Freezing the Harvest: What to Blanch, What to Freeze Raw
The fastest, safest, least skilled way to keep a glut. The only trick is knowing what to blanch first.
Freezing keeps food closest to fresh and asks the least of you. The one concept worth learning is blanching: a brief plunge in boiling water then ice water that switches off the enzymes which otherwise turn frozen vegetables tough, faded and off-flavoured over months. Most vegetables need it; most fruit does not.
Blanch these before freezing
Beans, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, corn, leafy greens, zucchini. Boil 1-3 minutes (small and soft = less), plunge into ice water, drain well, then freeze spread on a tray before bagging so they do not clump.
Freeze these raw, no blanching
Berries and most fruit (tray-freeze first), capsicum, chilli, onion (chopped), herbs (chop into ice-cube trays with oil or water), tomatoes (whole, the skins slip off when thawed, perfect for cooking), and grated zucchini for baking.
Do not bother freezing
Salad leaves, cucumber, radish and celery turn to mush; they are mostly water with no cooked use. Potatoes go grainy unless cooked first. Eggs in the shell crack, but you can freeze beaten egg (see storing eggs).
Make it last
- Tray-freeze loose items first, then bag, so you can pour out a handful.
- Squeeze the air out of bags; air is what causes freezer burn.
- Label with the date. Most produce is best within 8-12 months.
- Freeze fast and fresh. Quality out never beats quality in, so freeze at the peak, not when it is fading.
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