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This page tells you everything you need to know about freezing fruit and vegetables. Next to home-canning your fruit and vegetables, freezing fruit and vegetables is one of the best ways you can preserve fruit and vegetables for your family to enjoy all year-around. The first thing to remember is that not all fruit and vegetables can be successfully frozen! Freezing does not add anything to the original qualities of fresh fruits and vegetables. If the fruit and vegetables are to be of high quality after they are frozen, they must be of the highest quality in their fresh state; and proven established ways of preparing them for freezing must be carefully followed. These are the simple rules for freezing fruit and vegetables;
IntroductionThe first thing to remember is that not all produce can be successfully frozen. The list includes potatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and celery. These items tend to turn soft and mushy when they are frozen and later thawed out. Other vegetables such as onions, peppers, and tomatoes can be frozen only if you are going to use them in a cooked recipe, such as soups or casseroles, later on, they are not particularly good to eat raw after they have been frozen. Choose fruit and vegetables that are in good condition, not bruised or soft. Don't use fruits or vegetables that are over-ripe either. Make sure the fruit is at its peak of flavour. Wash them thoroughly in clean tap water. Selecting Your Fruit & VegetablesThe maturity of fruits and vegetables to be frozen is very important in determining the quality of the product. They should be picked at the stage when they are best for eating. Avoid over mature or starchy corn and peas. Select young and tender snap beans which have been picked before the pods have grown to more than two-thirds full size. Do not use hard or over soft fruit. Fruit ripened on the tree, bush, or plant and prepared immediately for freezing is usually better than fruit picked at a less mature stage and subjected to delays between harvesting and freezing. Remember that freezing does not improve your food; in fact, undesirable characteristics are likely to be magnified. Seeds in berries and woodiness in asparagus and green beans are more noticeable after these vegetables have been frozen than they were before. Almost all vegetables and fruits should be prepared for freezing as soon after picking as possible. lf they are held after harvesting, they usually lose some of their flavour and nutrient value. Green beans, peas, and the like can be frozen and then removed from the freezer, cooked, and served. They tend to hold their shape and taste well. Fruits such as apples, particularly if they are made into applesauce first, is a very good fruit to freeze, as are peaches, strawberries, and blueberries. Fruits such as bananas and pineapple should be eaten fresh and not frozen. Seeds in berries and woodiness in asparagus and green beans are more noticeable after these vegetables have been frozen than they were before.Preparing VegetablesMost vegetables need to be prepared first; that is, they need to be converted from their natural states into edible portions. Green beans need to be stringed, both ends snapped off, and then snapped in the middle, for example. Peas need to be removed from their pods, and red beets need the tops and the bottom roots removed; broccoli and brussel sprouts need to cut apart, etc.
BlanchingMost vegetables need to be blanched first before they are frozen. Blanching helps to keep the flavour from changing during storing them in the freezer. There are two types of blanching methods. The first is the boiling water method.
Chilling & FreezingImmediately after the end of each blanching period, you must chill the vegetables in order to stop the cooking process. To do this, you need to plunge the container of vegetables into a sink full of very cold tap water. Let the vegetables chill until they are thoroughly cooled on the inside. Test by biting into a piece of vegetable to make sure. When done cooling, remove the vegetables from the cold water and drain well. Then, place the vegetables into appropriate freezing containers or bags, label each bag with the name of the contents and the date it was frozen, and store in the freezer right away. Itscooking.com is the provider of the content (article) on this page which is drawn from a number of sources (which may include advisory bodies and organisations and the experience and knowledge of our writers). itscooking.com makes no representations about the content published on this site. It is provided "as is" and without warranties of any kind. itscooking.com hereby disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to this information, and user agrees that all such use is at its own risk. Full details of of our terms & conditions are here.
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Itscooking.com is the provider of the content on this page which is drawn from a
number of sources, which may include advisory bodies and organisations and the
experience and knowledge of our writers. itscooking.com makes no representations
about the content published on this site. It is provided "as is" and without
warranties of any kind. itscooking.com hereby disclaims all warranties and
conditions with regard to this information, and user agrees that all such use
is at the users own risk.
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