Freezing veggie's for the winter.

[MsDisney23]

I just picked a shopping bag full of green beans from the garden. I think I am going to blanch them and freeze them for the winter.

Do you plan to freeze anything from your garden for the winter If so I love to hear what your putting up. I have got so many wonderful veggie's out of our garden. I am currently drying basil.

 

[Piecey]

I blanched and froze some white corn I had purchased from the farmer's market earlier this summer.

I bought a dozen ears of sweet corn yesterday that I plan to blanch and freeze, too. We had some Saturday and it was delicious so I had to go get some for us to have all winter.

I read a trick on some website awhile back to put a straw in your bag and use it to suck the air out-- then pull the straw and seal the bag REALLY quickly. It worked perfectly! There is hardly any air in the bag!!

I canned 12 quarts of cinnamon applesauce a few weeks ago with apples from my parents tree.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

I also froze a bunch of sweet corn we got from a local farmer...but the kernels were so juicy, they look freezer burnt after one day. I'm hoping they still taste good when we cook with them

I wanted to take up canning this year, but I realized I could only make so many changes in our habits and diet without overwhelming myself. Hopefully next year I'll be in a position to can tomatoes and apples.

Last time someone gave me frozen green beans, they didn't wash them off or blanch them before they froze them (because they read somewhere not to...) No matter how hard I tried they always tasted like dirt. Maybe this year I'll buy some extra green beans at the farmers market and try myself!

Oh yeah...I also freeze green or red bell peppers, I just haven't yet this season. I dice them and freeze them in half pepper portions. Lots of times when I cook, I only have to grab a bag of green pepper, a bag of onion, grab a frozen garlic clove, etc. Freezing makes mis en place for dinner quick/non-existent!

 

[ccgirl]

Silly question but what does blanching mean?

 

[beansmom]

blanching means to drop raw vegetables in boiling water for a minute or two before plunging them into cold water then packing for freezing.

 

[ccgirl]

blanching means to drop raw vegetables in boiling water for a minute or two before plunging them into cold water then packing for freezing.

I'm so going to try that. Do you dry them off before freezing?

 

[Piecey]

Last time someone gave me frozen green beans, they didn't wash them off or blanch them before they froze them (because they read somewhere not to...) No matter how hard I tried they always tasted like dirt. Maybe this year I'll buy some extra green beans at the farmers market and try myself!

Oh yeah...I also freeze green or red bell peppers, I just haven't yet this season. I dice them and freeze them in half pepper portions. Lots of times when I cook, I only have to grab a bag of green pepper, a bag of onion, grab a frozen garlic clove, etc. Freezing makes mis en place for dinner quick/non-existent!

I was going to try beans but passed. I'm getting a little too pregnant to get too crazy and have never tried beans before. DH says my green beans suck. I'm not sure what he hates so much but anytime I make fresh or frozen green beans he complains so I stick to canned, which I hate, but he doesn't complain about those.
It doesn't help that he grew up eating EVERY vegetable straight from a garden. They ate what his dad shot and his mom grew so he's used to some country style cooking that I just can't recreate.

The only thing I can do with fresh/frozen green beans is a recipe I found for garlic beans. He loves those, even if I use fresh beans, so who knows what I somehow manage to do to them when I cook them regularly that he hates so much.



I also do the same thing with bell peppers and onions! I buy the 3lb bag of onions and if I don't get through it within a reasonable time frame I chop what is left and freeze.

 

[Piecey]

I'm so going to try that. Do you dry them off before freezing?

How are you going to prepare it? If we're talking corn and if you do it on the cob just stick them on a cookie sheet after you blanch and in the freezer to "flash" freeze for maybe an hour? Then take back out and bag and put back in the freezer.

I chose to cut it off the cob in a huuuuge bowl, then I scooped it out in portions close to what I thought we'd eat. Put it in quart size freezer bags, used a straw to suck the air out, sealed the bag and froze.

 

[buckler]

I'm so going to try that. Do you dry them off before freezing?

A good book for learning how to preserve food is "Putting Food By" by Janet Greene,

For freezing green beans the instructions in this book say you can cut them in 1 or 2 inch pieces or leave them whole. Blanch in soft boiling water for 3 minutes. Cool immediately, drain. Seal and freeze.

We plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking after the 3 minutes. Then we drain and use a salad spinner to spin off the excess water. I also lay them on a towel to get off more moisture. Then I place them on a jelly roll pan (a cookie tray with sides) in a single layer and let them freeze. Once they are frozen I put them into plastic bags. I freeze them on the tray so they are not stuck together and I can take just what I need out of the bag.

Edited to add: for corn the book does not recommend freezing it on the cob unless you thaw it before cooking it. It says cobs shouldn't be put frozen into a pot because the kernels will be cooked to death by the time the core of the cob is hot through.

 

[MsDisney23]

I just frooze 3 quart size bags of fresh green beans. Oh one will come out on Thanksgiving. I plan to freeze more for the winter. It really takes hardly any time at all.

 

[Promomx2]

How do you freeze onions? I never thought about that. I always have onions go bad. But if I can chop up and make small portions to thaw out just what I need will save alittle, and every little bit helps.

 

[beansmom]

chop your onions, put them in a layer on a cookie sheet and freeze them...when they're frozen, put them in a baggie or container then in the freezer til you need them.

 

[charming23]

We were in PA visiting family a few weeks ago and my Aunt's dad sent home a bunch of vegetables with us, more than we could have used before they went bad so we froze them. So for winter we have

sweet corn
green beans
green peppers
zucchini
yellow squash

 

[SandrA9810]

Do you need to blanch the veggies before freezing?? I got a bag full green beans at the farmers market and just snapped the ends off before putting them in the ziploc bag and freezing them. They did taste a little rubbery the first time, but I figured I didn't cook them long enough.

I really need to work on this freezing and storing stuff. It's getting to be the end of the season for some things and I want them to last longer. It's so much cheaper to get the fresh stuff at the FM than the frozen in the grocery store.

 

[buckler]

Do you need to blanch the veggies before freezing?

Yes, you need to blanch green beans. Here is the explanation of why from the Putting Food By book I've mentioned.

"Even after vegetables are picked, the enzymes in them make them lose flavor and color and sometimes make them tough - even at freezer temperatures. Therefore, the enzymes must be stopped in their tracks by being heated for a few minutes (how many minutes depends on the size and texture of the vegetable) before the vegetables are cooled quickly and packed. This preheating is necessary for virtually all vegetables: green (sweet) peppers are the notable exception."

Edited to add: the book excerpt doesn't mention that another exception to the blanching rule is onions.

 

[SandrA9810]

I knew that if fresh picked weren't frozen within a certain time frame, the enzymes would cause it to loose nutritional value.

I guess I'll have to try that the next them. I also love cooking with red peppers, but I don't like the texture much. So I hate using a whole pepper. If I can dice them up and freeze them, that would be awesome.

 

[NeedaVacation03]

I froze green peppers, banana peppers and I am finishing up green beans tomorrow. I canned salsa and spaghetti sauce yesterday with plenty more to can this weekend. I also have dehydrated zucchini and tomatoes this week. The garden is keeping me plenty busy. I am thinking of trying to can potatoes but havent gotten my courage all the way up yet.

 

[SandrA9810]

How do you make sun dried tomatoes??
I can get like 4lbs of tomatoes for a buck at the farmer's market. And they keep a while in the fridge, but I want them to last longer. I'd love to make pasta sauce and salsa, but I don't have anything for canning stuff.

 

[buzz5985]

I froze green peppers, banana peppers and I am finishing up green beans tomorrow. I canned salsa and spaghetti sauce yesterday with plenty more to can this weekend. I also have dehydrated zucchini and tomatoes this week. The garden is keeping me plenty busy. I am thinking of trying to can potatoes but havent gotten my courage all the way up yet.

I just canned salsa for the first time, some how my tomatos disintegrated - but the salsa tastes great - guess that's what counts.

Any advice on canning tomatoes/sauce?? What is your procedure. I just received the Ball Blue Book and haven't had a chance to get through it.

How do you make sun dried tomatoes??
I can get like 4lbs of tomatoes for a buck at the farmer's market. And they keep a while in the fridge, but I want them to last longer. I'd love to make pasta sauce and salsa, but I don't have anything for canning stuff.

I just purchased a Ball home canning kit for $9.99 at my local grocery store. It came with 3 jars, lids, and screw tops and a plastic basket that you put the jars in and lower into the water. I was able to make 3 jars of salsa. It was easy - I got a great seal on the lid. Took DH a long time to get it off and you could hear the whoosh when the seal broke.

I noticed Ball sells freezer containers too.

Janis

 

[Piecey]

I noticed Ball sells freezer containers too.

Janis

I have the freezer containers, they are awesome! I make batches of cookie dough and freeze in those containers, slap on a label and voila. They stack in my deep freezer.

I've also pre-made enchilada sauce, spaghetti sauce, etc. and froze in those containers.