I often make stews with meat and veg such as beef and mushroom, cassoulet, etc. I normally eat one portion fresh and then portion and freeze the rest of my stew, to be eaten on a later date. However, often I find that when I defrost my stew portion it has coagulated – it has a jelly like consistency, even when hot. I try to solve this by adding a little water and giving it a good stir, which does give it more of a pourable consistency, but it doesn't bring back the smooth velvety texture the stew had when fresh.
I normally just use a spoon of flour or cornflour (cornstarch) to thicken my stews, so the only ingredients are meat, veg, oil, flour, some liquid (stock, often beer or wine), and seasonings. Would a different thickener prevent my stew getting this coagulated, jelly-like texture after freezing?
Best Answer
Experiment and see if flour acts the same as cornstarch. I find that cornstarch tends to "set up" in such a way that food remains a gelatinous blob after reheating. It does this after being refrigerated too, so I don't think it has to do with you actually freezing it: just cooling it down.
I think flour works a little better to reheat which is why I tend to try to use that for things which I know I will want to reheat and eat again later.
Lastly, do make sure you get it piping hot when reheating as this will help to smooth it out and will also melt and gelatin that comes from the meat.