Have you ever surveyed your garden near the end of summer and wondered,
"How am I ever going to eat all of this?" Well, you're not alone. The
abundance of summer vegetables can be overwhelming, and canning them can
be an arduous task.
But there's an easier way to preserve the fruits of your summertime
labor: Put them on ice.
Freezing your harvest is an easy way to enjoy the fresh taste of
just-picked vegetables all year long. The benefits are many: they retain
their flavor, quality, integrity and nutritional value. Freezing is also
fast, easy and can be done in small batches.
"Everything keeps a better flavor when it's frozen," says Joanne Lamb
Hayes, author of "Grandma's Wartime Kitchen" and the 2002 revision of
Carol W. Costenbader's "The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest."
There are only a few vegetables that don't freeze well: beets, radishes,
lettuce and green onions. And despite the common misconception, tomatoes
will freeze quite nicely. "A lot of people say you can't freeze
tomatoes," Hayes says. "But if you chop and freeze them, you can use
them for soup or stew."
Hayes also has a tip for preserving summertime herbs: Place them in ice
cube trays, pour boiling water over them and freeze. Once solid, pop out
the cubes and store in a freezer bag until you're ready to use them.
Though the process for freezing vegetables isn't as painstaking as it is
for canning, there are still a series of steps to follow.
Organize your tools. "One of the great things about freezing is that it
doesn't require much special
equipment," says Hayes. Here are the
basics: a pot for blanching, a strainer, a bowl filled with ice water,
wax paper, a permanent marker for labeling, freezer bags or containers,
a sharp knife and a cutting board. Hayes also recommends a salad spinner
to help vegetables completely dry before packing.
Clean and prepare your vegetables. Wash them thoroughly, as if you were
about to cook them fresh. Most vegetables can be frozen whole or
chopped.
Blanch vegetables for the appropriate amount of time. Drop your
vegetables in a pot of boiling water and start them when the water
returns to a boil. The more
delicate the vegetable, the shorter the
blanching time.
Ice your vegetables. Use a strainer or mesh spoon to retrieve vegetables
from the boiling water. Dunk them in a bath of ice water to keep them
from continuing to cook, and when they're cool, dry them in the spinner.
Pack into freezer bags or containers. Hayes suggests wrapping whole
vegetables with wax paper to keep them from getting freezer burn. "It's
important to use layers," she says. "A layer of wax paper between
eggplant slices will freeze solid and you won't be able to get them
apart."
Label your containers. Use a permanent marker and label with the name
and date. Broccoli and okra can look a lot alike when frozen.
Stock your freezer. Place your just-packed containers into the coldest
part of your freezer. When using freezer bags, be sure to place them on
a flat surface.
Wondering how to make use of all your hard work?
To use frozen
vegetables, simply cook them as if they were fresh. There's no need to
defrost. And since they've already been partially cooked, they only need
a short cooking time. Easy!
Blanch Time
Blanching, or immersing vegetables in boiling water for a short time,
helps set in the vegetables' color, retains vitamins and keeps them from
continuing to mature. Only peppers, tomatoes and herbs don't require
blanching.
Delicate vegetables require shorter blanching times, while hardier
vegetables need more time for optimal results. Use our table as a
guideline
or consult a food preservation cookbook for additional
vegetables.
Asparagus, whole stalks � �� �� 2 to 4 minutes (shorter time for thinner
stalks)
Green or wax beans, whole � �� �� 3 minutes
Broccoli, whole or chopped � �� �� 3 minutes
Carrots, small, whole � �� �� 5 minutes; diced or sliced � �� �� 2 minutes
Corn on the cob � �� �� 7 to 11 minutes (depending on size)
Okra, whole � �� �� 3 to 4 minutes
Green peas, shelled � �� �� 1.5 minutes
Squash, cubed � �� �� 2.5 to 3 minutes
Zucchini and summer squash, cubed or sliced � �� �� 3 minutes
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Spin Dry
A salad spinner is something of a spin cycle for your vegetables, only
you provide the spin. If this sounds like needless work, think about
mushy sandwich bread that gets wet from lettuce or a wet salad that
dressing won't stick to. A few spins make everything crispier. And when
prepping for the freezer, a spinner helps to avoid excess ice that can
make veggies mushy when they defrost. "I'm very addicted to my salad
spinner," says Hayes. "When I walk into the kitchen to make dinner at
night, that's the first thing I use."
You can get an Oxo Good Grips salad spinner from www.chefsresource.
com/oxogoodgript.html for less than $25. There's also a video
demonstration on the web site. The Good Grips kitchen tool line won the
Tylenol/Arthritis Foundation Award for being easy on
the hands.
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