My parents tell me that they don’t blanch any of their veggies before freezing them anymore. I was under the impression that blanching was a non-negotiable step in the freezing process. Daddy told me that he thinks it has something to do with the quality of freezers these days- that they cool and retain their temperature so efficiently- that keeps the veggies fresh-tasting without blanching. Mom did make the caveat that if you are planning on freezing something for a year or longer then you should probably blanch.
Does anyone have any insight on this? The blanching process is such a pain for me- I just hate doing it for some reason. If I knew I didn’t have to take this step to freeze my food, that would be such a relief for me.
I tried it yesterday with some broccoli and shell beans that I bought mom and dad bought for me at the farmer’s market, so I’ll make sure to let you know the results when I eventually eat them.
So what do y’all do? Blanch? No blanch?
This yielded three quarts of broccoli florets, a bowl full of broccoli stalks that I’ll use for Cream of Broccoli soup and stock, and about a cup of peeled broccoli stems that I julienned to throw in my bag of stir-fry mix. I also threw in my first handful of Sugar Snap Peas that I’m growing as my fall crop. They are doing pretty well so far!
These are the shell beans that I got at the farmer’s market also. Aren’t they gorgeous? I just LOVE beans. I have no idea what the variety is (forgot to ask!). There were a few pods that had almost dry beans in them, so I saved those 10 beans to try and grow a few next year. I’d love to have some shell beans in the garden. Truthfully, if I had more room I’d probably grow a hundred types of beans. They fascinate me!
Always blanch. It halts the enzyme action to prevent vegetables from degrading.
I think most folks blanch, but I do think the amount of time for blanching is much reduced over what it used to be. My parents have been food preservers their whole life, and I know that my Mom had started not blanching a bunch of stuff before freezing, and never had a problem. I agree with Robin that blanching halts enzyme activity – but freezing does too, and I do think that the quality of freezers has made blanching less of a necessity. I’ve frozen brocolli without blanching it – but I tend to use it within a month or so. The amount of time it is in the freezer has an effect as well.
Those beans are gorgeous – I think they’re all just beautiful.
We got 25 lbs of green beans from our CSA last year (not the normal CSA delivery, but a special they offered!). We intended to blanch them before freezing, but after going through and prepping all 25 lbs (washing, nipping off the stems, etc.), it was already around 11:30pm, and we didn’t want to be up all night dealing with these things. So we decided to take our chances, and just crammed handfuls of them into freezer bags and threw them into the chest freezer (-5F) raw and unblanched. Throughout the winter, we would occasionally pull out a bag of them, throw them into the steamer, and have steamed green beans as a side dish. Alternately, we’d throw them into the wok and do stir fried green beans. They tasted just fine, just like fresh. No issues with them going bad or getting stale. No freezer burn, either. We ate the last pack somewhere around April after having frozen them sometime late summer last year, and they tasted pretty much the same as the first pack we pulled out last fall.
So from a sample size of 1, I’d say don’t bother blanching.
Faith
I blanch most vegetables. I don’t blanch peppers or parsley. I steam broccoli. It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I won’t say how old!
I’ve always understood that the purpose of blanching is to preserve the nutritional quality, which would otherwise degrade in the freezing process.
Freezing has the same effect as blanching–it stops enzyme activity and preserves nutritional value while in the freezer. It is best to plunge the veggies into ice water as soon as possible after they are picked which cools them down and cuts down on the time it takes the freezer to work. We use this method for corn, okra and peas and we have never had a problem. However, we do can our green beans because I do not like the rubbery taste that green beans get when they are frozen. I have a friend who shells her peas and then stores them loose in a pillow case in the freezer–she just reaches in and gets a couple of handfuls when she is ready to have peas for supper!
I had to leave a reply, whether you’ll see it or not, because here I am, yet again trying to figure out whether something has to be blanched or not. I’m tired of everything you see, saying that it has to be blanched. I HATE blanching, and I don’t really think that everything has to be blanched….but if you read online they’ll have you blanching your lettuce next! So, I really would like to find someone that has had success that really says whether or not something really needs it. I’ve found that shelled peas don’t need to be blanched, and I don’t think that sugar peas need to be either. Another strange one, is celery. I always had celery going to waste, but now I chop it up and throw it in a bag and it’s fantastic in soup and then I always have it on hand. Also, I give cilantro a rough chop and freeze that as well. I LOVE to freeze anything I can. Anyways…..back to my searching for someone who doesn’t believe all of this blanching nonsense…..
Where did you buy the beans that are pictured? And what did the pods look like?
The beans themselves look like what are called birds’ egg beans in WV. Birds egg beans are not unlike cranberry beans, but are plumper.
The pods of my birds egg beans have red splotches in them.
No one outside of WV seems to have heard of these beans, but they are delicious.
Kate
Hi Kate,
I bought these at a Farmer’s Market in Plymouth, MA. My father saved some of the beans and is growing him in his garden in Alabama- he says that he’s pretty sure they are Tongue of Fire beans based on their growing habits. I’ve never heard of Bird’s Egg Beans- they sound lovely! I love unusual little heirlooms like that.
have you heard of freezing okra in a pillow case and will it get freezer burn?
I know several low-income country farmers who grow food as necessity, not luxury who have all told me that they never blanch their beans, peas, okra, squash before freezing.
Oddly enough, they all use the same method (don’t know if it is because of financial limitations, practicality or because it simply works best!)…they use clean white cotton zippered pillowcases.
Each veggie is prepared (strung, snapped, hulled, sliced…whatever) and stored in it’s own pillowcase in freezer. All are used within a year so know that they have had excellent success for that length of time. No blanching required. I have had cooked beans from an 11-month old batch that were absolutely delicious!
This is the method I am using this year as I am streamlining my life and utility bill (blanching not only takes time I don’t have, it uses money for heating stove, cooling kitchen that I choose not to spend).
What I like best about this is not just the time-saving prep aspect, it is the convenience as well. Each days harvest of beans for example, is quickly dealt with in the cool of the evening hours and tossed into the ONE pillowcase for beans. When beans are on the menu, you grab what you need and off you go.
I love this no blanching !! I froze spinach and kale with good results. I will use these veggies in a green smoothie and in soups I am just glad some others feel the same about forgoing the blanching. I am wondering about the all cotton method ,do the veggies get freezer burn? I really like the idea as I am not fond of the plastics.. glad I found this site
I froze some green beans earlier this summer. I picked them and put them straight into the pillow case and then the freezer. I took a hand full out last night and let them thaw. They were so rubbery I couldn’t even break them. What did I do wrong? Some were even white when they thawed completely. I need some ideas please!!
Amy, the mistake you made is you let them thaw. You should cook them from frozen.
P.S. I’m so excited — I, too, HATE blanching. I’m going to freeze everything I picked today unblanched. Will see how it goes.
I enjoyed your sight.
I bought Bird Egg Beans in Deep Creek, Maryland at the farmers market. Last year I only bought a small bag. This year a peck. I loved them last year just boiled and just buttered. This year I need to freeze some. Thanks for the info. Also if anyone has any recieps for Bird Egg Beans let me know. Thanks
OOOOOH! OOOOH! OOOH! I wish I had seen this post before. I could have saved myself not only time but $$ on the electric bill !! Like many others here I have spent HOURS every fall faithfully blanching all my veggies from the garden (except the tomatoes – I always can those).
About a year ago my father-in-law said he had too many potatoes and simply pared and chopped them into 1″ cubes. He froze them without blanching. I was really skeptical, but I was told they came out very well. He just stored them in plastic bags.
I am trying it with rutabaga today. I try to get the smaller ones, but even they are too big as I only need a smaller amount, maybe a cup and a half at a time. So I have peeled it and then chopped it into 1″ cubes. I know I will use the rest of it in a 30 day time span. We’ll see how this works.
What is the point of a cotton pillow case? I don’t understand this.