- 1). Fill your pan with water and heat to boiling.
- 2
Cut veggies into bite-sized pieces
While the water heats trim your vegetables - slice off ends and cut into bite-sized pieces - removing any bad spots. - 3
Careful not to splash yourself
When water is actively boiling, dump in your chopped veggies. - 4
Boil no more than 3 minutes
Bring water back to boiling and let them boil for no more than 3 minutes. This process of partially cooking the vegetables is called "blanching." Different vegetables have different blanching times -- check the National Center for Home Food Preservation link listed for the complete time chart. - 5
Cold water stops the cooking process
Empty vegetables into colander and immediately cool with the coldest tap water. If you're extra motivated, you could plunge them into a bowl of ice water. Drain. - 6
Make sure veggie pieces are spread evenly
Spread the veggies out so they don't overlap on a cookie sheet or other baking dish that will lay flat in your freezer. - 7
Freeze thoroughly
Put tray in the freezer until veggies are thoroughly frozen - 4 hours to overnight. - 8
Using a spatula, remove frozen veggies from tray and immediately seal in 1 qt freezer bags, write date on bag and return to the freezer. - 9
Veggie pieces don't clump together
Veggies are now ready for later use. They will keep in your freezer for 12-18 months. Freezing separately means they won't clump together, so you can easily scoop out just the amount you need.
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