How to Freeze Homegrown Veggies

Growing your own garden vegetables is a sure way to get fresh vegetables into your home and diet. However, there usually comes a time when you are harvesting more than you can eat. You can give some away but knowing how to freeze your own is a valuable bit of knowledge that will serve your household during the cold winter months when nothing is able to grow.

Things You'll Need

• Large stock pot Colander Freezer containers or bags Ice Freezer

Instructions

1. Sort the vegetables into their proper categories. Green leafy crops like spinach, rhubarb, herbs, or Swiss chard are one. Root crops are another. Tender fruits like tomatoes and tomatillos or peppers are separate from seed crops like beans, peas and corn. Starchier vegetables like cabbage, Brussels sprouts, celery and cauliflower are in a class of their own. Each group has a different preparation time in blanching. See the reference to the preparation chart below.

2. Wash everything and throw out any blemished produce. If it doesn't look good now, it won't be any better later. Remove any stems or seeds as needed. Cut into the proper-sized pieces for freezing.

3. Boil your water for blanching. It should be in a large stock pot so that the produce will be submerged in the water. Work in batches if you have a lot to freeze so that you don't overcrowd the pot.

4. Prepare a large bowl with ice water. Use plenty of ice cubes as the hot veggies will heat the water up quickly.

5. Remove the vegetables from the ice water after they have cooled the same amount of time they blanched. Drain them well and keep cool.

6. Package the prepared vegetables into freezer bags or small containers and freeze thoroughly.

Resources

• How to Prepare Vegetables for Freezing Chart