You can freeze just about any vegetable except celery, watercress, endive, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber and radishes. These foods have a high water content and become soggy and water-logged when thawed.
Freezing is an excellent way to preserve fresh vegetables at home. Freezing does not sterilize food; the extreme cold simply retards growth of microorganisms and slows down changes that affect quality or cause spoilage in food.
Broccoli — florets and stems — must be blanched for effective freezing. If you freeze it raw, you'll wind up with bitter, drab green, shriveled stems. Blanching preserves the bright green color and tasty flavor. You can either blanch in boiling water for three minutes or steam for five minutes.
Potatoes don't freeze well raw, so they will need to be cooked or partially cooked beforehand. The great thing is that you can choose a variety of different ways to prepare and freeze them. Try these methods with white, sweet or even purple potatoes. Always use potatoes that are fresh.
Yes, you can freeze raw carrots without going through the blanching process. However, they will lose their texture and quality more quickly if you skip blanching, compared to if you blanch them before freezing.
With proper prep, cucumbers should keep in the freezer for up to nine months. Weinstein recommends slicing them (peeled or unpeeled––your choice), arranging the slices in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and freezing them uncovered.
While freezing zucchini is a great way to extend its life, it's not as simple as just popping a few squash into your freezer. Raw zucchini gets weepy and watery after thawing. To effectively save it, you should chop and blanch it first. This helps set the texture and color and makes it last longer.
And certain vegetables, like tomatoes, potatoes, and winter squash, for example, don't need to be blanched before going into the freezer.
To freeze your favorite holiday side, place cooled mashed potatoes in a freezer-safe container ($8, Target), label it with the date, and pop it in the freezer. This method will also work perfectly to freeze mashed sweet potatoes.
If you like cooking with fresh onions, but frequently toss an unused portion, try freezing them! Use frozen onions in cooked products, such as soups and stews, ground meat mixtures, casseroles, etc. For most dishes, frozen onions may be used with little or no thawing.
Freezing whole avocados is simple. Simply put them in the freezer whole - they'll last for up to three months there.
Can you freeze cabbage? You sure can. This leafy vegetable is versatile in the kitchen and adapts well to the freezing process. Families who grow cabbage count on it for year-round nutrition that's easily incorporated into meal-time menus.
To freeze celery, you don't have to blanch first, although blanching does result in a more flavorful outcome that lasts up to a year. If you don't blanch, plan to eat your celery within a few months. Blanch celery stalks for 3 minutes before cooling and packing into freezer bags or containers.
Tomatoes may be frozen raw or cooked, whole, sliced, chopped, or puréed. Tomatoes do not need to be blanched before freezing. Frozen tomatoes are best used in cooked foods such as soups, sauces and stews as they become mushy when they're thawed.
Can you freeze lettuce? Not if you want to make tossed salad with the thawed out product. But for cooking and flavoring uses, yes, you can freeze lettuce. The reason you won't be able to use the frozen lettuce to make salads is because the freezing process causes ice crystals to form in plant cells.
Freeze for up to 3 months. Thawing: Add to a soup or stew frozen — there's no need to thaw — though the leaves may add some extra liquid. For everything else, thaw the spinach overnight in the fridge or thaw in a bowl by running cold water over the bag until thawed.
Freezing cauliflower is a great way to avoid waste. It will also make the cooking time quicker when you come to cook it from frozen. Like most vegetables, if frozen raw, the texture, taste, colour and nutritional value deteriorates, so make sure you blanch it to preserve these elements.
Freezing apples is a really great way of preserving them, especially if you have a glut. Find out how best to freeze apples for use in crumbles and smoothies. It's best to use frozen apples in baking or smoothies, because the texture of fruit that has been frozen and thawed is softer.
Carrots can be frozen with or without the skin. If you decide to leave the skin, it is advisable to wash it thoroughly, preferably with a vegetable brush. Since the carrots are usually a little softer after thawing than before, the peel is a little more difficult to remove when thawed.
Yes, you can freeze eggs. Eggs can be frozen for up to a year, although it is recommended to use them within 4 months for freshness. Many people find themselves being left with spare egg whites or yolks after a recipe requiring just one or the other, or even throwing out unused eggs when the box hits its expiry date.
But, if you've ever wondered about your favorite rice meals — yes, you can freeze rice too! Freezing is also great to store leftovers or if you realize you've made just a bit too much rice for your recipe and don't want to toss it out.
We found that as long as you wrap the cheeses extremely well (or better yet, vacuum-seal them) to prevent freezer burn, it's fine to freeze cheese for up to two months.
Fresh yoghurt freezes remarkably well for up to two months. Note that upon thawing, the texture may change slightly and appear to be more liquid or grainy than it originally was. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds before using to even out the texture.