Veggies on sale? Buy a lot and freeze them. Your freezer can be your best friend when trying to save money on your food bills.
By blanching the vegetables, they retain more vitamins and will cook faster when you decide to use them. To cook your frozen vegetables: Heat vegetables in water until tender.
How do you freeze cauliflowers and green beans? Do you have to blanch them first or can you freeze them without blanching?
By Yvonne from Coventry, England
I have never frozen cauliflower but I am sure you can find directions by googling. For the green beans, you blanch them about 3 minutes and them cool them in ice water to stop the cooking action.
Follow Elaine S' advice and it's the same (3 minutes) for cauliflower but the florets and stems need to be cut into about 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces. Assorted veggies need different blanching times but beans and cauliflower happen to both be the same.
How do I freeze fresh celery?
By Vic
I have done this too, but I also wrapped several layers of plastic wrap and placed it in a zip lock bag to insure no freezer burn, in case I didn't get it used up in a timely manner. Now I use a vacuum sealer works much better, no freezer burn because all the air has been 'sucked' out.
I am freezing zucchini and one of the methods is to freeze it unblanched. Is this method safe? What about the enzymes that blanching kills? I would hate to have problems with the zucchini once it is thawed but like the idea that it would not be as mushy as it gets when it is blanched. Please help, as we have a garden full of zucchini.
By Mira
I wash my zucchini well and drain. Then grate it peeling and all for making my zucchini cakes in the winter. I've never had any bacterial problems arise after immediately thawing it for use.
I also do not blanch bell peppers but clean well and stuff with rice, tomatoes, ground beef and onion and place in freezer bags. When ready to use, I put them in a pan with water covering the lower bottom a little and use a lid and cook til done. Again never had any bacteria problems arise preparing some vegetables in this manner.
Do all vegetables have to be blanched before freezing?
By G Norman from Oxfordshire
No - most do need to be blanched, but not all. I freeze summer squashes without blanching, just slicing and freezing. Tomatoes can be frozen whole. This is an excellent way to have fresh-tasting sauces all winter, and the skins just slip right off once the tomatoes are partially thawed.
I want to vacuum pack vegetables without cooking them. Can you freeze vegetables without cooking them?
By Joan
Except for veggies like peppers and onions they need to be blanched. The reason is to keep their fresh color but, most importantly, to stop the enzymes that break down the quality and nutrients of the food. Here's some info I shared a few weeks ago:
Vegetable Water Blanching Timetable
There have been a lot of requests for blanching veggies as of late so here's an easy timetable to follow. Be sure to check tenderness part way into the blanching guide times because freshness and size of vegetables vary and can affect how long they truly need to blanch.
Be sure to give the veggies an immediate ice water bath after the blanching to stop the cooking process. Pat veggies dry if you are going to be freezing them and remove as much air from the freezer bag as possible because both help to reduce freezer burn.
Artichoke Hearts, Globe: 7 minutes
Artichoke Whole, Globe: 10 minutes
Artichoke Whole, Jerusalem: 3 to 5 minutes
Asparagus: Small Stalk - 2 minutes, Medium Stalk - 3 minutes, Large Stalk - 4 minutes
Beans: Snap, Green or Wax - 3 minutes
Beans: Lima, Butter, or Pinto - Small - 2 minutes, Medium - 3 minutes, Large - 4 minutes
Beets: Cook until tender
How do I to freeze vegetables?
By surelock from Lapeer, MI
If you can pick up a Ball Blue Book of preserving this will be a great help. I got mine at Wal-mart years ago and its a book that's worth it if you do canning or freezing of vegetables. Blanching is very important and must be done properly to destroy microorganisms that could destroy your food. But its a fairly easy process using boiling water don't over blanch this will cause a loss of flavor. Cool your vegetables by using ice water. Hope this helps.
Do I need to do anything (like blanch) veggies to use later as stirfry? Any other helpful hints? Thanks.
By Mary from Henderson, NC
Yes, you should blanch most of the veggies that you save for stirfry (squash, broccoli, green beans, etc). Green and red peppers, onions, celery, mushrooms don't have to be blanched, however.
I was considering lightly microwaving my home grown yellow squash and green beans instead of par boiling them which can make a lot of water, and then vacuum sealing is difficult.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
By Daphna Ariel from Alachua, FL
I microwaved 2 years ago and they got that funny taste after 6 months. I then tried the steam method, instead of microwave. Leave them whole, and when you get them hot all the way through dunk them in ice water to cool at once like corn on the cob, dry with a towel and cut up and freeze that way. They probably won't save over a year without changing taste. This works for green and yellow squash. After about 7 months I take mine out and dry them in the dehydrator and powder them to add to all my dishes. including spagetti sauce. Dried veggies add good flavor even to fried meat.
Sometimes I find veggies at a super price, but don't have enough cash to buy enough for canning, or I find a small amount at reduced price, but still high quality. Well, freezing them is the perfect solution.
If you think about it, a lot of recipes start the same way, sauteing onions with, depending on the cook, garlic, celery, carrots, or peppers. You probably have your own preference that you use more than any other.