Fruits and vegetables are a bit trickier to freeze than meats. Mainly because they won’t thaw out and be beautifully fresh and ready to eat raw. Instead, I recommend, only freezing fruits and vegetables to use in meals you’re going to prepare. By freezing fruits and vegetables, you can significantly increase the shelf life and have ingredients for meals ready to simply pull out.
For example, I love to buy produce like onions and peppers when they are very cheap. When I get home, I dice them up into small pieces and place on a cookie sheet to freeze. When the small pieces are frozen, I dump them into a large freezer baggie, so when I’m cooking a meal that calls for onions or peppers, I can simply grab a few out and toss them in! They don’t even need to thaw before being tossed a in a recipe and cooked. It’s so simple, I’m more likely to use them!
Each vegetable needs to be prepared to freeze differently though. While some can be frozen raw, others need to be blanched or cooked first. Visit HERE for a great detailed chart on each vegetable and how to freeze it to perfection.
Frozen vegetables keep approximately 12-18 months if your freezer temperature is below 0.
BLANCHING
When freezing some raw vegetables, it’s important to blanch first. Enzymes cause vegetables to lose their flavor and color, making them less appealing or even inedible when thawed. Blanching stops these enzymes.
To blanch, boil 1 gallon of water in a large pot. Only blanch 1 pound of vegetables per gallon of water at a time. Submerge vegetables using a cheese cloth, strainer, or basket. Immediate pack vegetables in airtight containers in family size portions.
Check out the entire Freezer Series HERE to see what you missed!
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