Freezing Fruits and Veggies

We are in the season where fruits and veggies are plentiful. With such a wide variety the only problem is that we may not be able to use it all up at one time. The one thing that we can do is to freeze the fruits and veggies and save them up for a later use.

Some tips to remember when freezing fruits and vegetables are:

• Blanch vegetables first, then submerge in ice water. Dry thoroughly.
• Freeze fruits and vegetables quickly.
• Store in heavy-weight, air-tight containers or freezer bags.
• Fill containers to the top and remove as much air as possible from freezer bags.
• Vegetables that hold up well to cooking (corn, peas) generally freeze well, too.
• For better texture, try eating previously frozen fruit before it’s completely thawed.
• Fruits and veggies freeze best at 0-degrees F or colder.
• Store frozen fruits for about a year; vegetables, about 18 months. (Storing longer is fine, but the quality may decline.)

When fruits and veggies freeze the water in fruits and veggies expand which causes ice crystals to puncture and break cell walls in the fruit and veggie. Because of the process some fruits and veggies can become mushy when thawed. To try to avoid this as much as possible freeze fruits and veggies as soon as possible. Colder temps produce smaller ice crystals that will do less damage to cell walls.It is also recommended to eat frozen fruits before completely thawed. Frozen fruits are often a special treat in the hot summer weather .

I will be sharing more tips and recipes as well as how to preserve those fruits and veggies.