Zabaglione is the Italian name for a base that makes up the base of a variety of dishes, including tiramisu. In French, it’s known as sabayon. But the question is can you make it ahead of time and freeze it? And does it freeze well or not?
Can You Freeze Zabaglione?
Yes, you can freeze zabaglione for up to 1 month. Unfortunately, even when care is taken, it is not something that freezes particularly well.
Does Zabaglione Freeze Well? No
Can You Refreeze Zabaglione? No
How To Freeze Zabaglione
One of the critical elements to freezing zabaglione is ensuring you do it in airtight containers. Air seeping into your containers will dramatically impact your zabaglione, rendering it almost unusable.
So before you get to freezing it, find some small round containers with tight-fitting lids.
- Portion Out: Once you have a container, spoon the zabaglione into portions into your containers.
- Seal: Place the lid onto the container, ensuring the seal is tight.
- Wrap: As an extra layer of protection, you then wrap the containers in a sheet of clingfilm to ensure no air can find its way in.
- Freeze: Label them up and then place them into the freezer.
3 Tips for Freezing Zabaglione
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing zabaglione to have the best results:
Don’t Bother
Unfortunately, zabaglione (like most dishes with eggs and air) will not freeze well. It’s therefore probably a good idea to not bother in the first place.
Whisk Aftering Thawing
If you have frozen zabaglione then you can rectify some of the changes in texture with a vigorous whisk. Try not to overwork it though!
Expect Textural Changes
The best thing you can do when freezing zabaglione is to expect textural changes.
How Long Can You Freeze Zabaglione?
Unfortunately, with zabaglione mainly made of egg yolks, we recommend only freezing it for up to a month. The main reason zabaglione is enjoyed so much is its rich, velvety texture.
If you leave your frozen zabaglione in the freezer for too long then that texture will degrade.
Remember to also label your zabaglione with the date it needs to be consumed.
Zabaglione is something that is better when fresh. It will keep for around 48 hours in the fridge but this should be a last resort, unfortunately.
How Do You Defrost Zabaglione?
When it comes to defrosting your zabaglione we would go with slow and steady. Don’t try to thaw it in the microwave or in a pan. Instead, place it in the fridge overnight to thaw slowly.
Once thawed, you’ll want to give it a vigorous whisk to try and incorporate it all again and remove some of the split texture.
Can You Refreeze Zabaglione?
This is not something we would recommend at all.
Unfortunately, just freezing your zabaglione once will impact the texture. If you were to refreeze it and then thaw it again, you may find it is safe to use but the texture will be completely ruined.
Does Zabaglione Freeze Well?
The main issue with zabaglione is the alcohol content. As you may already know, most alcohol will not freeze. It will become more syrupy.
What this means is that when you try to freeze zabaglione, the egg yolk and sugar mixture will freeze at a different rate to the alcohol which can cause it to split.
This is why zabaglione, in terms of texture, will not freeze well.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing zabaglione or zabaglione in general, then these may help:
Ice cream alone isn’t particularly easy to make but when you add zabaglione into the mix it becomes even more difficult. Instead, we’d recommend following a recipe from an established chef such as this recipe from Delia Smith.
Sources
We have verified the information on this page using the following resources:
