Can You Freeze Chicken Salad?
You have done too much chicken salad and now you don’t know what to do with the extra chicken salad? You have heard of many recipes that can be frozen for later using, but you are wondering whether your chicken salad can be kept as the same way? So today’s question is can you freeze chicken salad?
Should Chicken Salad Be Frozen?
Should we freeze chicken salad? There are some who have frozen their chicken salads several times, but most people would like not to freeze them. Before to decide should or shouldn’t, we must understand what determine a tasty chicken salad? In fact, chicken salad is really delicious and nutritious because chicken salad can be made from a variety of ingredients depending on the favorite tastes of eaters.
Some would like to mix cooked chicken with cooked broccoli while some others would love the crunchy of fresh spinach but whatever what ingredient you choose to combine with, you would definitely need a great dressing to go with, which is the key for a really yummy taste of salad.
However, the problem is after dressing, your salad can’t remain the crispy and fresh condition for long, your spinach will easily go bad with the help of dressing, so it is better to make your chicken salad just enough to serve for at once time.
What Happens When You Freeze Your Chicken Salad
In fact, chicken salad isn’t commonly seen as frozen food and chicken salad is still crispy when we eat right away they’ve made. When they are frozen, the quality won’t remain the quality the same as previous.
Especially, if your chicken salad is topped with mayonnaise or yogurt, the perishable ingredients like celery or onion will go soggy and the mayonnaise will separate when it’s thawed.
Tips For Freezing Chicken Salad
Still needing to freeze your chicken salad as a way of preservation? If you are going to make a large portion of chicken salad because of intending to freeze the extra portion for later use, it is better not to use yogurt or mayonnaise in the dressing, you can use other ingredients instead, which allow your chicken salad not to separate and ruin the quality of your salad.
You are a fan of mayonnaise and really love the taste of salad when mixing your chicken salad with mayonnaise? When using mayonnaise to dress your salad, it often causes the amount of watery fluid after being thawed, so at this time, you may need to reduce the amount of mayonnaise, and then it allows you to minimize the separate and the extra liquid after being thawed. Plus, you also need to remember that you shouldn’t refreeze your chicken salad after being thawed.
Using vacuum sealer is another great choice for freezing your chicken salad. If you follow this tip, your chicken salad can be kept better due to the ability to get rid of excess air contained in the bag, so the food can stay fresh and crispy for long and also avoid bacteria. Plus, remember to date the bag and it is better to be kept within 2 months.