I don't have a lot of time to blanch all the vegies & herbs from my garden. As long as you snap freeze them in the condition you'll need them when they are thawed, i.e., sliced, halved etc., on a tray, separately, they are fine to just use straight from the freezer. I freeze zuchinni, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts to name just a few, this way & they taste wonderful when steamed, baked, stir-fry etc. Just make sure they are frozen in pieces, not in a clump, so you can use what you need.
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Request: Freezing Fresh Vegetables From My Garden
Archived on 01/08/2007
I planted my first garden this year and a lot of the veggies I planted are becoming ready to pick. I need to know how to go about picking the veggies and freezing them. Can I just pick them out of the garden, wash, and put in Ziplock bags or do they have to be cooked ahead of time? Most of the veggies I have are typical garden vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.)
Most veggies need to be blanched (cooked in boiling water) then allowed to cool before freezing. The amount of time in the boiling water depends on the veggie. See the above publication, or call your local county extension (if you are in the US) a part of your state university. (06/11/2004)
I know I have always done things different and this is no exception. I always thought blanching veggies before freezing was such a waste of time. So one year with my peas, I blanched half the crop and then froze them, and the other half I washed and then froze. WELL the ones that were not blanched tasted better, like they had just come out of the garden. So now I "just freeze" most of the veggies without blanching. (06/12/2004)
