Is blanching vegetables obligatory prior to freezing? - Ask Extension
Hi,I'm wondering if it's necessary to blanch vegetables from my garden prior to freezing them. All my food preservation books call for it, yet they ...
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Is blanching vegetables obligatory prior to freezing? #149501
Asked August 27, 2013, 8:54 AM EDT
Hi,
I'm wondering if it's necessary to blanch vegetables from my garden prior to freezing them. All my food preservation books call for it, yet they were mostly written a few decades ago when folks preferred vegetables cooked much more than we do now. I've experimented with sweet corn, and found it freezes beautifully without blanching. It's not a big deal, but when I'm freezing large amounts of broccoli and cauliflower, it would make things more efficient if I didn't have to blanch them first, particularly since when we thaw and use them we always cook them as part of the recipes anyway.
Any advice/resources you could suggest would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan O'Brien
Williamston, MI
I'm wondering if it's necessary to blanch vegetables from my garden prior to freezing them. All my food preservation books call for it, yet they were mostly written a few decades ago when folks preferred vegetables cooked much more than we do now. I've experimented with sweet corn, and found it freezes beautifully without blanching. It's not a big deal, but when I'm freezing large amounts of broccoli and cauliflower, it would make things more efficient if I didn't have to blanch them first, particularly since when we thaw and use them we always cook them as part of the recipes anyway.
Any advice/resources you could suggest would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan O'Brien
Williamston, MI
Ingham County Michigan
Expert Response
Hello Dan,
Blanching preserves top quality of frozen vegetables. Exceptions are rhubarb and vegetables used exclusively for flavoring, such as peppers, onions, horseradish and herbs. These foods do not need to be blanched to preserve their best quality.
Enzymes in vegetables are inactivated by blanching. Blanching exposes the vegetable to boiling water or steam for a brief period of time. The vegetable must then be rapidly cooled in ice water to prevent cooking. Follow the time recommendaed for blanching each vegetable carefully.
Overblanching results in a cooked product and a loss of flavor, color and nutrients. Underblanching stimulates enzyme activity and is worse than no blanching at all.
Blanching also helps to destroy microorganisms on the surface of the vegetables. It also makes vegetables , such as broccoli and spinach, more compact, so that they do not take up as much room in the freezer.
Go to the National Center for Food Preservation at : http://nchfp.uga.edu/ Specific information on freezing is at: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/blanching.html
Sincerely,
Jeannie
Blanching preserves top quality of frozen vegetables. Exceptions are rhubarb and vegetables used exclusively for flavoring, such as peppers, onions, horseradish and herbs. These foods do not need to be blanched to preserve their best quality.
Enzymes in vegetables are inactivated by blanching. Blanching exposes the vegetable to boiling water or steam for a brief period of time. The vegetable must then be rapidly cooled in ice water to prevent cooking. Follow the time recommendaed for blanching each vegetable carefully.
Overblanching results in a cooked product and a loss of flavor, color and nutrients. Underblanching stimulates enzyme activity and is worse than no blanching at all.
Blanching also helps to destroy microorganisms on the surface of the vegetables. It also makes vegetables , such as broccoli and spinach, more compact, so that they do not take up as much room in the freezer.
Go to the National Center for Food Preservation at : http://nchfp.uga.edu/ Specific information on freezing is at: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/blanching.html
Sincerely,
Jeannie
Understood, thanks Jeannie, and thanks for the links!
All the best,
Dan
All the best,
Dan
