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.