Preserving Veggies: Tips for Freezing Vegetables

Try your hand at preserving veggies by freezing them! Freezing vegetables is a quick, simple way to preserve them to enjoy all year long.

The following is an excerpt from Many Hands Make a Farm by Jack Kittredge and Julie Rawson. It has been adapted for the web.

A Guide to Freezing Vegetables

Freezing vegetables, especially in small batches, is quite simple and quick. It takes only about ten minutes to freeze a bunch of kale or chard, and that will be the basis of a great winter meal. If you attempt no other method of food preservation, try this. Soon you will want to buy a chest freezer in which to store your bounty.

The Process of Blanching & Freezing Veggies

Blanching (scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time) is a must for almost all vegetables before freezing them. The fast heating stops enzyme activity that can cause loss of flavor, color, and texture over time.

Here are the most important tips to remember for freezing vegetables:

• For best results, prepare your work area and tools well so you can work quickly and efficiently.
• Cut vegetables into bite-size pieces.
• Wait until the water is boiling to immerse the prepared vegetables.
• Start timing when the pot comes back to a boil. Most vegetables need to cook from one to three minutes in this part of the process. The important thing to watch for is a change to a brighter color.
• Dump the blanched vegetables into a colander in the sink and rinse immediately with cold water. This is easier than fussing with cooling the vegetables in an ice-water bath.
• Squeeze any extra water out of the vegetables when they arecool, and store them in freezer containers that will pack efficiently in your freezer.

This procedure works well for a wide range of vegetables. One variable is how long to leave the vegetables in the boiling water. You can do your own research, though I advise keeping your process simple so that you are more likely to accomplish it.

Tips for Freezing Vegetables

Here are some specific tips based on my experience.

Basil. I puree the leaves with olive oil in the blender and freeze in ice cube trays. Then pop out the frozen cubes and transfer to a plastic bag for longer storage.

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower. Due to their chunky texture, these brassicas take around three minutes to properly blanch.