Blanching Vegetables - Who bothers ??????

Feeling like there might be a generation gap here, why blanch fresh vegetables? Are you saying that this prolongs their life before they are fully cooked for consumption. If so it's just my ignorance, I have never heard of such a thing.

Hope this answers your question(s) (courtesy of google...)

Years ago people either stored produce in cellars or preserved them in jars. Today we have the advantage of freezers. If you are lucky enough to have a cellar then use it as it cuts down on electricity useage. Remember though that root veggies store longer if you leave some of the dirt on them. You can also utilize the cellar for drying your herbs too.

For those of us who have no cellar the next easiest alternative is freezing.
Most veggies and some fruits are easy to store this way. Most will require blanching, but some can be frozen as is or with some simple preparation such as skinning.

The quickest and easiest way to preserve your garden-fresh produce is to freeze it. You need a minimum of preparation time and the risk of food poisoning is low. All you need are plastic bags or containers that will stay intact when frozen and space in your freezer.

Almost all fruits, especially berries, freeze very well. The vegetables most suited for freezing are those that are cooked before serving.

Don't freeze vegetables that are usually eaten raw, such as celery, cucumbers, lettuce and radishes.

Prepare for freezing
Vegetables, as they come from the garden, have enzymes working in them. The enzymes break down vitamin C in a short time and convert sugar into starch, leaving the food tasting like cardboard. Blanch vegetables briefly before freezing to neutralize the enzymes.

Fruits do not need blanching before freezing. They are usually frozen with dry sugar or mixed in a syrup of sugar and water.

How to freeze
1. Pick young, tender vegetables for freezer storage—it is better to choose slightly immature produce over any that is fully ripe. Also, avoid bruised, damaged or overripe vegetables. Harvest in early morning.

2. Line up everything needed for blanching and freezing first. Nothing counts more than speed in holding on to freshness, taste and nutrition.

3. Thoroughly clean vegetables and cut the edible parts into desired pieces.

4. Blanch right away. For water blanching, use at least a gallon of water to each pound of vegetable, preheated to boiling point in a covered pot. If you're steaming, use a wire-mesh holder over 1 inch of boiling water in an 8-quart pot.

5. When the recommended blanching time is up, plunge the vegetables in ice water to stop the cooking.

6. Gently pat the vegetables dry. Pack them in freezer containers or bags, compressing them to leave as little space for air as possible.

7. Seal the containers or bags and label them.

Easy to freeze vegetables:
Asparagus
Beans
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Carrots
Cauliflower
Kohlrabi
Peas
Peppers
Rhubarb
Spinach
Squash
Sweet Corn

Blanching Times for veggies
Beans - fresh. Cut into pieces - 2 mins. Older, fatter beans
21/2 mins

Boccoli/
Cauliflower Cut into florets - 3 mins

Brussels Small heads - 3 mins, large up to 5 mins

Carrots cut 3 mins, Whole baby carrots 4 mins

Sweetcorn Medium ears 11/4 inch diam - 8 mins

Peas 11/2 mins

Greens/
spinach etc 2 mins

Hi Warfer

Its sort of gone out of fashion , haven't done it for a long time.

Works ok , but we have found that with selection of right ones and keeping them cool and dry they last for the week or so we often need them for.

I think those green bags that make them last longer have also reduced the need.

I have been known to do this too... especially when I have too many green beans (yum!). Works a treat :)

Hi, I have tried the green bags, didn't help.When camping I think its best to wrap veges in paper towel or tea towels. This helps stop them sweating then put them in a insulated bag and keep in shade with the zip open slightly. Don't wash the veges until you are going to use them. Hope this helps.

I blanched my vegies before our last trip and vacuum sealed them and they went brown...lol

So won't be doing that again any time soon.

I try and choose vegies that last awhile when on a long camping trip e.g. potatoes. carrots, brussel sprouts etc. For some reason iIf you cut the ends off beans, they seem to last for ages - no idea why. It also helps to keep your fridge just above 0C, say around 1-2C.

NO NO NO, you blanch vegies to prolong their life but you must 'REFRESH' them in ice cold water straight after blanching, nothing should be blanched for longer than it takes the salted water to come back to a boil as then you are boiling or simmering (if you reduce the heat) and not blanching at all,

Mind you that when camping cold water may be used in lou of iced water but only blanch after having the veggie for more than 3-4 days depending on the temp and conditions its kept in, if it starts to turn discard it, if it starts to go limp then its too far gone but you should know the life of your stock and blanch accordingly, if you suspect it is about to go in the next day or two peel, trim and blanch no longer than 30sec in salted water and refresh in cold (pref icey) water, this will retain the colour and texture of fresh vegetables (as close as campingly possible)

Please dont join the ill informed mass of people that buy frozen vegetables, you pay alot more and lose alot of nutrition in doing so.



Cheers

Hi Guys

Thanks for your input !