Tips for Freezing Produce, Herbs and Fruit

As an avid gardener, I often end up with more vegetables than I can eat. Whether you grow your own or love shopping at farmers' markets, you might find yourself with an abundance of herbs, veggies, or fruits that you can't consume right away. Freezing is the most convenient way to make the most of summer’s bounty and avoid waste. Here’s some tips on blanching, maximizing freezer space, and the easiest crops to freeze.

Preparing Vegetables for Freezing

Almost anything can be frozen, except for salads and high-water content vegetables like cucumbers. Always freeze produce in good condition that you'd eat fresh. Harvest as close to freezing as possible to lock in peak freshness. Process fruits and vegetables in batches to freeze them quickly.

Staples like beans, peas, sweet corn, and young carrots freeze well. For beans, cut off the ends and chop larger ones in half. Whole cobs of corn take up a lot of space, so remove the kernels first. To do this, pop out the first row with a knife, then push out each successive row with your fingertips to preserve the kernels.

Tomatoes turn to mush once they’re defrosted, so process them into sauces before freezing, which should also save valuable space.

Blanching Vegetables

Most vegetables need to be blanched before freezing. Blanching involves scalding vegetables in boiling water to preserve nutrients, sterilize and stop enzymes from changing color and taste.

How to Blanch Vegetables: Step-by-Step

1.  Blanching times vary, so consult this list from the National Center for Home Food Preservation for specifics.

2. Plunge small batches of vegetables into the boiling water. Prepare an ice bath.
3. Once the water returns to a boil, start timing the blanching.
4. Blanch small vegetables like peas for one minute, beans for around two minutes, and sliced vegetables like carrots for three to four minutes.
5. Remove the vegetables and drop them into ice water to stop the cooking process.
6. Pat the vegetables dry. They’re now ready to pack and freeze in freezer bags or containers.

How to Freeze Fruit

Unlike vegetables, berries and currants do not require blanching and can be frozen whole. Space them out on trays first so they freeze separately. Then pack them away into portion-sized packs. If the fruit is intended for later pureeing or use in smoothies, you can skip straight to packing it.

Fruits for cooked desserts can be thoroughly coated in sugar before freezing, which helps retain the fruit’s firmness. Or add a splash of water and a little sugar to your fruit, then cook it down into a ready-to-go puree for the freezer.

Storing and Preventing Freezer Burn

Freezing meal size portions in baggies makes them easy to stack. Freezer burn occurs when produce reacts with air, compromising its appearance and taste. To avoid this, remove as much air as possible from freezer bags. One method is to squeeze out the air before sealing the bag. Alternatively, use the straw method: insert a straw, seal the bag around it, suck out the excess air, then quickly remove the straw and finish sealing.

Freezing Fresh Herbs

Fresh herbs are always welcome, so make time to preserve some of summer’s excess. Begin by washing, then very finely chopping or mincing freshly picked leaves. Now transfer your chopped herbs into ice cube trays. Pack them in as tightly as you can, then pour water to cover. Freeze them solid and then, to save space, pop them out of the trays and pack them into labeled bags. You’ll now have a fresh hit of herbs on hand for whenever you need it.

Freezing is the best way to preserve the original flavor and freshness of your produce, and it’s also the simplest. With these tips, you’ll be able to enjoy your garden’s bounty all year round.  

Let’s garden together, I'm rooting for you!  For more gardening tips and if you are an empty nester exploring your next chapter follow me on FB - LeeAnn

@GrowFoodNotLawnCT @EmptyNestersLifestyleCT and my Blog Spot