Freezing Vegetables - Home Cooking

Freezing is the easiest way to save summer's bounty to enjoy in fall and winter. It's an excellent way to store and preserve home-grown vegetables or farm-fresh vegetables bought at low-summer prices. For the highest quality and nutrition, always freeze vegetables as soon after picking as possible... at the peak of freshness.

Almost all fresh vegetables must be blanched before freezing. (Crisp bell peppers and firm fresh onions are a few exceptions. These can be chopped or sliced, and frozen without blanching). Blanching is done to stop the ripening process that would otherwise continue during freezer storage, destroying the fresh flavor, and make the vegetables tough and discolored.

Blanching is a two-step process. Step one is immersing the vegetables in boiling water for a time determined by the kind and size of vegetable. In step two, the boiled vegetables are cooled as quickly as possible by immersing them in cold water, usually for about the same amount of time as boiling.

To prepare fresh vegetables for freezing...

Wash vegetables thoroughly. (For vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts, which may contain insects and/or insect larvae, combine 1 quart water and 2 tablespoons salt. Immerse cut-up vegetables in this salt/water solution for 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly before blanching)

Remove stems, seed, peel, cut, chop, or slice vegetables as you would normally prepare them for eating.

To Blanch.....

Use a blanching pot with a fitted basket and cover, or place a steamer basket or colander into a large pot with a well-fitting lid. Use one gallon water per pound of prepared vegetables. If blanching leafy vegetables, use two gallons of boiling water to prevent the leaves from sticking together. Bring water to a rolling boil.

Place the vegetables, no more than about one pound at a time, in a steamer basket or colander. Lower it into the vigorously boiling water. Cover the pot with a lid and begin timing as soon as the water returns to a boil. (The water should return to boiling within 1 minute, or you are using too many vegetables for the amount of boiling water.)

Keep the water at a continuous boil for the required amount of time. Correct timing is very important... it varies according to the type and size of the vegetable.

Remove from the boiling water and cool as quickly as possible to stop the cooking process....
Submerge vegetables in a pot or a pan of ice water. Cool for about the same amount of time vegetables were in boiling water. If not sufficiently cooled, the vegetables will continue to cook on the inside, resulting in mushy frozen veggies.

When completely cool, drain thoroughly.

Spoon the cooled vegetables into freezer bags or into 1-pint or 1-quart freezer containers. Fill containers to within 1/2 inch from the top.

You are now ready to blanch the next batch. You can use the same pot of boiling water for about six batches of the same kind of vegetable. Change the ice water frequently.

Press out the air, and seal, zip or securely tie filled freezer bags. Cover freezer containers with lids.

Label, date, and place in the freezer.

Do....

Cool hot foods completely before placing in freezer.

Use proper packaging to preserve nutritive values, flavor, texture, and color, assuring the best quality frozen food. Use heavy freezer-weight plastic bags or sturdy plastic containers with tight fitting lids. Containers should be stackable and must be able to withstand freezing temperatures without breaking.

Keep a freezer thermometer handy and occasionally check the freezer temperature. Frozen food should be stored at 0°F.

Do not...
Refreeze frozen food that has thawed.

For vegetable preparation and specific blanching times for a variety of vegetables, see my

Vegetable Freezing Chart.

Can I Freeze It?: How to Use the Most Versatile Appliance in Your Kitchen
This book features all the tips, tricks, and rules for freezing... from containers and wrappers (foil or Tupperware?), to the best methods for retaining moisture and flavor, to what ingredients and dishes can and can't be frozen. It includes a wealth of recipes, along with color photos, for whole and part dishes. Some are completely pre–assembled (think chicken in a marinade) and then frozen and cooked later. Still others combine frozen ingredients with fresh ones–pair a pastry from the freezer with berries from the farm stand, or defrost a sauce and use it to top fish straight from the market. It's the ultimate guide to saving time and money in the kitchen!

Calphalon 8-qt. Stainless Steel Multi-Purpose Stockpot
This stockpot serves many purposes from soups and stocks, to steaming and blanching, to cooking pasta. Place the basket inside and use it for steaming fresh vegetables. The large pasta insert is great for boiling spaghetti and other pastas. It includes a tempered glass lid and is dishwasher-safe. This quality cookware can also be used on glass/ceramic cooktops.

	Sandy Moyer BellaOnline's Home Cooking Editor