Favourite ingredients: fridge and freezer

January 29, 2025

By Alice Shopland, founder of Angel Food

I’m marking Veganuary 2025 by publishing a blog post a day.

FRIDGE:

Fermented tofu (sometimes called “Chinese cheese” - you’ll find it in little square jars at Asian supermarkets – it’s salty, creamy and quite pungent, a bit like a very strong blue cheese – the tofu and its brine are great for seasoning salad dressings, soups and stews)

Vegetarian stir fry sauce (for Colin’s famous stir-fried tofu and veggies)

Lime pickle (to accompany curries, but also great on toast with peanut butter - this tasty combo is my usual breakfast)

Gherkins

Olives various

Hummus

Capers

Black bean sauce

Tofu (usually firm and usually from the Asian grocer rather than the supermarket)

Chipotle (I buy the little La Morena brand tins and blend the whole lot in the food processor, so it’s ready to be added to dishes)

Soya milk or oat millk

Wholegrain mustard

Branston pickle

Crispy chilli oil

Margarine

Kimchi or sauerkraut (I love putting these on salads and in sandwiches)

Several different chilli sauces

Halva (most are vegan, but check the label)

A selection of vegetables – the vege drawer is always the first place I look when I’m seeking meal inspiration

And a full range of Angel Food products of course.

Cheddar for toasted sandwiches

Mozzarella for pizza

Cream cheese for bagels and cheesecake

Sour cream for dips and dolloping on nachos and soup

Feta for salads and sandwiches and pizza

FREEZER:

Fresh ginger (it lasts forever and you can grate it from frozen)

Whole chillis (they last forever too – they’ll go mushy when they defrost but that doesn’t matter for cooked dishes)

Overripe bananas (so you can make a banana cake or hummingbird cake at a moment’s notice.)

Edamame (in shells for snacks and shelled for adding to salads and stir-fries)

Falafel patties (for popping in wraps with salad greens, or as 'meatballs' with a nice tomato sauce on pasta or rice)

Firm tofu (cubed before freezing so it defrosts quicker)

Vegan sausages/patties

Single-serve portions of leftovers (in those handy Angel Food tubs. Labelled using masking tape and marker pen, perfect for quick mid-week lunches)

Peas (these and edamame are the only frozen veggies I like)

Pastry (Richmond Foods flaky puff pastry for nut roast en croute and savoury pies – once you’ve opened the pack, store it in a ziplock bag that originally held wraps)

Breadcrumbs and crusts for turning into breadcrumbs

Brine from canned beans (for adding to soups and stews)

Frozen cubes of coconut cream (with only two of us at home we rarely use a whole can of coconut cream)

Lemon wedges (whenever we have surplus lemons I cut a few into eighths and freeze them – I love to add a wedge to a soup or stew that needs a little acidity, and they’re also great to throw into the oven with roasted vegetables)

Blueberries and grapes: I snap them up when they’re on special and freeze them ready to add to cold drinks, but also to salads.