see me through the winter, rather than having to cook for one when my son isn't around, and prefer to have a lot of stuff cooked and frozen than trying to store fruit / onions / spuds etc etc etc
i'm a good cook so i'm sure i can master the art of dividing up crumbles without making tooooooooo much mess ...........

[Hilary B]

thanks for the ideas guys
i'll be batch cooking so it'll be lots of crumbles in one go

the foil trays sounds good - not found foil things anywhere tho
muffin trays is a good idea - cook lots of individual portions in one go - but as i'm batch cooking, i'll need quite a lot of trays anyway - and as muffins are round, that's a lot of wasted space in the tray, hence more batches to cook etc

i'm tempted to get a couple more large rectangular pyrex dishes and take a chance on chilling the crumbles enough to divide them up without making too much mess

there must be some other large tray / cooking dish ready divided like the muffin tray, but with more capacity than the muffin trays??

We have a few shops around which sell all sorts of odds and ends, mostly very cheap (and some of it 'cheap' in the other sense, but not all). They tend to sell the foil dishes used by Chinese takeaways, a pack of 10 for about £1.50. Dishes can be used a few times, if handled carefully. The stronger dishes come with certain 'ready-to-cook' items from the supermarket, but probably the wrong size for your purposes (Ideal for 2).

[jackie j]

Most supermarkets sell foil dishes a bit pricey but if its the only place to get them. Try lakeland as well.

[Bill88]

Thanks for the info about freezing Crumbles, makes life so much easier......

[rustylady]

well the idea is more about having it all ready made where possible.

if everyone is freezing uncooked crumble mix, then i could prepare the fruit, put it in plastic tubs with the crumble mix on top, then freeze it??

You could, but you can't cook it in plastic tubs. However, I live on my own and had the same problem. Solution - I bought some Pyrex ramekins from the local Asda and freeze my crumbles in them. If you can find plastic tubs of a similar size (supermarket tubs of hummous etc) then you can freeze the crumble in them and turn them carefully into the Pyrex ramekins to cook.

[BumbleB]

Look in your local pound store for foil trays and also glass or ceramic dishes ,also matalan are quite cheap. If you will be useing for lasagne and shepherds pies as well as fruit crumbles and pies I am sure a fiver should get you sorted. If you only buy a couple of each you can transfer when solid frozen to a bag or foil to reuse the dish and pop the frozen item back in the freezer til needed.