How do you freeze your harvest?
It’s hard to beat freezing in simplicity and speed when it comes to keeping your garden’s produce fresh. Long after the production season is over, frozen fruits, vegetables and herbs still retain their freshly collected flavors. In fact, freezing preserves the color, freshness and nutrients of your produce the best of all food preservation techniques. Besides, you probably already have everything you need to get started.
What do you need?
- Freezer bags or tupperware. Choose something that is sturdy, leak-proof and easy to close. Bags provide more flexibility and efficient use of space than tupperware.
- Bake for making ice cubes for small amounts of spices, pesto, tomato sauce, caramelized onions, or mashed pumpkin, for example.
- A large pan for blanching.
What all can you freeze?
Perhaps more than you think, see below examples of what can be frozen in terms of fruits and vegetables:
- Artichok
- Asparagus
- Green beans
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Corn
- Onion
- Eggplant
- Peas
- Peppers
- Sweet potato
- Pumpkin
- Tomatoes
- Melons
- Strawberries
- Almost all herbs
Choosing and preparing products
Start with the freshest vegetables you can find. Food with minor imperfections can be cleaned, but if the vegetable is damaged inside, do not freeze it. After harvest, maximum vegetable ripeness takes about 6 to 12 hours, so if at all possible, freeze the food within that time as soon as possible. Before freezing products, clean and dry them.
Blanching vegetables
Before freezing, most vegetables and certain herbs must be blanched. Blanching is the technique of cooking briefly in hot water before dipping into ice cold water to stop the cooking. This brightens the color, reduces vitamin loss and neutralizes enzymes that cause spoilage. (By blanching spinach, for example, you can get nice green, tasty leaves out of the freezer instead of a slimy, discolored sludge.) In addition, the procedure helps remove dirt and pests. Most recipes specify how long to blanch.
Some vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, peppers and onions, do not need to be blanched. These foods can be frozen whole, sliced or diced. You can also freeze them in small portions on a baking sheet or in freezer bags. Tomatoes can be frozen with skins; if the tomatoes thaw after they are removed from the freezer, the skins will come off. Without blanching first, grated zucchini can also be frozen.
Freezing herbs
Homegrown frozen herbs give dishes great flavor at a fraction of the price of store-bought dried herbs. Rinse and dry herbs and then freeze them using one of these methods. Store in the freezer for up to one year:
- Spread whole or chopped leaves on a baking sheet lined with paper towels or baking paper, freeze for 24 hours, then pack loosely in freezer bags. This works well with herbs such as dill, rosemary and thyme. When freezing thyme, leave the stems on during the initial freezing process. Shake the stems lightly after this and the leaves should fall off immediately.
- For herbs with delicate leaves such as basil or oregano, blend them with a little olive oil in a blender or food processor to make a slurry, then pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Or freeze the leaves in water in trays and then toss the cubes into soups, stews or sauces.
- Parsley, chives, cilantro, sage and tarragon leaves are easy to remove from the freezer when rolled like cigars. Place the leaves on the bottom of a freezer bag, roll it up and remove the air as you roll. Secure the roll with rubber bands. To use spices, cut a piece from the frozen “cigar.”
- Place whole mint leaves in ice cube molds and half fill with water. Freeze for two hours and cover with additional water to create a beautiful ice-coated tray to chill your favorite drinks.
7 handy freezing tips
- Allow food to cool before freezing to preserve its natural flavor and color, and to speed up the freezing process.
- Remove as much air as possible from the your freezer bag or tupperware.
- Unless food is loosely packed, leave some room for expansion. Ice formation will increase the contents a bit.
- Seal containers and pouches tightly to prevent air from entering or liquids from escaping.
- Use frost vegetables within 8 to 12 months.
- Freeze vegetables in portions. Herbs and (tomato) puree, for example, lend themselves well to this and you never defrost too much.
Prepare the vegetables as you want to use them before freezing them. For example, caramelize your onions, roast your garlic or make tomato sauce.
Take advantage of these tips from The Grow Supplier and enjoy your fruits and vegetables long after the growing season is over!
Did you also like this article? Then share it directly from our website on your socials with your friends!
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
Pinterest
