By popular demand, this year we’re turning our annual freezing Workshop into a three-part freezing Intensive. In this Intensive, food preserving enthusiast, self-proclaimed freezer fanatic and Milk Street Associate Director of Education April Dodd will teach you everything you need to know to make your freezer your most powerful kitchen tool.
To make the most of ever-changing summer produce, this Intensive will take place over three months. The sessions are from 5-6:30 pm Eastern Time on the second Thursday of each month: July 11, August 8 and September 12. If you can't attend all of the sessions in real time, don't worry: you'll get the recording and recipes to watch and try on your own time.
In the first session, we’ll focus on freezing fundamentals and how to successfully and confidently freeze individual ingredients. Using green beans, sweet bell peppers, peaches, cherry tomatoes, chard and citrus as examples, April will guide you through the best practices for prepping produce to freeze. You will learn which items can go straight into the freezer and which need to be blanched first using April’s time- and water-saving blanching hack. You’ll also learn strategic ways to concentrate flavors before freezing, which is a win-win: cooked-down foods take up less space in your freezer and they pack a bigger flavor punch. Then, you’ll learn surprising condiments and kitchen leftovers you can freeze, from tomato paste and citrus zest to buttermilk and the dregs of table wine. April will show you how to get air-tight seals using low- and high(er)-tech methods to prevent dreaded freezer burn. Plus, you’ll get a peek at the tools—most of them very common and low-budget—that April uses to keep her freezer well-stocked and superbly organized.
In session two, we turn our attention to preparing whole meals destined for the freezer. Whether it’s for a friend with a new baby, a family member recovering from surgery or simply a treat for your future self, ready-made freezer meals are a gift. That is, unless they succumb to common pitfalls that lead to overcooked pasta, underseasoned vegetables and meat with a mysterious, unappetizing texture. With April as your guide, you’ll learn how to adjust nearly any one of your favorite recipes so that it can be frozen, warmed and served successfully—meaning that nobody will suspect it was ever frozen in the first place. You’ll learn the tricks that keep meat tender, beans creamy (but not turned into mush) and vegetables brightly colored and vibrant.
In our final session, we’ll start by reviewing everything you’ve put up in your freezer over the course of the summer. We’ll see if the organization systems that you put in place back in July have held up—and how to improve them if they haven’t. Then, we do a whole lot of cooking—all of it using ingredients pulled from the freezer. We’ll prepare one of the full meals that we composed in session two and will cook two entire meals using only items from April’s freezer. At this last session, we’ll tackle any final “Can I freeze this?” questions that you have and toast the conclusion of our freezing Intensive with April’s favorite freezer door cocktail.
This is a must-attend Intensive for anyone who wants to use their freezer to capture the flavors of every season, reduce active cooking time, fight food waste and cook delicious meals.
Remember, our Intensives include access to a Group Chat platform that all attendees can use throughout the Intensive to share pictures and progress and ask questions directly to the instructor.
This Intensive is generously sponsored by Souper Cubes. Souper Cubes are an innovative food storage system designed to let you freeze food in portioned amounts. Our sturdy silicone trays are embedded with a steel rim and include measurement fill lines in both imperial and metric, letting you freeze with ease and comfort. Designed from 100% US FDA food-grade silicone, they're dishwasher-safe, oven-safe up to 415 degrees Fahrenheit (trays only) and BPA-free. Souper Cubes freezer trays range in size from 2 tablespoons to 2 cups. Use code milkstreet20 for 20% off orders of $100 or more!
About Milk Street Intensives
Milk Street Intensives offer in-depth learning experiences in focused subject areas. Taught by Milk Street teachers and expert guest instructors, Intensives include multiple livestream sessions with the same small group of students. In addition to cooking at each class, students are encouraged to work on specific cooking experiments and assignments between classes. Plus, students in our Intensives have direct access to their teachers throughout the length of the course to address questions, and they can chat with fellow students about their progress. Intensives are limited to 25 students and are completely remote learning experiences.
Want to give this class as a gift? You can purchase gift cards here.
Immediately after registering, you will get a confirmation email that contains the Zoom meeting log-in information for all the sessions. At least one week prior to each session, you will receive instructions on how to prepare ingredients and equipment in order to cook along with us.
After each session, you will receive a recording of the event, as well as a packet with recipes and resources that we discuss during the event. If you have any questions about this intensive, please don't hesitate to get in touch via cookingschool@177milkstreet.com.
This intensive has limited spots, and you must register in advance via Eventbrite. One sign-up covers one device. Closed Captioning is available for this event.
Payments for Milk Street livestream intensives are non-refundable. If you find yourself unable to attend, you may transfer the ticket to someone else, but we are unable to refund fees and all payments are final.
Proceeds from livestream cooking classes, workshops and intensives support Milk Street's non-profit work with The Big Sisters Association of Great Boston, The Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester, FoodCorps and other partners.
Bonus: All attendees of this intensive will receive a one-time 20% off coupon to the Milk Street Store after each session.
