freezing produce

[vicki]

now its time for things to be harvested, does anybody know where I can get a list of what freezes well/ whats the best way to do it?
For example - can I chop onions and freeze them raw ready to use as and when, do things need to be blanched before I freeze them?
HELP!!!

[Alice]

Hello Vicki, the book I have is well out of date so I won't recommend it but I'm sure someone else will know of a good one. You don't have to blanche most of your garden vegetables. What i do is prepare them in the style I want to use them - chopped, sliced or whatever. Then spread them out on a tray and put it in the freezer until frozen. The frozen veg then goes in a bag and clipped closed. The veg comes out freeflow. I use this method for carrots, leeks, celery, swedes, beans, peas and all my herbs. I believe you can do your onions in the same way but I always fear the smell will be overpowering in the freezer. If there's anything you have any doubt about you can try a small quantity and see how it goes.

[Lesley Jay]

Vicki I have a good book How To Freeze by Carolyn Humphries £5.99 from W.H.Smiths. The recommendation is to blanche all vegetables. It kills off any nasty bacteria that could cause the vegetables to go off when stored.

[Shortie]

Hi Vicki

I've never personally blanched Onions/leeks etc before, but will be blanching my runners as it helps keep them longer apparently (and as LJ says, helps kill the bacteria)

[Lesley Jay]

After blanching have a bowl of cold water ready and add ice cubes. Drain the vegetables and add to the iced water. This rapidly cools them down which stops the cooking process and helps keep the colour but also you can't put them in the freezer until they are stone cold.

[Alice]

Vicki, have a look for a good modern book and decide for yourself. I have never blanched any vegetables and have never had them "go off". I think there is some question about how long you want to keep the vegetables. If you want to keep them for a year you should blanche them, but if you just want some veg and herbs to get you through the winter , or keep for a few months, there is no need. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Put some in the freezer and see how you get on.

[pigletwillie]

Like you Alice we never blanche and have never had any problems, however we do tend to "convert" most surplus crops into meals before freezing so most of it is actually cooked anyway. Things like sweetcorn are just peeled and frozen with no problems as are beans etc. Onions are just peeled and sliced as are carrots etc.

[Lesley Jay]

I have been told that runner beans and french beans go slimey if they are not blanched first.

[lyndap]

I dont blanch runner beans and used them 9 months later with no probs at all.

[scooby]

i never blanch and im eating perfect runner beans that were grown last year

[jaybex]

this may be a silly question..but can you freeze potatoes and what would i need to do first? do carrots go watery or are they ok once frozen? had our first harvest on the allotment, beens are frozen (after several phonecalls to my parents..do i need to blanch? etc) but dont know what to do with the other crops. any advice would be great.

[Sunbeam]

I s'pose you can - oven chips spring to mind - but whether you need to do anyhting to them first...? Have googled(!) and apparently not unless they've been cooked/partially cooked first... they turn black/go mushy by all accounts

[Alice]

Hello Jaybex, there is quite a lot on the vine about freezing veg and herbs if you just search for it, I never blanch carrots etc Just prepare , spread on a tray, freeze and put in a bag. But sorry, you can't freeze potatoes unless you cook them first. Creamed potatoes can be frozen but quite honestly I don't recommend it. See all the previous posts in this thread. And no, carrots don't come out watery. They come out looking brand new. Use from frozen as with all veg. Hope this is helpful.

[eddie]

my wife freezes spuds all the time ,she blanches them dries them ,freezes ,em but the only good way to cook ,em is to roast them not good for chips or boiled hope this helps anybody know how to dry beans fo storage or am i on wrong thread for this

[martini]

Hi Eddie - can't help on the dried beans I'm afraid but does your OH roast the spuds from frozen?