Freh Vegetables, Blanch & Freeze?
My neighbor gave my husband fresh okra, fresh green beans, fresh, jalapeno peppers, fresh tomatoes, and fresh red peas. There are only 2 of us in the family and I have never dealt with how to handle fresh vegetables. What do you do with the peas after shucking them and you want to freeze them? Do I blanche the vegetables first and then freeze? Tomatoes will be eaten right away. No problem there. Hot peppers I normally don't buy them until I need them for a recipe and I don't want them to go to waste so wonder if they can be frozen. Okra, never ate it and don't know what to do. Fresh string beans, blanch & freeze. If someone could either let me know if blanching & then freezing is the right way. I would hate to waste any of these fresh vegetables. Thanks!
If you can, get your hands on the Ball Blue Book. There may be more words in the title, like "of Canning and Freezing", but I don't recall just now. It has directions for processing all kinds of fruits and vegetables for long-term storage. Last one I saw was a paper-back, magazine-sized booklet. Sometimes you can find them at supermarkets or other stores that sell canning and freezing supplies.
Of course, you may be able to find the same information on line.
Paul
Thanks for the reply. I'll check more online. I thought I read somewhere a while back you needed to do that.
Some vegetables, even when blanched, don't freeze well. Well, actually they freeze fine, it's just when they're thawed they lose their consistency and flavor, and turn a bit soft, sometimes mushy. Paul's suggestion is a good one. If you can't find the Ball Blue Book here's a suggeston; I don't know if it's still in print but I have a copy of Putting Food By authored by Ruth Hertzberg, Beatrice Vaughan and Janet Greene, that I purchased in 1980. I used it extensively for canning and preserving when I had a vegetable garden canned using Mason/Ball jars. It is very comprehensive. It covers the gamut of food preservation: canning, freezing, preserving, curing, etc.
Howard
your reply. I'll look online to see if I can get some info and some pamphlets. Appreciate you taking the time to answer. I did wind up blanching and froze them in small packages. The only one that would worry me would be the peas since my neighbor gave us a lot, and I don't eat peas. Just my husband does.
"Cooperative extension" is an educational program of the US government that has been supporting university extension services for almost 100 years. Their pamphlets on canning and freezing are great and now many are web-based. To find what you need, I'd just google something like "green beans freezing extension." Including the word "extension" in your search means that your first hits are likely to be helpful, free pamphlets rather than advertising sites. Also, extension publications are usually scrupulously accurate and emphasize safety.
Heidi-the-dyed-in-the-wool-librarian
Thank you. Never thought of that. I did wind up getting things done, but will google and find the site to get the free pamphlets in case I need more info on other vegeteables.