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By MARY A. KEITH Tribune Correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 2008

Can any pie be frozen? When should the pie be baked - before or after freezing?

Other than custard, most pies can be frozen successfully at home. Fruit pies do well.

Some people like the convenience of baking the whole pie first. But typically, people who really like a good crust will make, bake and freeze the filling in a pie pan lined with foil, without adding the crust. After the filling is frozen, it is taken out of the pie pan to be stored.

To bake the pie, the same pie pan is lined with crust, and the frozen filling is added. After the filling partly thaws, the pie is baked to heat the filling and cook the crust.

I've heard that certain kinds of meat shouldn't be refrozen. Would this be beef, pork or chicken?

All of those can be refrozen as long as they are still icy with crunchy ice crystals in the center. If they are cold but completely thawed, they can be cooked and then frozen. .

I have a freezer full of meat and am concerned about loss of power. What should I use first when frozen items start to become soft?

Cook seafood and poultry first if you're concerned about the power going off and want to start using up the contents of the freezer or see that things are already starting to thaw.

I bought a box of jasmine rice for a new casserole recipe that my family didn't like. Now I have a nearly full box of expensive rice. What can I do with it?

You can use it in just about any recipe for white rice. Jasmine rice is aromatic, which means it has a little more flavor than plain white rice. To take advantage of this flavor, use jasmine rice for something mild such as rice pudding and rice pilaf or with a sauce that isn't overpowering.

I have an old recipe for cooked pineapple topping for cake. It calls for sugar, eggs and margarine but doesn't say whether to use powdered or granulated sugar. Which should I use?

After looking at some cookbooks, I would guess it's calling for granulated sugar. More cooked recipes use granulated. The powdered is for quick dissolving and mixing, not for cooking.

Which is better to add when making omelets, water or milk?

You can use either or both. Adding water will make a tender omelet. A little milk will make a puffier omelet. The milk's added protein helps the omelet rise while the water dilutes the protein of the egg.

Mary A. Keith, a nutrition and health agent at Hillsborough County Extension, can be reached at (813) 744-5519 or mkeith@ufl.edu.

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