Can You Freeze Fresh Vegetables ?: Everyone will be very happy when summer begins as we will get many fresh vegetables in the garden and the farmer’s market. But the saddest part is it will not last long. But no need to worry as we have good news you can freeze these fresh vegetables and enjoy the fresh flavor throughout the year.
Many people dont like to freeze as they think that there will be no nutritional value in freezing. But no, freezing does not affect the nutritional values. You cannot eat them raw but you can use them in cooking. Having something is better than nothing.
If you are not good at freezing just check out our freezing techniques, and you will like them, in this article, we are also providing tips to freeze and the way you need to freeze and defrost frozen vegetables, and many more.
- Blanching the Vegetables
- Flash Freezing the Vegetables
- How To Freeze Fresh Vegetables?
- Some Important Guidelines For Feezing Specific Vegetables
- How To Defrost Fresh Vegetables?
- Common Tips For Freezing Any Vegetable
- Which Vegetables Do Not Freeze Well?
- How To Use Frozen Vegetables?
- Freezer Storage Containers For Vegetables
- Can I Cut Vegetables To Freeze Them?
- How Long Do Frozen Vegetables Last?
- Do vegetables need to be blanched before freezing?
- Can you freeze raw vegetables?
- What are the vegetables that freeze well?
Blanching the Vegetables
Blanching is nothing but merging the vegetables in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. This technique will be very helpful to keep the vegetables fresh as fresh vegetables even after freezing. Just look into the process below.
- Take a bowl full of water and start boiling them.
- Then, when it gets to the boiling point, just put all the vegetables into it.
- After 2-3 minutes, transfer them into a cold water bowl with ice cubes, which will stop the cooking process of vegetables.
- After blanching if you keep vegetables in the freezer, blanching will kill the enzymes which will cause the vegetables to ripen.
- And also by blanching the taste, texture and color will not change even after thawing.
Flash Freezing the Vegetables
If you flash freeze the vegetables, that will help you to retain the freshness of the vegetables. Maybe if you have already frozen the vegetables you might see that they lose crunchiness after thawing. But if you flash freeze the vegetables and if you freeze them, even after thawing you will feel the same texture, taste, and crunchiness as the fresh ones. And also we will see the process of how to flash freeze the vegetables.
- Firstly, wash and cut the vegetables, and place them on a cookie sheet.
- Make sure that grees are not touching each other, so they are easy to pull apart.
- Keep that cookie sheet in the freezer, and let them freeze for 2-3 hours for larger vegetables.
- For smaller vegetables, check every 30 minutes.
- Still, if you are not knowing that the vegetables are frozen, just take one piece and cut it, then you can know if it is frozen in the middle or not.
How To Freeze Fresh Vegetables?
In this article, you can easily know how to freeze all types of vegetables. But if you take any vegetable to freeze, take the fresh, firm, and young vegetables. do not take vegetables which are having spots, or some mushiness. And also you need to flash freeze and blanch the vegetables if you do not know to refer to the above guidelines on how to do it. After that just pat the vegetables on the paper towel and make sure to dry them because if you do not dry them properly the taste will ruin after freezing.
After that use the freezer bags or containers which are airtight to pack the veggies. Pack them and seal them by squeezing the air from the plastic bags. If they are containers, seal the container tightly. you can keep the label on the container or bag and then put them in the freezer.
One more thing is, it is always better to freeze by making portions in the freezer bag. so that you no need to defrost large amounts for using a small amount.
Some Important Guidelines For Feezing Specific Vegetables
Not all vegetables have the same way of freezing. There are some sensitive vegetables which we need more care to freeze. So, dont worry here we are going to tell you some tips or guidelines for those vegetables to freeze well.
Cabbage: Cabbage is a delicate vegetable, so you need to take care properly. Blanching will help you a lot not to turn the cabbage soggy. If you like to know about it completely you can check out whether can you freeze cabbage or not.
Celery: As celery is also a leafy vegetable you need to be very careful especially when you dry the vegetable, you need to make sure that they dont have even a drop of water in them when you put and seal them in freezer bags.
Brussels sprouts: Freezing Brussel sprouts are also a little tricky, after blanching you need to dry them well, otherwise they will get ruined. If you would like to freeze brussel sprouts, we have provided the complete information about freezing Brussel sprouts.
Butternut Squash: It is also one of the best vegetables that will be good for the freezer, but there are some careful things you need to take care. Check out freezing butternut squash as we have explained the best methods to freeze butternut squash.
Bell Peppers: Many of us have doubts about that can we freeze bell peppers or not, we can freeze bell peppers but there are some proper guidelines to take care of. Our team provided the information about it, just check the guide.
How To Defrost Fresh Vegetables?
Everyone knows the fact that you no need to thaw frozen vegetables if you are using them for cooking. Because they will thaw while we cook them. And if you are using them for stews and soups, there will be no problem adding frozen vegetables directly without thawing them. Only if you are making any stir fries or salads do you need to defrost the vegetables.
For that also we have a simple technique, is you can transfer from freezer to fridge before night. After that, you can use them happily.
Common Tips For Freezing Any Vegetable
Look into the tips to follow while freezing vegetables.
- When you think of freezing vegetables, always take them fresh, young, and firm and freeze them immediately after plucking or buying them so that they will not change texture after freezing.
- By blanching the vegetable there will be the same as fresh ones’ taste, texture, and color even after freezing.
- Blanching time is very important because if you blanch the veggies even for extra 2 minutes than the needed time they are chances to get spoiled in the freezer.
- And also after blanching drying the veggies to the best is also important.
- And leave space on the top for freezer bags or containers.
Which Vegetables Do Not Freeze Well?
Mostly, you can freeze all the vegetables. But if you freeze the vegetables which are having high water content, like radish, and cucumber they will become mushy after defrosting and they may not give good taste. So it is better to avoid freezing high water content vegetables. And dont try to freeze cooked rice, eggs, or potatoes because they will not freeze well.
How To Use Frozen Vegetables?
Most of people know this, but there will be some people who are new to this freezing, for them we are providing some idea on what to do with frozen vegetables. With frozen vegetables, you can do everything you do with fresh vegetables. But for some recipes defrosting is needed and for some recipes, we dont need any defrosting as we discussed above already in defrosting. For stir-fries, if you defrost the frozen vegetables you do need to cook much time as raw ones. You can save time.
Freezer Storage Containers For Vegetables
When you think of freezing vegetables, the containers or bags you use them to freeze also play an important role. We will see some of the best containers that you can use for freezing vegetables.
This ziplock freezer is one of the most economical options and also they will not take up more space in the freezer. And these will also help with leaks and freezer burns.
If you would like to freeze the food for many months vacuum sealer bags will be the best option. You can remove air from the bag and store it for a long time.
Many types of Tupperware boxes are not designed for freezer temperatures and will become brittle in the freezer. If you wanted to use containers, you can go for freezer-safe plastic containers like glad ware.
If you would like to use the jars you can use mason jars as the best option. But use wise mouth, straight-sided jars. Jars are best for pureed vegetables.
Can I Cut Vegetables To Freeze Them?
Yes, you can cut the vegetables prior to freezing but you need to be very careful while you are chopping vegetables. Because some vegetables need to be sliced, some need to be chopped into small cubes, some need to be grated. Better to know that and slice them.
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How Long Do Frozen Vegetables Last?
It is purely based on the type of vegetable you freeze, most any type of vegetable can store upto 8- 12 months before spoilage and deterioration. And when you freeze the vegetables you need to freeze at constant temperatures. Some of the frozen vegetables will stay for more than a year but eating them early is the best idea as time passes the taste will be not that good.
FAQs on Can you Freeze Vegetables
1. Do vegetables need to be blanched before freezing?
Blanching will help your vegetables to freeze with the same texture, flavor, and color as fresh ones. Because that blanching will prevent the enzymes that are useful from ripe.
2. Can you freeze raw vegetables?
Yes, of course, you can freeze raw vegetables. But after thawing the frozen vegetables if they are raw they may lose their crispness and some might become mushy.
3. What are the vegetables that freeze well?
Mostly, all the vegetables will freeze well. But there are some vegetables that freeze well are Gren peas, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, leeks, sweetcorn, pumpkin, Brussels sprouts, and many more.
Key Takeaways
We have provided the best knowledge about how can you freeze vegetables easily and store them for a long time. Hope that you have got benefited from this article. Still, if you have any comments do comment to us in the comment section. For more interesting articles, you can check out our canyoupreserve.com website for more interesting articles. And one more thing is if you want to know about the vegetables that how to store them normally, how many days it will last if you want to know all these things you can just simply checkout canfoodgobad.com website too.