freezing veg

[kittykat8]

How would you go about freezing the following

carrots

cabbage

peppers

runner beans

french drawf beans



thanks

marion

[momol]

Hi Marion,

You could freeze carrot, runner beans, french beans, and pepper by firstly cutting them in the size you prefered and slightly blanch them, let it drain and cooled and ready to be freeze. I heards that some grapes skip the blanching, I usually do ( you will have to choose and try your prefered method ) and as for cabbage I have no idea, never tried to freeze them before. Hope it help, cheers...

Momol

[borage]

I've only frozen dwarf french beans, didn't bother blanching them just popped them in a bag and straight into the freezer.

[Nicky]

I've frozen broad beans, french beans, peas and will be freezing my runner beans when they arrive. I blanch them all first then cool them quickly in iced water before drying and freezing. It works well. I'd not bother with the carrots - they don't taste the same when they've been frozen they have that horrid canned carrott taste. Iknow from experience as I tried to use all allotment veg for my Christmas dinner last year - good job I tried them first before cooking them all and dishing them up, I had time to cook replacement fresh ones.

[rustylady]

If you want to freeze cabbage, you will need to chop or shred it first. You can either pack it into bags or tubs and freeze in portion sizes, or open freeze on a tray and then put into bags or tubs. Open freezing usually has the advantage of the frozen produce not sticking together in a lump. I'm one of the grapes who skip the blanching. Runner beans, prepare as for cooking, then open freeze. Dwarf French the same. Carrots I don't freeze, they go mushy.

[Benacre]

Why freeze you should in theory have fresh veg all year round if you sow sucessionalyy

[Alice]

Hello KittyKat8, All the veg you mention, I would prepare ready for use as you want them. Spread on a tray. Put in the freezer til frozen. Tip into a freezer bags and clip closed. Use from frozen.
Benacre, we all try to have fresh all the year round, but sometimes we have a glut which can't all be used at once. I would rather freeze the surplus than waste it. But I don't grow to fill my freezer, preferring to get what is seasonal and fresh. I'm sure that's true for most of us. An ongoing challenge.

[DAVEM]

I am intrigued by these responses. Over the years I have tried freezing various veg with very limited success indeed. Just freezing without blanching and properly cooling ( which if done correctly takes loads of freezing water - logistically difficult if you follow the correct required quantities) frankly has been a waste of time. Has anyone tried eating runner beans that has just been straight freezed withour preparation? They lose taste and texture as do many other veg. I tried cauli once without correct preparation - just a stinky mush when you defrosted and I tried to cook.
The only I find veg easy to prepare correctly & successfully ( blanching and quick cooling apparently affects the enzyme process) have been broad beans.
Sweetcorn on the cob ? Ask me about it!! I have tried every way to freeze but without success. Maybe I'm spoiled by the taste of fresh veg- nothing compares!

[momol]

no waste...

Hello KittyKat8, All the veg you mention, I would prepare ready for use as you want them. Spread on a tray. Put in the freezer til frozen. Tip into a freezer bags and clip closed. Use from frozen.
Benacre, we all try to have fresh all the year round, but sometimes we have a glut which can't all be used at once. I would rather freeze the surplus than waste it. But I don't grow to fill my freezer, preferring to get what is seasonal and fresh. I'm sure that's true for most of us. An ongoing challenge.

Yes, I agreed with Alice. I don't sow huge amount of things in one goal as it is only 2 of us to eat them, but sometimes you just got much more harvest than what you have expected ( sometimes you just eat some other thing and no more room for the rest or due to some short trip to somewhere ). I don't grow veggies specially for freezing purpose, but if I have surplus, I don't want to waste them too, either give it away to family/ friends or freeze them.Mind you, I don't freeze that often too ( 2 to 3 times only ). That is why I don't know what is the different freezing with blanching or without. If any grapes has tried both ways, please let me know which is better, thanks in advance

Momol

[Alison]

How would you go about freezing the following

carrots

cabbage

peppers

runner beans

french drawf beans



thanks

marion

Personally I wouldn't bother freezing any of those raw, they just don't taste anywhere near as nice as when fresh and are very disappointing. However, I do use some of them in handy ready meals ie adding peppers to courgettes and tomatoes for cooked future pasta sauces etc. Likewise, I find carrots freeze OK when cooked in caseroles (not really the time of year for it but you know what I mean.). Might just be my personal opinion but I never have enough freezer space for everything anyway so prefer to keep it for some soft fruit, broad beans, peas etc.

[moggssue]

So, I guess the more seasoned among you would recommend if we must freeze gluts, we should cook them into a meal rather than freezing raw? Sounds like a good idea to me, given the room in the freezer of course!

[Cutecumber]

I'm a little put off by some of the replies here - all that the OP asked was how to do it. Clearly many of us would love to have a year round supply of veg picked straight from the garden, but, you know what? It's impossible for most of us. Sorry that you feel we are compromising.

Anyway, for Kittycat, here is a link to the BBC website with a section on what to do with gluts of vegetables:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/news_and_e...nalglut1.shtml

[moggssue]

Thanks for the link Cutecumber, very helpful to at least this grape!!

[Alison]

You can freeze some gluts but it also depends what you want to use them for. For example, tomatoes go mushy but if you're cooking them anyway then it doesn't really matter. I think it's a case of suck it and see, I never want to store too much anyway as I like to eat in season as much as possible as I enjoy food so much more when I haven't had it for a while.

[bramble]

Personally, i freeze anything that cannot be eaten at the time. I just wash, dry and chop and put into freezer bags to use later in the year. I never make meals of them because there is always more time in the winter to be more creative.