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Canning & Freezing Blanching 101 Blanching is an important step when capturing summer’s sweetness. When you blanch vegetables, it extends their freezer life by inactivating enzymes that would eventually destroy their flavor, color, and texture. A quick trip in a boiling water bath ensures your vegetables will maintain a vivid color, sweet taste, fresh flavor, and good texture. Tools you'll need to get started: Large saucepan or stockpot Colander, strainer, or wire basket Timer Large stainless steel bowl, or a very clean kitchen sink Ice and ice water Freezer bags Labels Permanent marker Procedure: Clean and cut vegetables into bite-sized pieces (dice, chop or julienne). Fill pot 2/3 full of water. Bring to a boil. Place vegetables in strainer and gently place in water. Time the vegetables as soon as you place them in the water (see suggested times below). Remove vegetable with the strainer and immediately plunge them into a bowl filled with ice and ice water (50-50 ratio). Drain well, place on a baking sheet, freeze, and then transfer to freezer bag or container. Label with date and contents. Vegetable Blanching Time Asparagus (medium sized stalk) 3 minutes Beans (snap, green, wax) 3 minutes Beans (lima, fava) 3 to 4 minutes Beets (medium, whole) 30 minutes (use a vegetable peeler to peel after boiling) Broccoli (florets) 3 minutes Carrots (sliced, diced julienne) 3 minutes Cauliflower (florets) 3 minutes Corn on the cob (medium sized ear) 8 minutes (add 2 minutes for large ears and subtract 2 for small ears) Peas (pods) 2 minutes Peas (green) 2 minutes Zucchini (sliced, diced julienne) 2 minutes Frozen vegetables last up to one year in the freezer, which is perfect timing for the next harvest! |
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