Making chop..AGAIN!..

[AmyMyBlueFront]

..So the Green Dino is tired of the Bird Street Bistro grub I've been feeding the kids ( Beebs is still groovin' on it,chowing down with gusto) and has been giving me the stink eye for quite some time. I started with BSB because he was also getting tired of the muffin's I would so painstakingly,and with love and sweat and tears cook for them,so now I'm going to try chop once again.
My question is..how do I keep it from getting soggy??? I know Al and Geri spend just about all day making chop for Salty..I think their last batch was something like one hundred bags!
I have made a couple dozen bags at times and freeze them but when they thaw out they are like mush :19: I wouldn't even want to eat that cr.....ud
So...how do folks keep their chop looking good??



Jim

 

[Laurasea]

I just don't make the effort! I give them fresh daily usually a choice of three, I barely cut anything I make them use their beaks! Today was cranberries, blueberries, zucchini and celery and butternut squash I was cutting up for my dinner. They get what I get !
I do keep frozen peas and broccoli on had to thaw out for them, a d usually hot chili peppers I keep a bag of in the fridge. I've bought baggs of frozen shredded sweet potato, and frozen shredded butternut squash from the freezer section, or I buy bags of mixed lettace some for them some for my salad

 

[Owlet]

Freezing and thawing will always make the chop a touch soggier than fresh daily but I've found using ingredients with lower water content and not boiling or baking everything just keeping it raw if possible keeps it from getting too soggy. I use to always boil everything (yams, brocolli, etc) and it would just make everything incredibly soggy and it seems Lincoln prefers them raw anyways.

 

[KawaiiTori]

Whether you are serving fresh or freezing for a later date, investing in a decent mandolin is the only way to go! It saves me SO MUCH TIME! I feed a mix of fresh and previously prepared frozen so that Tori always has some stuff that still has some crunch to it. I also chop up ingredients once or twice (occasionally three times) a week and store each ingredient separately (both in the refrigerator and the freezer) so if anything starts to go off I won’t lose more than that one ingredient.

 

[wrench13]

Jim, we add a few whole grain noodles to each bag, or some orzo (uncooked), and after its been zapped for 25-40 seconds, we add a crumbled up square (or less) of Avicake. Its pretty dry then. Just make it freakin HOT (spicy hot). I'd do a test batch first, no sense making up a hundred bags of chop that Amy wont eat.

 

[chris-md]

In all things chop, water is the enemy.

Low water content foods are the way to go, for sure, as owlet mentions. Fruits and such should be added as toppings, fresh before serving.

Slightly undercook any grains or pasta, so it soaks up water.

Use flaxseed or chia, both of which soak up water like the dickens.

Watch the prep. By that, as a way of example: Peppers are great additions, but if you food process them too small, it leaches a lot of water. You’re essentially pureeing them. If you use a food processor, use the plate shaped on peppers, not the low blades.

I always wring out the water in a strainer, pressing the chop with my hand when it’s all mixed together. But When loading the little bags for freezing, I will use my hand to scoop, and squeeze each handfull out over the sink to get out as much water as possible before I put it in the bag.

Water is you enemy. Get rid of it every way you can.

Also, I’ll disagree a bit with the boiling. Most vegetables need to be blanched (boiled for NO MORE THAN 90 seconds, then run under cold water immediately to cool them off) for proper freezer storage. This releases certain nutrients, especially beta carotene as for vitamin a. You’ll find this greatly improves the quality of the defrosted product.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

A couple of things I do to make sure it's not soggy after defrosting (I actually got a compliment from a bird trainer/groomer after Cairo boarded with him - nice to hear since Cairo can't compliment me ).


1. Let it dry after washing!
After I soak and wash the veggies, I shake them off and wait for them to dry before I process them.

2. Strain it!
I process more wet foods, like peppers, first. They immediately go into a strainer where I press the water put and it sits, draining, as I process the rest of the drier foods. (Do note that I never include fruits into his chop - I freeze jambu and pomegranates in ice trays to portion when I think we can risk the sugar).

3. Include absorbent foods right before freezing!
Right before you freeze, add absorbent foods like oats or chia. Don't let it sit - just add and quickly toss into the freezer. When it thaws, they'll absorb the liquid.