6/15/13

Living Well: 11 Secrets To Properly Freezing Produce

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Living Well: 11 Secrets To Properly Freezing Produce

May 29, 201 3

This summer inspiration is brought to y ou by Target. Find more fun and surprises all season long on Targets #SummerUp Pinterest board. Images and tex t by Lindsey Johnson for Design Mom. When I was a little girl, I lov ed going to my Grandma Max ies house. There was alway s something y ummy to eat, especially during the summer when her garden was brimming with strawberries, rhubarb, peaches, and all sorts of v eggies. I used to pass by the giant (ancient) freezer on my way through the garage to the backy ard and I would stop, open it, and gaze at the stacks and stacks of square freezer containers with green or y ellow lids. Each had tape around it and was labeled with the contents. My fav orite, no surprise, was her strawberry and raspberry freezer jam.

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Now that Im a mom, I enjoy taking my kids to local pick-y our-own farms to pick fruits and v egetables. Along with the harv est from our garden and stops at roadside stands and farmers markets, we end up with a lot of summer fruit and v egetables that we want to preserv e and enjoy throughout the y ear, not just during the summer. While I really enjoy canning now and again, Iv e really been channeling my grandmother the past few y ears and taken freezing food to a new lev el.

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Theres a reason for that. I find that some things are quicker to preserv e when freezing, like berries. And other produce is fresher tasting and the quality is a bit better when freezing instead of canning. Plus, confession: I just dont like canned v eggies all that much. So, freezing it is!

Remember last summer when we cov ered the basics of washing and storing produce? Consider this the companion to that post. As with canning, freezing produce requires a little bit of planning and gathering the proper equipment. While canning relies on heat to kill microbes, which then also destroy s some of the nutritional v alue, freezing delay s the growth of bacteria and slows the work of enzy mes, which keeps the food preserv ed. Thats not to say that frozen food isnt as safe as canned food. Its just a different way to do it.
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A big plus for freezing produce is that it ends up tasting much fresher and contains more nutrients than canned produce. But there is a draw back as well. The tex ture of thawed v eggies and fruit can be undesirable. In the process of freezing, the water within the fruits and v eggies turns to ice. As it does, it ex pands which causes cell walls to burst. This can equal mushy tex ture when thawed. But there are steps y ou can take to ensure higher quality frozen fruits and v eggies similar to the ones y ou buy at the grocery store. And well cov er those below.

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First lets talk about the materials y oull need to assemble before y ou start.

GATHER MATERIALS Secret #1 : Something great thing about freezing fruits and v egetables is that y ou dont really need fancy equipment. Freezer bags come in handy for dry pack freezing that doesnt inv olv e using sy rups or purees. Rigid plastic (and sometimes glass) containers and jars come in handy for liquid or semi-solid foods, sauces, jams, and other preserv es. I stocked up on both sorts of containers (including some pretty awesome jars for freezer jam) and plastic freezer bags at Target.
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Living Well: 11 Secrets To Properly Freezing Produce

In addition to containers, I also recommend freezer paper, freezer tape, and heav y -duty foil. They come in handy for packaging certain foods and for long-term storage. Long term means longer than the ty pical 6-1 2 months. The longer y ou store the food in the freezer, the more the quality declines, but it is still perfectly fine to eat. Another essential for me is a rimmed baking sheet. I use it to quickly freeze indiv idual pieces of whole or sliced produce. More on that in a bit. Again, I found all the materials I needed for this post from bowls, to markers, to baking sheets at Target.

PREPARE THE FOOD Y oull want to wash all fruits and v egetables well, especially if y ou dont plan on peeling them, and pat them dry with a paper towel or dishtowel. Some fruits and v egetables can be frozen whole, while others need to be peeled, pitted, and/or cut into smaller pieces. A bit of it is personal preference, but some produce definitely does better in the freezer when cut into smaller pieces.

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Living Well: 11 Secrets To Properly Freezing Produce

Secret #2: Fruits and v eggies that do ex ceptionally well frozen whole: Berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, currants, cranberries, etc.), bananas, chili peppers, beans, asparagus, tomatoes, and corn.

Secret #3: Produce that does well sliced or diced: Bell peppers, av ocado, mango, pineapple, melon, peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries), apples (y es, y ou can freeze apples!), summer squash, and winter squash.

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Cut broccoli and cauliflower into florets. Shell peas, trim the ends of green beans and asparagus. Dice or slice peeled carrots, squash, brussels sprouts, and large leav es of spinach, chard, and kale. Rhubarb should be trimmed of woody ends and diced.

Potatoes can be frozen, but benefit from being shredded. Think: hashbrowns. (Note: I personally dont like freezing potatoes at home. The quality just isnt as good.) Zucchini is another v eggie with a high water content. It can be sliced or diced and frozen, but I prefer shredding it instead.

Corn and bananas are pretty v ersatile when it comes to freezing. Corn can be frozen whole or cut from the cob. Its totally up to y ou! I think its one of the best v eggies for freezing because the quality isnt as affected by the cold temperatures.

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Living Well: 11 Secrets To Properly Freezing Produce

Bananas can be frozen whole and unpeeled, or peeled and whole, or peeled and cut. They re pretty fabulous that way ! I cant resist adding a frozen banana to my daily smoothie to sweeten it up without adding sugar.

After fruits and v eggies hav e been peeled, sliced and diced, as needed, there are a few more preparation steps. Secret #4: Most v egetables also need to be blanched before freezing. Blanching is nothing more than plunging v egetables into a pot of boiling water, letting them cook briefly (3-4 minutes max ), and transferring them to a big bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Why is this important? Remember that mushiness I mentioned earlier? This will help with that, but it also
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helps maintain the color and nutrients, as well as killing any surface organisms that could lead to spoilage. Corn (though y ou could), tomatoes, onions, potatoes (including sweet), and winter squash dont need to be blanched. And neither do fruits.

Leafy greens dont hav e to be cooked, but they can be. But one thing is for sure, quickly sauteing spinach, for instance, really sav es on space! Pictured abov e is four ounces of spinach cooked and fresh.

Something I saw a few months ago (and a few of y ou lov ely readers mentioned to me) that I think is brilliant, is making spinach ice cubes to add to smoothies. I usually just put the greens into my smoothie packs, but I finally tried this and Im hooked! Simply add a whole bunch of leafy greens to a blender with enough water to
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make a smooth puree and freeze. Easy peasy ! I also like to roast some foods before I freeze them. Iv e done this with tomatillos, plums, tomatoes, and peppers. I will either puree them into a sauce or freeze them as is, juices and all.

Secret #5: In canning, foods are treated with citric acid, lemon juice, or ascorbic acid to help kill microorganisms and prev ent discoloration. The same rings true with freezing. Think of all of y our fav orite fruits that turn brown after being cut bananas, av ocado, peaches and nectarines, apples, etc. They benefit from a quick dip into acidulated water.

Make a solution of 1 /2 teaspoon ascorbic acid (found in the pharmacy or canning section of grocery stores)
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per 3 Tablespoons of water, or 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice in 4 cups (1 quart) water. Sprinkle or dip the fruit with the solution and let dry .

FREEZING First up, Dry Pack freezing, where we start by talking about IQF, or Indiv idually Quick Frozen. The idea behind this is simple: if a fruit/v eggie is frozen in a single lay er (whole or sliced), it will freeze more quickly . Secret #6: Freezing quickly is great because a) fruits and v eggies are easy to thaw out if they arent frozen together in a big lump, and b) the quality is better after thawing.

All y ou do is place ev ery thing y ou want to freeze in a single lay er on a lined baking sheet. Lined, so that what
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y oure freezing doesnt stick to the pan. The goal is to freeze the food as quickly as possible. Adjusting the temperature of the freezer ahead of time is a good idea. Y ou want to ensure that its as cold as possible at least 0 degrees F or lower. Y ou also want to make sure there is plenty of air circulation for ev en freezing, so its better not to lay er a bunch of bags or containers in the freezer at once. Doing it ov er the course of a day or a few day s is a good idea. Be sure to not open the freezer as the produce is freezing on the baking sheets. Y ou really want them to freeze as quickly as possible without fluctuating temperatures. When the food is frozen, transfer to containers or bags and place the bags back in the freezer. Remov ing air from containers and bags will help keep frozen food last that much longer and help prev ent hoar frost from forming.

Secret #7 : Another option is Wet Pack freezing, or freezing fruit in a sugar sy rup. The recipe for the sy rup is the same as y oud use when canning. All of the steps are the same as with canning, ex cept no cooking needed. Its so easy to do!

Of course I cant talk about freezing produce without talking about freezer jam. In the winter months, its really wonderful to pull out a jar or container of freezer jam made from summer fruit. We really enjoy making
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jam at our house and it is another great way to enjoy frozen fruit. I also freeze fruit and v egetable purees (including baby food when my kids were tiny ), soups, sauces and other condiments, like fresh salsa.

LABELING & STORING Secret #8: Y oull want to label the bags and containers with the date and the contents. Y ou might think y oull remember what it is, but six months down the road it might be more difficult to remember what was in each bag or container.

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Freezer tape will stay on the containers despite the cold temperature and the moisture. I like to run tape around the containers too, to keep out air and prev ent hoar frost. Wrapping bags and containers in foil and taping will also help with that.

I like to use resealable freezer bags a lot when I freeze produce. They re easy and inex pensiv e. Secret #9: Both bags and containers should be packed full. Remov e as much air as possible. A trick I learned is to use a straw to suck all of the air from the bag and then quickly close it.

For containers, remov ing air is a bit challenge without the help of a v acuum dev ice. A v acuum sealer is definitely the way to go for long-term storage both for bags and containers. It is worth the ex tra ex pense to purchase a dev ice if y ou do a lot of freezing. Remov ing the ex tra air and sealing fruit and v eggies indiv idually in plastic packaging y ields a lot better results than the freezer bags alone. (My grandma swears by it!) Secret #1 0: When using containers, be sure to leav e enough headspace to allow for the liquids to ex pand as it freezes.

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STORAGE TIME & THAWING Ty pically in a basic freezer, frozen fruits and v eggies will last a v ery long time. As time passes, the food doesnt become inedible, but the quality does deteriorate. If y ou plan on keeping frozen foods for a long time, a deep freeze might be a better bet as it has lower temperatures and is opened less often. Secret #1 1 : Fruit will keep well for a y ear, and v eggies will keep for about 1 8 months. (Iv e had some keep for much, much longer.)

When thawing, know that fruits are better eaten when still a little frozen so they arent completely mushy . Or y ou can cook them into sauces, or add them to smoothies. V egetables are best cooked straight from the freezer, no thawing. Some v egetables suffer no ill effects from freezing corn and peas, particularly . Others will be better in recipes where they will break down and be consumed in smaller pieces, like soups, stews and sauces. Theres nothing easier than pulling a bag of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower straight out of the freezer and toss them right into a Thai curry .

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Well there we hav e it. Ev ery thing y ou need to know to get y our summer harv est stocked away for the winter. What about y ou? Does all this talk about freezing fruits and v eggies take y ou right back to summers at y our grandmas house? Do y ou prefer canning? Any tips or secrets y ouv e learned along the way ? Id lov e to know! P.S. Lov e secrets? Y ou can find all of the other posts in the Liv ing Well series here.

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Just Moms Blog Archiv e Liv ing Well: 1 1 Secrets To Properly Freezing Produce May 29, 201 3 at 4:30 pm Liv ing Well: 1 1 Secrets To Properly Freezing Produce May 29, 201 3 at 5:02 pm i Home Making | 1 1 Secrets To Properly Freezing Produce May 30, 201 3 at 8:52 am Linkuri pentru week-end | Alo... BEBE! May 30, 201 3 at 1 :25 pm I lov e lists, Friday ! Shutterbean May 31 , 201 3 at 2:01 am Link Lov e | Hy -v ee Health State of Mind
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May 31 , 201 3 at 9:48 am Internet Inspiration #3 | The Contemporary Crafter May 31 , 201 3 at 9:43 pm V ikulok | Elda V esturheimi June 2, 201 3 at 7 :39 am Preserv ation Tips and Tricks Freezing | Little Home in the Big City June 3, 201 3 at 6:1 7 am Getting More Use Out of Y our Freezer this Summer - Magnificent Mothers June 4, 201 3 at 1 0:1 3 am Friday Wellness Rev iew June 7 , 201 3 at 1 2:04 pm the-v egan-librarian: dizzy maiden: dreamalittlebiggerblog: More | V egan Today June 1 0, 201 3 at 8:35 pm 1 1 secrets to properly freezing produce | bev y kona June 1 1 , 201 3 at 3:22 pm

{ 51 comments read them below or add one }

Maria Babin
photography ! Reply

May 29, 201 3 at 1 0:25 am

The Liv ing Well series is simply genius, Gabrielle and Lindsay ! If y ou turned it into a book, Id be the first to buy it! So well thought out, planned and ex ecuted! Cry stal clear ex planations and gorgeous

Sharon @ Discovering Blog

touches. Reply

May 29, 201 3 at 2:09 pm

I completely , 1 00% agree. I lov e the tips, I lov e the photography , and enjoy the personal

Lindsey Johnson
Reply

May 29, 201 3 at 7 :35 pm

Thank y ou, Maria! (Totally blushing right now.) :)

kim @ DESIGN + LIFE + KIDS

Reply

May 29, 201 3 at 9:1 8 pm

TOTALLY ! y our tips and photography are so helpful and ey e candy

Petra Palmer

June 4, 201 3 at 1 0:52 am

I fourth that! A really stunning resource! Thanks for all the work y ou put into it, I will definitely come back to it for reference. Practical and so pretty with y our photos!
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Reply

Margaret

May 29, 201 3 at 1 0:50 am

This is brilliant. I already freeze a number of fruits and v eggies this way y oure so right about the quality being better, and they re so easy to cook with but I cant wait to try some of the tricks that are new to me: fruit in sy rup, av ocados Thanks for gathering all this handy info in one place! Reply

Lindsey Johnson
So glad, Margaret! Thanks! Reply

May 29, 201 3 at 7 :35 pm

PARIS BEE kids blog

x ox o PARIS BEE kids blog Reply

May 29, 201 3 at 1 0:53 am

Great to hav e all these tips!!! Thank y ou!!

KelliO

May 29, 201 3 at 1 1 :1 0 am

Lov ely pictures! I sure wish I had a bigger freezer! Question: how do y ou manage to do salsa? Last summer we froze some, knowing wed want a February pick-me-up, but it was much more liquid than I prefer. Do y ou just make y our salsa ex tra chunky to freeze? Reply

Lindsey Johnson

May 29, 201 3 at 7 :37 pm

10

I know ex actly what y ou mean! Y ou can either strain off the ex tra liquid, add some tomato paste to thicken it up from the get-go, or I seed my tomatoes. When I cut them in halfeither directionI gently squeeze out the pulp and seeds and then just chop the meaty part. When we thaw it out, I usually puree some to make it thicker. Hope that helps! Thanks, Kelli! Reply

Michelle

May 29, 201 3 at 1 1 :48 am

11

Oh my , how hav e I nev er thought of freezing av ocados? Do y ou eat it fresh from the freezer, or is it better cooked out of the freezer? By the way , my life totally changed for the better when I discov ered flash freezing. I didnt know the emphasis should be on freezing quickly though (as opposed to just
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freezing separately ). V ery helpful post for amateurs like me thank y ou! Reply

Lindsey Johnson

May 29, 201 3 at 7 :38 pm

12

Hi, Michelle! These are great questions! Y ou can use the av ocados frozen in smoothies. Y ou might want to dice them or slice them for easier blending. But they actually thaw out for guacamole pretty well. I think its due to the higher fat/lower water content. Thank y ou! Reply

Laura
Reply

May 30, 201 3 at 3:1 6 pm

13

Thanks so much for this postIv e nev er thought of freezing av ocados!

Mandy

May 29, 201 3 at 1 :00 pm

14

What beautiful photos! This is such a useful post that I will be referring to regularly as I know I hav e planted too many v eggies in our garden this y ear to eat this summer. I nev er knew y ou could freeze so many of the things y ou mentioned. I saw y ou posted kale and spinach, but do y ou think I can freeze lettuce somehow for smoothies as well? Hmm I might just hav e to giv e a bunch of red lettuce away at work. Thank y ou so much for this timely post! Reply

Lindsey Johnson
hearty v eggie garden! :) Reply

May 29, 201 3 at 7 :42 pm

15

Hi Mandy ! I dont see why y ou couldnt freeze lettuce. I would may be do the ice cube trick instead of the other because lettuce has more water than some of the other greens. Woohoo for a

Dee Wilcox

May 29, 201 3 at 2:1 3 pm

16

This is brilliant! I freeze quite a bit, but y ouv e outdone y ourself! And now I know what to do with all our ex tra greens. Thank y ou so much! Reply

Annie

May 29, 201 3 at 2:35 pm

17

This is SO helpful. Going to be referring back to this post all summer as all the good fruits/v eg
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come in. Reply

Rebecca

May 29, 201 3 at 4:20 pm

18

Im so glad I read this. Im totally gonna chop up some stir fry v eggies and freeze them into meal size packs especially since y ou said they re better cooked from frozen. Life. Changed. Reply

Marija Taraba
Reply

May 29, 201 3 at 4:25 pm

19

Why do y ou leav e greens on y our strawberries?

Lindsey Johnson

May 29, 201 3 at 7 :45 pm

20

Hi Marija! I used to cut them off, but saw a friend who left hers on and I thought two things a) easier to freeze them whole and b) ex tra nutrients. I usually cut them off when I eat the strawberries raw, but in a smoothie, I dont mind them. Great question! I should hav e said that in the post. Heres a link to some of the health benefits: http://www.liv estrong.com/article/47 2453-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-strawberry -leav es/ Reply

Eliza

May 29, 201 3 at 5:1 4 pm

21

Tip #8 is v ery important! Once I thought I was making a watermelon milkshake but it turned out to be a stewed tomato milkshake. Reply

Lindsey Johnson
Reply

May 29, 201 3 at 7 :45 pm

22

Ha! That has totally happened to me before!

Koseli

May 29, 201 3 at 5:46 pm

23

This post is absolutely gorgeous. Practical tips, too. I agree with the canning conundrum: I prefer fresh/frozen so much more. Thank y ou, Lindsay ! Reply

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Lindsey Johnson
Thanks, Koseli! Reply

June 4, 201 3 at 8:26 am

24

Beth

May 29, 201 3 at 7 :50 pm

25

Thanks so much for this timely postpicking season is just about to begin. Regardless of how quickly and diligently we eat our produce, u-pick markets = LOTS of ex tra food! Thank y ou. Reply

kim @ DESIGN + LIFE + KIDS

May 29, 201 3 at 8:34 pm

26

I lov e these posts! I often refer to the how to store fruits and v eggies when Im buy ing large amounts of produce and I get a little bogged down and forgetful. Thank y ou! Reply

Marie
it before! Reply

May 30, 201 3 at 9:43 am

27

Can y ou pleeeeeeease post a recipe for freezer jam??? I am so intrigued, but hav e nev er heard of

Laura
store! Reply

May 30, 201 3 at 3:1 8 pm

28

And a salsa recipe too, if y ou hav e a chance! Im determined to stop buy ing salsa from the

Lindsey Johnson

June 4, 201 3 at 8:37 am

29

Marie, I usually just follow the directions on the pectin packages I pick up at the grocery store or other big stores like Target. (This is one brand Iv e used before and is av ailable most any where http://www.kraftbrands.com/surejell) I try to be sure that I get one that doesnt require the use of corn sy rup. The liquid Certo pectin (from SureJell) works great! Y ou just add a little fresh lemon juice, mashed fruit and sugar. There are also low-sugar and no-sugar pectin packs av ailable. I was alway s nerv ous to try freezer jam until my good friend showed me how easy it was. It literally takes just a few minutes. The package insert will tell y ou how much fruit to buy , etc. This is another great resource for making no-cook freezer jam. http://www.seriouseats.com/201 1 /06/how-to-make-no-cook-freezer-jam.html Laura, I use the same recipe for fresh and frozen. :) I think its pretty fantastic. One thing y ou can also do is double it or triple it and use some canned tomatoes in addition to the fresh. That helps keep it from getting too watery when y ou thaw it out. It is different thawed than fresh. So when we use it, its not just to eat with chips. Ill use it in other way s too. Another tipsqueeze the pulp
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from the tomato halv es before dicing them. :) Restaurant Sty le Fresh Salsa Ingredients: 5-6 large ripe tomatoes, chopped 3-4 green onions, thinly sliced and chopped (red, white or y ellow onions are fine too) 1 large jalapeno, ribs and seeds remov ed (if desired), finely chopped 1 garlic clov e, finely minced juice of 1 lime salt and pepper, to taste fresh cilantro, finely chopped Instructions: Toss ev ery thing together in a bowl and eat with chips. V ariations: Add some diced mango, pineapple or peaches along with the tomatoes for a fruity salsa Try using other kinds of tomatoes or tomatillos, and chiles for a different flav or Add some ground chipotle chili powder for a smoky , spicy kick. Change up the herbs by using parsley or oregano instead of the cilantro. Makes about 3-4 cups of salsa. Reply

Andrea

May 30, 201 3 at 1 1 :20 pm

30

Thanks so much for sharing. We do a lot of freezing and canning at our house. I agree that frozen produce tastes much more fresh. (Strawberry freezer jam beats canned jam any day !) Howev er, we still can some of our produce because we consider our food stash to also be an emergency stash. In the case of a power outage, my four kids will still hav e y ummy canned peaches to eat. :) Reply

Lindsey Johnson

June 4, 201 3 at 8:40 am

31

Y oure totally right. :) My kids still prefer home canned peaches to almost any thing else especially if they are really good peaches. And because y ou brought it up, power outages are a good thing to address! So thanks for jogging my memory ! If the power goes out and the freezer is full of food, the best thing to do is leav e the freezer closed. If things dont completely thaw out, they can be refrozen. This is assuming the power outage isnt v ery long, of course. :) Sadly , if y ou hav e a freezer full of delicious summer fruit and someone unplugs the
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freezer and y ou dont find out until a week later, nothing will be salv ageable. Or so Iv e heard ;) Reply

mouse

May 31 , 201 3 at 1 0:31 pm

32

I used to hav e problems with my berries sticking together, ev en if I flash froze them first and then put them in containers. But then someone told me to not wash them, just dry brush v isible dirt off then freeze. No more berry clumps! If y ou like y ou can wash them when y ou take them out of the freezer to use them. Reply

Lindsey Johnson
Thats a great tip! Thanks! Reply

June 4, 201 3 at 8:41 am

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Sarah

June 1 , 201 3 at 1 1 :1 7 pm

34

This really does take me back to my Grandmothers house! She and my Grandfather had a deep freeze where they would keep lots of frozen fruits, v eggies, meats and jams. These tips are v ery helpful. Thank y ou for sharing! Reply

Ana

June 2, 201 3 at 4:37 pm

35

Thank y ou! The article is amazing,lov e all the tips for freezing and the pictures are beautiful! Fantastic job!!! Reply

Cathleen

June 2, 201 3 at 6:01 pm

36

Potatoes freeze wonderfully just not as potatoes. Boiled and then sliced into steak fries. IQF the pieces and then when y ou want French fries y ou take them out, no need to defrost, toss with seasoning and some oil and then roast. Reply

Lindsey Johnson
Reply

June 4, 201 3 at 8:41 am

37

Thanks for adding that in Cathleen! Ill hav e to giv e that a try .

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Jayne

June 3, 201 3 at 1 :01 am

38

Really in depth and detailed writeup! I hav e a chest freezer but its really really messy . I want to start freezing stiff but hate that when I want something from the bottom of the freezer, its so hard to reach with all the containers stacked on top. I hav e to figure that out before embarking on this brilliant road of frozen food and produce. Reply

Maggie

June 3, 201 3 at 6:03 am

39

What about tomatoes? They seem v ery high-water content. Besides cooking them into a sauce, can they be frozen as is? Reply

Lindsey Johnson

June 4, 201 3 at 8:43 am

40

I freeze them whole on a baking sheet like with the berries and put them into bags. They are great in soups and stewsstraight into the slow cooker tooand I ev en roast them. The peels come off so easily after they v e been frozen. I dont use them as fresh thoughonly cooked into something else. Though I suppose they could be pureed into v eggie juice or something. Ill hav e to try that out. :) Reply

debbie

June 3, 201 3 at 1 0:48 am

41

I hav e tried to freeze fresh corn repeatedly . On the cob, off the cob, and ev en blanched and use a seal a meal. It still comes out mushy . I would lov e to know how green giant does it LOL. any suggestions? thanks Reply

Lindsey Johnson

June 4, 201 3 at 8:45 am

42

Hmm. I dont think its y ou. Could it be the corn? Are y ou using older corn? Iv e had good success freezing y oung, sweet corn. Ill do some looking around for y ou! Reply

Bridget

June 3, 201 3 at 7 :43 pm

43

I lov e all of this great information! I currently hav e squash and zucchini coming out of my ears. I hav e been blanching and freezing, but I am not sure how it is going to come out. Should I flash freeze it? I hav e been using freezer bags and sucking the air out with a straw. Reply

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Lindsey Johnson

June 4, 201 3 at 8:48 am

44

Hi Bridget! Ev ery thing Iv e read about freezing squash ov er the y ears suggests blanching and flash freezing before packing into bags. Or the grating, which is what I usually do. It will come out fine, I think. A little mushier than fresh, but thats to be ex pected with squash. One thing y ou could try (and Ill do the same when my squash plants start producing in a few weeks) is to sprinkle cut squash with a little salt and letting some of the ex cess water drain off. Im just thinking that could help with the mushy factor. Try also cutting into smaller pieces and using smaller squash. The larger ones are really pithy and bitter any way . Hope that helps! Reply

Bridget

June 6, 201 3 at 1 1 :46 am

45

That helps! I will try the flash freezing today with the other two 5 gallon buckets I hav e from y esterday ! Thanks!!! Reply

Jen Clark

June 4, 201 3 at 7 :1 2 pm

46

What great information and beautiful pictures!! I am so glad I saw this on Pinterest and cant wait to ex plore the rest of y our blog! Reply

Knox
Reply

June 5, 201 3 at 9:1 7 am

47

What suggestions do y ou hav e for freezing rhubarb?

Adebo119

June 6, 201 3 at 9:55 am

48

Thanks for this- y ouv e made a woman in London, England v ery happy tonight! One question though- do the av ocado pears come out okay after freezing? Its only Iv e read so many times that they dont freeze well unless mashed/pured. Can I slice them after they v e been frozen and thawed? Thanks again Reply

Jessica
Reply

June 6, 201 3 at 1 0:29 pm

49

Can y ou freeze cilantro?

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Karla

June 7 , 201 3 at 1 0:31 pm

50

I lov e to freeze fruits and v eggies. Thanks especially for the tip on av ocados. When Im freezing peaches, I choose the freestone v ariety . Then I slice in the middle, take the stone out, put the two halv es back together and wrap string around it a couple of times. When I hav e a box full of these, I put them in the freezer, peeling and all. They last this way for at least 7 months. When I want to use them, I run a frozen peach under warm water, and take the string off. The peeling is remov ed v ery easily . A frozen, peeled peach half is really to use as I want. Reply

Aliesha
y ou. Reply

June 1 1 , 201 3 at 8:02 am

51

This was a beautiful article! I hav e been freezing for y ears but learned some cool secrets. Thank

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