by Terry Baldwin

Created on: May 26, 2009

Freezing vegetables from a garden is a great way to preserve them for future use. Many vegetables do not keep well stored at room temperature, or even in the refrigerator, for a long time. Freezing ensures freshness and extends storing time for up to 6 months. That way you will have a supply of fresh veggies on hand and it will only take minutes to make fast and delicious meals.

Freezing vegetables is quite a simple process. First of all, it requires a freezer. You are lucky if you own a chest or upright freezer. You can store a large quantity and variety of vegetables. If you are planning to buy one, make sure it is energy efficient, since freezers use quite a bit of electricity. Before freezing, all vegetables need to be washed and trimmed, depending on the kind. Large vegetables should be cut to smaller pieces for faster and even freezing (and defreezing). For example, you can slice zucchini, squash, carrots, or beets.

After washing and trimming vegetables should be blanched in boiling water. Blanching kills bacteria and stops the growth enzymes and, that way prevents the vegetables from spoiling. For blanching you will need a large pot of boiling water and a sieve. A sieve is needed for scooping vegetables out of the pot after blanching to prevent overcooking. After taking them out of hot water, you will need to cool them down before placing in the freezer. Otherwise temperature in the freezer will rise too high and it will take longer to freeze again and could cause partial deforsting of items already frozen, not mentioning higher electricity bill at the end of the month. So, prepare another large pot or a bowl with ice. As soon as you take the vegetables from boiling water and place them in ice for as long as the blanching time. After that, divide into small portions and pack into freezer bags or containers and put them in the freezer. You can mix and match the veggies for freezing, but after blanching process, since different vegetables may require different blanching time. Generally, the larger the vegetable, the longer the blanching time.

Not all vegetables are suitable for freezing. Tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, or onions will get quite mushy after defrosting and can be only used for soups or stews. Potatoes also do not freeze well, unless they are fully cooked (fried, boiled or baked).

Freezing vegetables is easy an and quite fast process, but the rewards last a long time.

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