If your vegetable garden is like mine , it break down into overdrive around mid - summertime producing overwhelming amounts of green goods . Those seeds and tiny transplants that we planted in spring as if by magic morph into monster - sized plant develop gallons of tomatoes , bean , peppers , and edible corn . And do n’t get me started on those overachieving summer squeeze and zucchini plant life !
Naturally , if your garden plot bring forth enough produce to share with others , the local nutrient banks and your ally and neighbors will appreciate your generousness . Any produce you do n’t run through fresh from the garden or share with others can be carry on by canning , dehydrating , brining , etc . While these methods of preserving food fetch us a deep good sense of accomplishment , they also command a commitment of sentence and endeavour . But what if you do n’t have the time , energy , or equipment these methods require ? Under those circumstances , freezing your surplus veggies may be the answer . The stop is not to let any nutrient go to waste .
WHY FREEZE veggie
Several splendid reasons come up to mind for freezing veggie :
Even if you do n’t grow your own vegetables , you’re able to buy them from foodstuff memory board or farmer ’s markets when they are in season , freeze them , and enjoy them all year long .
FREEZING BASICS
Although you may freeze just about any vegetable , some hold up well than others to being frozen and thawed . You ca n’t , for lesson , expect to achieve the same crisp final result using thawed vegetables as you would get from rib fresh single . you could , however , expect excellent consequence using antecedently frozen vegetables in cooked food such as soups , stews , casseroles , and frittatas .
Vegetables with a low moisture cognitive content generally hold up well to being frozen . Some examples include broccoli , carrots , cauliflower , corn , light-green beans , pea plant , squash , and sturdy green such as Beta vulgaris cicla , collard greens , kale , and spinach . Other vegetables such as onions , peppers , and celery may also be frozen , but the results are generally not as good as those vegetables suffer a low-pitched moisture substance . Vegetables with a high moisture content such as cucumber , gullible onion , lettuce , and radish do not stop dead well . Once they are thawed , the texture can be soppy and reeking . Whole tomatoes also do n’t stop dead well because of their gamy moisture content . However , they freeze quite well if they are first processed into tomato succus , puree , sauce , or paste .
Before you start up prepping your produce for freeze , resolve how you want to use it in future meals . Vegetables that are cut into a little or average dice employment well in soup . Ones cut into large dice or chunks are suited for stews or casseroles that will be simmer or bake for a retentive time . Vegetables that will be layered in casserole generally work well sliced into rounds . By making those decision now , you are basically doing all the prep work for meals up front as you train to freeze your garden truck .
BLANCHING BASICS
With some exceptions , most vegetables should be pale before they are frozen . blanch is a ready and elementary process . It take briefly dive pocket-size quantity of vegetables into a locoweed of boiling water to :
To pale vegetable , you will ask the following equipment :
time the blanching appendage :
Timing is very important for overall high quality of etiolate vegetable . If vegetables are n’t blench long enough , enzyme bodily function may stay during frozen storage , result in off flavors , off colors , and toughening . Vegetables that are blanch too long may lose some of their smell , grain , and color .
The length of metre call for for blanching depend on the veggie being blench and the size of it of the pieces . The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommend the metre needed to blench the following selected vegetables :
Steps for blanching veg :
Steaming as an alternative to blanch
Some veggie , such as broccoli , winter squash , sweet white potato vine , and pumpkin , may be blanched using steam as opposed to boiling urine . Either method will act upon , but steaming takes about 1 - 1/2 time long than water blanching .
To steam vegetable , take 1 ” to 2 ” of pee to a speedy boil in a saucepan that can hold a Mya arenaria handbasket . The steamer basket must hold the food at least 3 ” above the bottom of the pan . Arrange write out up vegetables in a undivided layer in the steamer hoop . pose the handbasket over the simmering H2O and hide the genus Pan with a tight - fitting lid . Start depend the steaming time as soon as the lid is in place .
pack veg for freezer storage
After blanched veggie are cooled and dry out off , you have two choices for packing them for freezer storehouse :
Individually frozen broccoli florets before being stored in containers . photograph : Pat Chadwick
TIP : For best results , forefend stack container of veggie on top of one another . set them in several area of the freezer so that they freeze faster .
FREEZING HERBS
herb may be frozen but they become limp as they thaw . However , the limp herbs are dead suited for sum up flavour to cooked foods . To freeze herbs , merely wash , enfeeble , and chuck them dry to remove supererogatory moisture . They do n’t necessitate to be pale before being immobilize . Trim , chop shot , and bagful for freezing . The rooted herbaceous plant may be added at once to intellectual nourishment that is being cooked .
An alternative method acting for freezing herbs is to cover them in water and freeze them as ice cubes . For this method acting :
A FINAL THOUGHT ON FREEZING VEGETABLES
The sentiment of filling my freezer with green groceries from my garden founder me great expiation . However , it ’s all too loose to recede track of what ’s in the deep-freeze . Vegetables will last a good long time when frozen but they do finally recede flavour , color and texture if not used within a year or so . A simple way to keep trail of your freezer table of contents is to tape a list of them to the deep-freeze door . List oldest detail first and newest item last . As you expend each item , bilk it off the listing . That elbow room , you have a visual monitor of what is in the deep freezer , the date each token was fixed , and a reminder to use the old item while they are still at maximum tone and grain .
SUMMARY
As gardeners , we derive a great trade of expiation from the vegetables we grow in our gardens every class . But unless we are disciplined about the quantity we grow , it ’s easy to become overwhelmed by too much produce in our gardens . donate some of the surplus to local solid food banks and share it with friend and neighbors are great ways to deal the bounty and avoid scourge solid food . But if we still have more than we can use right aside , freeze is a quick , easy , commodious way to conserve the surplus . You ’ll be happy you did when you find yourself enjoy corn on the black-backed gull from your freezer in January .
FEATURE PHOTO : wintry vegetables from author ’s garden . Photo : Pat Chadwick
SOURCES
“ Blue Book Guide to Preserving , ” ( Ball Corporation , 2012 )
freeze / Blanching , National Center for Home Food Preservation , University of Georgia Extension .
freeze out Fruits and Vegetables , Clemson University Factsheet HGIC 3063
Freezing Fruits and Vegetables , Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication 348 - 596
Freezing Herbs , Pennsylvania State University Extension
Freezing and Food Safety , United States Department of Agriculture
How to Freeze Vegetables , University of Missouri Extension
