“Do not freeze!”

Well, It’s hard not to in this weather, but in terms of food, these are the wise words that appear on a variety of chilled goods and invariably, they are perfectly understandable. However, sometimes I’m left wondering why certain foods wouldn’t fair well below 0c…

Strangely,  I do actually have an unusual liking for frozen food and not in the traditional sense. I’m not speaking of ice lollies or sorbet, no! I’m talking about things such as frozen tempeh slices, frozen fruit, frozen quesadilla etc.

Incredibly strange, isn’t it!

But anyway, earlier today, during that mid-afternoon slump, I became a little peckish and really fancied some Tofutti. I planned to go for my regular snack by spreading it upon some Finn Crisps and topping them with sliced cucumber.

A delicious and satisfying snack!

Unfortunately however, the Tofutti had frozen solid and it definitely did not fall into the category of  the bizarre frozen foods that I enjoy. Now, I should probably mention that our fridge has been on the ‘blink’ for over a year now. It is repeatedly freezing up at the back and amassing well over two inches of ice and freezing up everything that comes into contact with it. We have to routinely defrost it every month, to prevent it from becoming so frosted that the space is almost totally unusable.

As I kneeled down and stretched out my hand, I realised that the Tofutti had mistakenly been pushed to the back and as such, had become inedible in its frozen state. Clearly printed on the lid were those ever wise words, “Do not freeze” and I immediately thought this product would end up in the bin. Hoping for the best, I left the tofutti on the side  and after a couple of hours, it had defrosted but was not looking any more edible. The ingredients had separated, leaving a thin liquid on the top and clumpy white segments beneath.

Still, I refused to accept defeat. I poured the Tofutti into the blender, added a tablespoon of soya milk and “Voila”, I had a result. It ended up looking more akin to cottage cheese (above) but whilst it didn’t maintain its smooth and glossy texture, it still tasted wonderful.