How to Freeze Vegetables in the Refrigerator
- 1). Pick vegetables at their peak of ripeness. Gathering them in the early morning is ideal, to reduce heat stress and maximize freshness. When in doubt, pick vegetables a day before, rather than a day after, what you judge to be perfect ripeness. Overripe vegetables freeze poorly.
- 2). Wash vegetables to remove all soil and possible insects. Let vegetables dry on paper towels. Pare and slice those you do not want to freeze whole. Baby carrots, baby beets, pearl onions and Brussels sprouts freeze whole.
- 3). Fill your kettle with enough water to blanch or steam blanch your vegetables. Blanching will take approximately one minute, although thick cut or whole vegetables may need another minute or two. Your goal is to prevent bacteria and plant enzymes from continuing to ripen vegetables, which can occur, albeit slowly, even after vegetables are frozen. Bring water to a boil and either add vegetables or put them in the steam basket. Pour vegetables into the colander under cold running water to stop blanching immediately. This will prevent overcooking. Drain vegetables in the colander or on paper towels.
- 4). Pack plastic containers with drained vegetables, seal the lids, label them with contents and the date and stack them in your freezer. Fill containers full but do not use pressure to add more vegetables than the container can easily hold. Adding extra vegetables results in mushy, broken contents when thawed. Filling containers to the brim will also loosen the lids during freezing, as vegetable solids expand. Freezer burn will give uncovered contents a bad taste and damage the quality.
- 5). Use plastic freezer bags is you don't want to use containers. As with containers, do not overfill; seals will pop as contents expand, giving your vegetables freezer-burn. Save a little space by rolling or folding down the unsealed top to expel extra air, then seal. Label, date and put in your freezer.
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