Can You Freeze Pudding?
There cannot be a more delicious dessert than humble pudding, especially as you can make pudding with hundreds of combinations. While pudding is renowned for being a dessert, it can also serve as a dish by itself. The UK and the Commonwealth countries refer to sweet and savory dishes as pudding, whereas in the US and Canada, it is a sweet, milk-based dessert recipe.
What’s in a name? A pudding by any other name would taste as sweet. You can call it differently like custard (egg-based), jelly (gelatin-based), and blancmange (cornstarch-based).
Pudding is one of the most tempting dishes to consume. So, it is natural for everyone to prepare pudding in large quantities necessitating their proper preservation and storage. While refrigerating pudding is a short-term solution, can you freeze pudding in the long term?
Can You Freeze Pudding?
Yes, you can freeze pudding. However, a lot depends on the components of the pudding.
Some puddings do not freeze well, but bread pudding, gelatin pudding and tapioca pudding, rice pudding are excellent for freezing.
How Do You Freeze Pudding?
Freezing pudding properly is crucial for it to remain as fresh and delicious as freshly made. However, we suggest that pudding always tastes the best when fresh rather than frozen.
- The first step for freezing pudding is to cool it to room temperature. Freezing hot pudding can be disastrous because it will damage its consistency irrevocably. The cooling process could take around two hours.
- It is advisable to apportion the pudding into small quantities fit for serving at a time. Besides being easy to store, it ensures that you do not defrost the entire batch at a time.
- Each type of pudding has its style of freezing. For example, you slice bread pudding into small pieces and wrap each piece with aluminum foil. You can create gelatin pudding pops in the freezer and serve them one at a time.
- The trick is to store the pudding in airtight containers inside the freezer. Removing excess air is critical because it can cause freezer burn.
- Label the containers and place them in the freezer allowing the pudding to freeze comfortably.
How Long Does It Take For The Pudding To Freeze?
The pudding should take around five hours to freeze perfectly.
How To Defrost Pudding?
Thawing frozen pudding is not a big issue because you can defrost it naturally inside the refrigerator. First, remove the frozen pudding from the freezer and transfer it to another container in the fridge. Keep it overnight, and you have thawed pudding ready for consumption the following morning.
Alternatively, you can thaw the frozen pudding at room temperature for a few hours. However, it depends on the type of pudding you freeze. For example, you cannot defrost pie pudding at room temperature.
Once you defrost the pudding, it is advisable to consume it quickly. Otherwise, it remains exposed to bacterial contamination at room temperature and can get spoilt.
How Long Can Pudding Remain Frozen Fresh In The Freezer?
The frozen pudding can remain fresh for 90 days if you follow the correct procedure. However, we never recommend waiting for 90 days to consume the pudding. While it can be tempting to consume the pudding immediately, we also recommend finishing it well within 90 days.
How Soon Do You Recommend Consuming The Frozen Pudding?
Though pudding can remain frozen for three months, we suggest you consume it within four to six weeks because the changes in texture can set in by that time.
How Do You Know The Pudding Has Gone Bad?
A single glance at the thawed pudding is sufficient to determine whether the pudding is good or spoiled. First, the spoilt pudding will have distinct pockets of liquids separated from the other components. Secondly, the bitter flavor is a dead giveaway that the pudding has spoiled.
You can use animal instincts to smell the pudding. Spoilt pudding has a distinct rotten smell that can be offensive. There is no need to taste it to confirm that it is spoilt. Bacterial contamination can occur in pudding stored for extended periods at room temperature. Mold formation is also another reason for the pudding becoming inedible.
How Do You Deal With Inedible Pudding?
You can deal with inedible pudding in only one way: trash it into the bin.
Can You Freeze Store-Bought Pudding?
It is possible to freeze store-bought puddings the way you deal with homemade pudding.
Why Is Freezing A Better Option Than Refrigerating Pudding?
When you refrigerate pudding, you have to contend with the skin formation on the pudding surface. Therefore, we advise covering it with plastic wrap. However, it is not necessary when freezing pudding because there is no skin formation. Consequently, you can have scoopfuls of frozen pudding straight from the storage container.
Can You Freeze Pudding In Popsicle Molds?
It is an excellent idea to freeze pudding in popsicle molds. If you do not have popsicle molds, small plastic cups can do. You can pour the pudding into it, insert a stick, and freeze it. Once frozen, you can grab the stick and have it like an ice cream snack.
Can You Refreeze The Pudding?
We do not recommend refreezing defrosted pudding because it can lose its consistency and flavor. In addition, repeated freezing can cause condensation and thus spoil the pudding. Therefore, distributing it into small servings before the freezing process is ideal.
Does Freezing Pudding Affect Its Taste?
Frozen pudding does not taste exactly like a fresh dessert despite all the precautions you take. However, following the freezing procedure discussed here lets you freeze pudding with as little change in taste and flavor as possible.
What Are The Different Types Of Pudding You Can Freeze?
You can freeze various puddings, including banana pudding, rice pudding, bread pudding, gelatin pudding, pudding pies, pudding cakes, etc.
Which Puddings Are Not Ideal For Freezing?
Persimmon pudding and homemade chocolate pudding are not ideal for freezing because the ingredients in both these puddings do not freeze well. As a result, there can be distinctive changes in its texture, flavor, and taste.
Final Words
Can you freeze pudding? This question should not bother you much now because you know how to freeze the pudding. As a result, you extend its shelf life by four to six weeks. However, we doubt whether you can resist the temptation to consume it before four weeks.
