I'm Biggie: avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom in San Francisco, & former expat fluent in Japanese. 
Speed bento technique: Freezing sandwiches
Today’s vegetarian toddler lunch took about five minutes to pack up, using leftovers and frozen cutout sandwiches (today’s speed bento tip). The sandwiches are blueberry jam (sugar-free) and peanut butter, speedy homemade jello cups, purple potato salad with mojito, grape tomatoes, blueberries, and leftover sauteed bell peppers and onions with mustard sauce. The blueberries are in little paper food cups with jokes in Japanese and the answer on the bottom of the cup (”What gets fat and skinny in the night sky?” “The moon!”)
Today’s speed bento technique is freezing sandwiches, which can then be packed frozen in the morning, and left to defrost in the lunch (or warmed in a toaster oven or regular oven). Whereas putting bread in the refrigerator makes it go stale faster, putting it in the freezer halts the staling process. Freezing sandwiches is actually a pretty common tip in Japanese cookbooks; the trick is in choosing freezer-friendly fillings, and freezing them properly to avoid freezer burn. Wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap and put the sandwiches in a freezer container (freezer bag, tupperware, cookie tin, etc.). When packing them in a lunch, either keep them wrapped in plastic wrap or unwrap them (then pack in a covered container like a bento box) — these small ones defrosted on the counter in only about 10 minutes.
I think it might be nice to have a few of these cutout sandwiches frozen for busy mornings when I’m making my son’s lunches, but for myself I like multi-flavored deli-type sandwiches that won’t tend to freeze as well because of the raw greens and mayo. The less intricate cutout shapes (like the rectangle, heart, circle, etc.) will keep longer as I’m able to wrap them more tightly with plastic wrap.
I’ve put together a short list of sandwich fillings below.
DO FREEZE:
bananas (but it will soften; sprinkle with citrus juice if browning bothers you)
Branston pickle
carrots (raw or cooked)
cheese (sliced)
greens (COOKED) (i.e. spinach, cabbages, etc.)
jams, jellies
lunchmeats (ham, roast beef, turkey, etc.)
Marmite or Vegemite
mushrooms (cooked, or raw — but without surface water)
Nutella
peanut butter
tomatoes
DON’T FREEZE:
cream cheese
cucumber (raw)
greens (raw) (i.e. spinach, cabbages, etc.)
honey
lettuce (raw)
mayonnaise
READ MORE:
- Need for speed: A mommy’s lunch manifesto
- Food safety for packed lunches
- How to pack a bento lunch and use “gap fillersâ€
- Choosing the right size bento box
- Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews
February 21st, 2007 | Categories: bento, for kids, freezing, parenthacks, sandwich or wrap, tips, tutorial or how to, vegetarian | 
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February 21st, 2007 at 4:49 pm
putting bread in the refrigerator makes it go stale faster
I didn’t know that :-O
Why?
February 21st, 2007 at 5:06 pm
weird my dad says it makes it last longer pft, I hate putting it in there cuz I’m lazy and don’t want to have to toast my bread.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Hi,
I’ve read through most of your posts over the past weekend (found you via Cooking Cute/mmmbento) and I’m really enjoying your blog!!
Thank you for sharing your tips.
I think you said you’d used the glad press’n seal for one of your more soup like bentos. I wondered if you tried using the freezer press’n seal on sandwiches or other items. If so, is it any better than plain old plastic wrap?
Last, do you freeze items on a tray first & then wrap (while it’s firmer–so you don’t crush the bread)? Just wondering if that might affect the quality of the food later.
Thanks again for sharing your info!
-Annie
February 21st, 2007 at 5:22 pm
The current Cook’s Illustrated magazine (March & April 2007, page 30) has a short section on “Why Refrigerated Baked Goods Go Stale”.
To quote, “Staling is inevitable over time. In a process known as retrogradation, starch molecules reorganize to form crystalline structures in the presence of the moisture within the baked goods themselves. This eventually leads to a hard, dry texture at room temperature — no matter how well wrapped the item was during storage. The cooler temperature of the refrigerator speeds up this process, but the freezer actually halts it. The water molecules in the cake or bread freeze, which immobilizes the starch molecules and prevents them from forming the crystalline structures that translate to stale texture.” So basically it’s much better to freeze bread than to refrigerate it.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Hey Annie!
First, thanks for the kind comments. I haven’t used press’n seal on sandwiches or anything where I’m just wrapping the item straight (i.e. not in a hard container). For me, where the Press’n Seal really pays off is where you’re using it as a makeshift lid on a smaller container — the underside is kind of sticky and adheres well to hard plastic/glass/metal containers.
Freezing items on a tray first (before wrapping) might be viable if I had more freezer space, but I’m a little wary of freezer burn to freeze food without some protection. Going forward, I think what I’ll wind up doing is cutting the sandwiches into long, thin rectangles that won’t deform if wrapped tightly when fresh.
February 21st, 2007 at 8:18 pm
hey, i added you as a friend so i can find you and your tips directly. hope you don’t mind.
have a great day. ^_^
February 21st, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Like you, I prefer sandwiches with layers and layers of food stuff (deli cold-cuts + cream cheese + fresh veggies) hence the inability to freeze sandwiches. But you’re definitely right about freezing bread. We have bread that keep for weeks on end in the freezer. Once I pop them in the oven toaster, they’re better than 3-4 day old unfrozen bread. Aside from loaf bread, I’ve also tried frozen whole loaves of baguette (well, not whole, but large slabs) that I’ve wrapped in foil. Afterwards, I toast them in the toaster oven while still wrapped in foil to let the heat through to the center while not burning the outsides. I daresay it’ll work for larger loaves too. Tortillas and pita bread freeze nicely too.
February 21st, 2007 at 9:14 pm
your tips are fabulous! I’m totally friending you ^_^
February 21st, 2007 at 9:23 pm
I absolutely don’t mind, in fact I’m flattered. Thanks!
February 21st, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Thanks, outofthisplace!
February 21st, 2007 at 11:15 pm
In that Cook’s Illustrated piece, they actually recommend wrapping whole loaves of bread tightly in aluminum foil first, then putting the whole thing in a freezer bag. (To avoid freezer burn, I’d then stick a straw in the freezer bag and suck the excess air out before sealing it up — think a do-it-yourself Food Saver). To reheat a whole loaf, they recommend taking it out of the freezer bag and putting the foil-wrapped loaf in a 450-degree F oven for 10-15 minutes. Then take the foil off and let it stay in the oven for a few extra minutes to recrisp the crust.
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:58 am
i’m doing it too!
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:59 am
my mother does that with bread and it turns out great ^^
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:26 am
Cook’s Illustrated magazine ran a piece this month about the freezer halting the staling process in breads and baked goods — details below in another comment. Check it out!
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:59 am
Interesting read! I noticed, though, that some bread seems to freeze better than other - toast and rye bread freezes really well, whereas the half-prebaked baguette type bread tends to be a little harder when I re-bake it after freezing.
Anyway, keep up the great bentoing tips! You make me wish I had a bigger freezer
February 22nd, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Good to know about the half-prebaked baguettes — I don’t buy those, so it’s a good tip.
February 22nd, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Cool, thanks _jzabelle_!
February 23rd, 2007 at 12:02 am
yay!
you’re very welcome! *n_n*
February 26th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
How does peanut butter fare in the freezer?
February 26th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Oops, forgot to add this to the list. It works great — go ahead and freeze it in sandwiches! A couple of the sandwiches I froze were peanut butter and they were fine.
February 28th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
i don’t have a fridge with deep-freeze compartment it is same ol freezing compartment.. would you think it would be ok to freeze some things for a week? or i need deep-freeze?
March 1st, 2007 at 3:35 pm
I’m not sure I understand you — does the freezer get cold enough to make ice? If so, it should be fine to freeze sandwiches/onigiri/etc. for a couple of weeks.
April 29th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
is it ok to freeze spam?
April 29th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Yes, but not in the can.
May 29th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
It makes it last longer (because mould doesn’t grow on it, at least not for a week or two), but it goes stale almost immediately.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Is it okay to freeze honey, if we don’t mind the crunchy crystallization?
July 15th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
With regards to frozen bread going stale quicker: If you’re pre-assembeling sandwiches for lunches to be eaten when thawed, does it much matter?
Also, mustard freezes pretty well too.
I just place it between the layers of meat or cheese, not directly on the bread.
July 15th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
@27 from nyc.romana:
The thing is that frozen bread goes stale *slower* than refrigerated bread, so freezing the sandwiches kind of stops time for them — perfect for speedy lunches. Thanks for the tip on mustard between meat and cheese!
September 19th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Erm, but when you defrost the sandwiches, aren’t they going to taste soggy after that?
September 20th, 2007 at 8:48 am
@29 from Chee: Sogginess hasn’t been an issue for me because when I let them defrost on the countertop I keep them wrapped in plastic wrap (so any condensation stays on the plastic wrap).
November 6th, 2007 at 10:18 am
I wish my children would eat like this. Leftover peppers and carrots in mustard sauce? You must be kidding me!
Your bento boxes are beautiful - they are works of art in their own right, really. Maybe someday my children will branch out.
Cheers!
November 6th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
@31 from Leah: I have no idea why Bug eats as many things as he does, I’m just thankful! One of my friends ate everything during pregnancy and tries to give her daughter all kinds of foods, but her daughter is SUPER picky. So I’m humble but grateful, I guess. I read today that picky eating in childhood might be genetic…
March 7th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
My little Squinty and his friend Isaiah would love these little sandwiches in their bento boxes.
Thank you for your site. I never knew so many things were freezer friendly.
P.S.: I’ve found bento boxes have now become a staple with the fellow moms I have playdates with.
March 8th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
@33 from Candi: Ah, so you’re out spreading the Bento Word among playgroups, eh? That totally happened with me, too — the non-Japanese moms in Bug’s English playgroup decided that our little snack bentos were more convenient/efficient than a diaper bag full of plastic baggies and huge Tupperware, so switched over to their interpretations of bentos. Whatever works for everyone is cool.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
what about avacado?
January 1st, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I appreciate a lot of your tips and see why you might want to freeze rice or pasta. But sandwiches? Where does that speed things up? Defrosting a sandwich takes as much time as making a fresh one, doesn’t it? In the meantime you are wasting a lot of energy: even a good freezer is an energy-eater and than you need to microwave/defrost them again. I don’t mean to offend you but that’s my main concern with most of your freezing tips: While I am totally in favor of freezing ingredients when you can’t buy lesser quantities or even leftovers, by deliberately cooking, then freezing, then keeping frozen, then defrosting food you waste time + often plastic wrap + energy. How is that a good thing?
January 1st, 2009 at 8:59 pm
@36 from Darina: Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Darina. I’ve found that I don’t freeze sandwiches that often, but different people have different lifestyles and values. I could see this coming in handy when I go on a business trip, for example, and my husband is left with the task of packing Bug’s bento for several days running. The whole task seems to overwhelm him, so he’s appreciative of any shortcuts I can set up for him in advance that let him just grab something from the fridge or freezer, pop them into the bento box, and send Bug on his way to preschool.
July 29th, 2009 at 1:15 am
[...] here to get the [...]
August 24th, 2009 at 6:21 am
I’m sure you are getting tons of hits with the start of the school year. I simply love your website. So practical and informative, yet FUN to read! I have a few questions, if you don’t mind:
1) With the cut out sandwiches you’ve shown here, what do you do with all the wasted bread/fillings? It certainly loves fun, but the heart cutout seems to waste at least half the slice of bread. Cheap old me is having a problem with that.
2) How do you make sure that a kid (who isn’t going to hold the bento box just so, but rather jostle it all around her backpack) can keep all the contents in place? My mine problem right now is that unless I pack everything just right (both in terms of depth and filling out) there’s going to be jostling in the bento box. Any suggestions on that?