A Few Tips Before We Start
- Blanching is a process of food preparation, usually a vegetable or fruit, is put into boiling water, removed after a brief interval, then put into ice to halt the cooking process. Blanching neutralizes bacteria present in foods delaying spoilage. This is often done before freezing and refrigerating vegetables.
- Unless otherwise specified, it is not recommended to keep frozen vegetables over six months.
- Fruit will keep good frozen for a year or more.
- Fruit in most cases will not have to be blanched due to it's high acid content.
Ok here we go.....
Apricots - I'm talking about the little ones that grow here in Indiana. Pick up off the ground, wash, split in half and take out the pit. Put in water with salt in it just like I explained in Apples then put in bag and vacuum seal.
Apples - to freeze apples you peel, and cut out the cores, slice and put in water that has some salt in it to keep the apples from turning brown, you put 1/4 cup of salt in 1cup of warm water and dissolve. Then add one gallon of cold water and put your sliced apples in this. I measure out approximately 4 cups and put in a bag and vacuum seal. That's it!
See how nice and white they are. They have been in the freezer for about 6 weeks. Now I can make apple pies, apple crisp and more apple butter if I run out!!
Asparagus: wash and cut off any spears and woody parts. Cut in half and blanch
in boiling water for three minutes. Let cool in ice water for three minutes and
then drain. Put wax paper on a cookie tray, lay the asparagus out on the sheet,
and freeze for a half-hour. Pack in freezer bags or vacuum seal for efficient storage.
Beets: Trim tops leaving 1 inch of stem, this will prevent bleeding of their red color. Cook in boiling water until tender. Cool, peel and cut into slices or cubes, put into freezer bags or vacuum seal
Blackberries - I picked blackberries every evening and then I would bring them in the house and rinse off good and put in an air tight plastic bowl and let freeze. Once I had a bowl full I put them in a gallon size freezer bag. I did this each day and when I got a freezer bag full I was done, That simple. I can't wait to get them out and make a cobbler and some Blackberry Jelly!!
- You can do your raspberries and strawberries the same way, remove the caps off strawberries, and you can slice or freeze whole.
Blueberries: Blueberries freeze particularly well and will keep in the freezer
for up to a year. Simply lay a single layer of unwashed, dry blueberries out on
a cookie sheet and freeze. Washing them before freezing will compromise the
texture and toughen the skins. Put in freezer bag.Broccoli: Use the tender stalks and heads. Wash thoroughly, blanch for three minutes, cool in ice water for three minutes, drain, and freeze in the same manner as asparagus, for 30 minutes. Pack in freezer bags, making sure to remove the air or vacuum seal.
- Or you can also Split into pieces about 1½ inches across. Blanch, cool and drain. Put in freezer bags or vacuum seal.
Brussel sprouts: Trim and remove outer leaves. Blanch for 3 minutes, cool and drain place in freezer bags or vacuum seal.
Cabbage: Strip the outer leaves off and wash the rest. Cut into thin strips or
shred and blanch for 1 ½ minutes. Cool in ice water for one-two minutes. Pack in
freezer bags and freeze.
Carrots: Scrub and chop any large carrots into smaller pieces. Blanch three
minutes, chill three minutes. Freeze in the same manner as the asparagus and
pack in freezer bags, making sure to remove the air or vacuum seal.
Cauliflower: the same method as the broccoli
This is Peaches and Cream, a bi-color corn
Cucumber - Chop in food processor--peeling is optional or you can slice thin. Pack into airtight containers or freezer bags, making sure to seal well or as I prefer, vacuum seal.
Eggplant: Wash, peel and slice. Blanch for 1 1/2 minutes, cool 1 1/2 minutes, drain and place in freezer bags or vacuum seal.
Green Beans - Pick, break off both ends, snap, and wash green beans, blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes, (tip: get your water boiling and use a wire basket and drop them in), pull up wire basket let drain and put in Ice water to stop the cooking process. Place in bag and vacuum seal.
- Tip: If you don't have a vacuum sealer you can use freezer bags and squeeze as much air out as possible. However, if you are getting serious about freezing you should invest in a vacuum sealer, they are worth their wait in gold. The prevent freezer burn and they are also great to seal you meat that you buy in bulk and breakdown.
As you can see these were froze in freezer bags, the sealing wire broke on my vacuum sealer so I had to buy another one.
Mushrooms: Pack clean mushrooms in freezer bags, remove air, and freeze. You can also flour clean mushrooms and place on a cookie sheet for thirty minute and place in a freezer bag removing as much air as possible and the are ready to fry right out of the freezer.
Onions - Peel skins off onions and quarter, put in food processor to dice or cut into thin slices, put in bags and seal. Your done with the tears!!
Peaches - Wash, peel, split in half and take out the pit, and slice or just leave in halves. Put in water with salt in it just like I explained in Apples then put in bag and vacuum seal.
Peas: Shell, wash, blanch for one minute, and chill for one minute. Freeze in the same manner as asparagus and store in freezer bags or you can simply place in freezer bags removing all the air or vacuum seal after the cooling process.
Peppers (Bell, banana, jalapeno, etc) - for bell peppers wash, cut out seeds and stems, cut into strips or little quarter-inch squares, for banana peppers wash, cut out seeds and stems, cut in half long ways, or cut in rings, for jalapenos you can cut out seeds and stems, cut in half long ways, or cut in rings, or you can just leave them whole. Place in a bag and vacuum seal.
Persimmons - These are the little persimmons that grow here in Indiana, some will not be ready till after the first killing frost and some are the kind that are ready before. Pick them up off of the ground, take the caps off and wash. Run through a food mill to render out the pulp. Measure out 2 cups put in a bag and vacuum seal.
Pumpkin - Cut pumpkin and remove the seed and peel. Slice into cubes and boil like you would potatoes to mash. Once pumpkin is tender, drain and use a potato masher or food processor to make it into a pulpy consistancy. Measure out 2 cups and put in a bag and vacuum seal.
Raspberries - Use the same process as the Blackberries
Squash - For the big long neck squash and butternut I use the same method as the Pumpkin
I use this to make squash pies, they are just as good as pumpkin pies, Yummy!!
Tomatoes - Wash tomatoes, remove stems and put in wire basket, Drop basket into boiling water and blanch for 3 minutes. Remove, cool, peel the skins, core the tomatoes and dice, quarter or leave whole. Place in bag and vacuum seal. I use these all winter long for chilli, pasta sauce and vegetable soup.
Tomato Juice - Wash tomatoes, remove stems and put in wire basket, drop into boling water and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain and put in vegetable strainer and squeeze out the juice. Cool, pour into freezer bags removing as much air as possible or vacuum seal.
Zucchini - Wash, remove both the stem and the bloom end, cut in half long ways and remove any seeds. It is optional to peel or not peel and then I use a grater or you may want to use a food processor. Measure out 2 cups and place in bag and vacuum seal. Wonderful for casseroles and zucchini Bread and muffins, Yummy!!
