Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini)

RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchin Post By Sue (Guest Post) (08/20/2008) Gardening is the way to go with todays food prices skyrocketing. I suggest you find a good book on processing garden vegetables, such as "Stocking Up" by Rodale Press. My husband and I have been using this book since the 70's, and I hear there is a new version of it out now. It has absolutely everything in it you want to know about freezing, canning, or processing any garden foods, and then some. I look stuff up in it all the time during the year. By the way, tomatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to can or freeze, and the acidity in them is a natural preservative. Botulism is more common in dishes with meat in or from using veggies that were going bad already. You need to can or freeze only perfect veggies to insure a quality product. Report Spam or Abuse how long can you freeze Zucchini Post By cyndi (Guest Post) (05/08/2008) I have some Zucchini frozen in my freezer from the summer of 2007. I put it in the freezer in about August of 2007. It's now May 2008. Is it still good? Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By fARMER JOHN (Guest Post) (09/14/2007) I have raised zuch. and crooknecks across the front of my yard by the street for years. The dozen plants in the 65ft strip yield about 400#. We let them get big, we havent found that small ones are one bit better, just more work. Grated in the processor and frozen just unthaw, use one egg per cup, a little chives are nice, season to taste and cook with a bit of olive oil like a hash-brown patti. Pureed,we put about four cups (quart bag) in two Walmart 97cent cake mixes.(your choice--spice cake and cin. swirl make a good combo) Why fool with the mess--just leave out the water maybe add 1/2 tsb. baking powder if you want more rise. Offer a child a zuchinni --that will be a no-- a muffin on the other hand and you have them eating something very healthy and they dont know it. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By Janice (Guest Post) (08/28/2007) I freeze zucchini by grating it up and placing it (uncooked) in the freezer. I put appoz. 2 cups in each freezer bag, as that is the amount I use for my zucchini bread recipe. It is also great sauteed with a little olive oil, garlic and salt. To thaw for the bread I just put it in the microwave and then let it drain in a collander while I get the rest of the ingredients ready. It's easy and you don't have to heat the kitchen up in the summer. Enjoy! Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By chris (Guest Post) (08/12/2007) I wash and core the tomatoes and cut out any bad spots, then place them in ziplock freezer bags. When I want to make soup I rinsed the tomato under hot tap water and the skins come off so easy. Then I just throw them into the pot. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchin Post By karin (Guest Post) (10/25/2005) my great aunt used to slice cukes very thin and freeze them in a quart container with water, sugar and vinegar, I think, anybody know how it's done or portions used? Karin Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By anne. (Guest Post) (08/29/2005) I have frozen tomatoes for many years..Blanch whole tomato to remove skin, pack in qt. freezer bags, press air out..and seal. Freeze flat so you can stack more..They are wonderful for pasta sauce, soups, etc. I do not defrost, just dump them in frozen.. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By Deb (Guest Post) (08/18/2005) Yes! we do the tomatoes in the freezer, we just put them "as is" in bags and bring em out all winter long for making spaghetti sauce, chilis, I even throw them in my meatloafs. Best way is to put em in the nuker and thaw them, then just mash em, skins and all (cuz that's where the vitamins are hiding) and then throw em in while you are cooking, or in the meatloaf fold into ground meat and bake. We have 2 freezers now, one for veggies and one for meats & homecooked TV dinners. Our veggie freezer is FULL already (08/05) and its overflowing into the other one. Yes we freeze our string beans (so EZ I wouldn't think not too) Just leave ends on, wash to clean, air dry on towels and put em in ziplock bags. Peas we blanch for 3 mins. and throw onto cookie sheets let freeze then break up and into ziplocks. We also make "meatless" spaghetti sauce in our preserving jars and yes we make sure to watch for botulism by keeping them in a COOL DARK PLACE. because YES tomatoes are DANGEROUS. (and canning beans is even moreso because they won't "tell" like tomatoes do) Now I will get back to what I was REALLY on here for... finding out if you can do anything other than freezer pickles or cumcumber soup ... our cucumbers are making our neighbours nervous, we have given so many of them away .. tee hee. HAPPY GARDENING and check out my site: http://stardancer01.bebo.com to see "Hearts Desire" our 2 yr old 5 acre garden. and if you are ever in the area do drop in. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By Betty (Guest Post) (08/05/2005) You can stock up on canning supplies at yard sales and flea markets also. As far as the botulism in canned tomatoes goes, when I started canning MANY years ago, I took a course offered by our farm extension service. They told us to add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (no sugar) to each quart before processing as a preventitive. You do not taste it and I never had a problem and felt secure with the process. Like you---I was new to canning and a little leary from all the stories. It is really a simple process, but makes one appreciate the 28oz. cans of tomatoes when they go on sale 3/$1. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post by skbeal (70) | (08/04/2005) Profile | Blog! | Contact I have frozen tomatoes before, and it was very successful. I core them, and place them in a freezer bag or container. I DON'T wash them, because that would make them get soggy. I have frozen zucchini, but not very successfully, but I suppose it could be done if you were to salt them and allow them to sit after being salted. That would draw the water out. The same thing might work for cucumbers. I have also frozen things like green beans and snow peas, with no problem. I just pull the strings off of the snow peas, and pull snip a tiny bit of the ends of beans off. I have roasted peppers (red peppers,) and put them in a jar with olive oil, but they do not last very long. Canning is a great thing to learn. I would love to learn. But canning tomatoes is a tricky proposition. Tomatoes carry botulism and so you run the risk of getting horribly sick unless you follow the protocol to the letter. If you have a large garden, with a huge quantity of produce, canning and freezing could save you a substantial amount of money come winter. Another thing I have done with tomatoes is to dry them. I did it in the oven, and sprinkled them with a fair amount of salt so that the salt would draw the water out. I left them in the oven at a very low temperature for the better part of the day. When I took them out of the oven, they were just like sun dried tomatoes, and could be reconstituted by immersing them in water. I used them in several recipes, and they were really good. If you have spices, you can dry those as well. Simply cut the herbs and tie a string at the bottom end of the bunch and hang them upside down to dry. I have also done this with hot peppers. I turn them into reistras (sp?) -- or a hanging chain of hot peppers. It makes a great gift. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By Greg (Guest Post) (05/10/2005) Hogwash about the tomato's. I froze them 'as is', took them out a week later, allowed to defrost in the zip lock bag, and they were mush. Next bag I opened and allowed to defrost - mush. Diced tom's - opened lock bag and allowed to defrost - mush. Some things are better in cans, or used fresh. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchin Post By guest (Guest Post) (08/11/2004) I quarter tomato's throw them in a freezer ziplock bag and use chunks during the winter months in spaghetti sauce, chili, lasagna and soups. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchin Post By Robin (Guest Post) (08/01/2004) I grate my zucchini and put in containers for freezer bags after draining the liquid well This way when I want to make zucchini bread or zucchini cake its done Also freeze my tomatoes whole or chop for sauces and soup base also there is a great freezer recipe for freezer cucumbers and tastes great. If you would like it let me know jrrobertson (at) enter (dot) net Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By Marti (Guest Post) (07/31/2004) You really should learn to can. In another month or two all the canning supplies will be marked down at your local stores. You could stock up on supplies then. Jars are reasonable at Big Lots, and at the Goodwill store you can get a box of jars for a couple dollars. Buy a Ball Blue Book and learn to do it right. For help on canning subscribe to CreativeCanningCuisine @Yahoogroups.com. They are a friendly group who will answer all your questions on how to can safely, and share tried and true recipes. Canning isn't that hard. Marti Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By Deborah (Guest Post) (07/31/2004) As above tomatos can be put in the freezer in many ways. I know of no ways to put cuke in unless some type of cold processed pickles (only for certain types of cukes) - have you thought of making pickles? Zuchinni can be sliced, breaded and frozen in a single layer (ie: on a cookie sheet) and later placed in a freezer bag, for frying at a later date (this is also how you would do okra); Shredded, drained and placed in a freezer bag & frozen, for bread, etc.; or chunked (size depending on use in recipe) and placed in freezer bags and frozen. I like to make Italian zuchinni-tomatoes, celery, onion, gr. pepper & zuchinni w/ spices & little sugar and freeze it that way also. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By katrina (Guest Post) (07/30/2004) we also have a garden and we have had lots of produce come up lately, and our solution is to freeze things like bell peppers, datil peppers, tomatoes, etc., and to cook our squash as it is ready to harvest, so that there is little waste of our yummy veggies Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By Melissa (Guest Post) (07/29/2004) I don't know how to freeze cucumbers either, but I'm also freezing my tomatos. Not that you have to do it this way, but I've been either running them through my food processor (for use later on to make my own tomato sauces etc) or dicing them (For use later on in crock pot chili), and then putting them in washed out jars. And the tip above about the county extension office is a good one. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Freezing Garden Produce (Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Zucchini) Post By plantlady (Guest Post) (07/29/2004) Tomatoes can be frozen as is. They will be a little watery when you defrost them but if you have bushels to deal with I think it is worth the convience. And the skiins will slip off when they defrost! Cucumbers and zucchini will be a mushy mess if you freeze as is (yuck!) without being combined with something else. Like made in to a zucchini bread or the like. Suggestion, experiment with making salsa or spagetti sauce or other tomato based items in the freezer and put the zucchini (finely chopped) into it and see if you like the flavor and the texture when it comes out of being frozen. Just make a small batch and see how you and your family react to it. Everyones taste is different. Not sure about the cucumber as an addition to salsa, but you might like it. Just make the salsa as dry (strain the extra juice out with a colander or strainer) as possible or when you thaw it out it will be very loose and watery, but, heh, maybe you like it that way!? Experiment. Consult a good cookbook like "Putting Food By" or the "Joy of Cooking" or as your country extension agent for advise on freezing garden produce. They know a LOT and your tax dollars pay their salaries, use them as a resource! Warmest Wishes, Denise McCall CHRISTIAN BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY 800-585-5873 opt. 3 for FR*EE info pac, leave ID#3752. No sign-up fee. Cheap mthly purchase for commissions. www.get-it.net/scriptures/dmccal5348/ Report Spam or Abuse