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!