How to freeze different vegetables?

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angelavdavis

Hi Anita,

I responded to a similar query here yesterday.

angelicmary85

Evening All!

You guys were really helpful when I posted here a few weeks ago so I thought I'dtry my luck again with another silly question

I've always bought frozen veg. It started when OH & I were working opposite shifts and it was more convenient but now I have no excuse to not be cooking more fresh produce as I'm only working PT now and tbh, I'm sick of the sight of already frozen, watery broccoli!

My question is this - When you freeze, for example, carrots...Do you have to do anything to them or can you just throw them in the freezer? I know you can freeze loads of different things but I'm a bit unsire of how to go about it, would I have to put the carrots into freezer bags or would they be o.k in tupperware tubs?

I'm assuming you get alot more for your money as well if you buy smartprice/value/basics etc veg instead of pre-frozen?

I know I sound like a right dafty but I really don't know what to do!

Thanks in advance for any help!

Angelic x

wssla00

Carrots and mushrooms broccoli i chop, parboil and then put into bags and freeze
Celery peppers cabbage (chopped up) etc i just freeze as is
I usually use freezer bags (the ones in Lidl are brill) purely because they don't take up a lot of space in the freezer

Im not sure if that is right but it seems to be the way my cooking works.

angelicmary85

Thanks for your reply!

Why do you par boil some things but not others?

wssla00

I usually parboil stuff which will usually take ages to cook with the exception of mushrooms- the texture seems to be better if i parboil them rather than freeze straight- that was trial and error

I don't parboil peppert cabbage etc as the cabbage doesn't take long and the peppers i like to be able to use as crispy as possible IYSWIM

TBH i only do it if i see some really reduced veg. Otherwise i grab the frozen stuff or keep the fresh in the fridge. It isn't very cost effective for me else.

angelicmary85

wssla00 wrote: »

TBH i only do it if i see some really reduced veg. Otherwise i grab the frozen stuff or keep the fresh in the fridge. It isn't very cost effective for me else.

I thought it was cheaper to buy fresh veg and freeze it rather than frozen veg? That was the whole poin of me trying it!

Maybe I should look around a bit more to check the cost of veg!!

wssla00

I suppose it depends on where you get it and what stuff but value/farmfoods are brill. Farmfoods do two bags for a quid sometimes so it's worth stocking up then, especially if you have the vouchers they do

If I see fancy mushrooms reduced I usually buy them all and blanch and freeze ready for risotto lovely jubly!

babyshoes

I recently did a brief comparison of fresh veg in Tesco VS frozen veg in Iceland. Per kilo, broccoli was cheaper frozen, but carrots were cheaper fresh.

Iceland do 1kg packs of frozen veg for £1, various types including a couple of mixes. If your fresh veg is less than £1 per kg, then it is worth it, otherwise stick to frozen. Of course, as you say, the watery frozen broccoli just isn't the same, so I buy fresh just because it tastes so much better!

On the subject of freezing stuff yourself, I am sure you are supposed to 'blanch' most things to kill any bacteria lurking on the outside bits... We have done beans without blanching though and they seem fine, or at least we are still alive to tell the tale!

[Deleted User]

I sometimes buy a big bag of carrots when on the offer or reduced and peel and slice them and bung into boiling water for a couple of minutes then into a bowl of cold water to cool as quickly as possible I read somewhere that its the best way to do them if you are freezing them, I open freeze after cutting up peppers,leeks,onions & cauliflower/broccoli florets.Onions are great as I did a big bag a couple of days ago about 6 all told, and triple wrapped them in polythene sandwaich bags then put into a lakeland ziplock bag so they don't smell the rest of the freezer out.that way I can use just a small amount when needed and don't waste a whole onion as I live alone and often only need a handful of finely chopped onion. I use those rectangular chines takeaway boxes for peeled sliced mushrooms if I see a big box going cheap.great for chucking into stews and casseroles in the slow cooker.Definitely would buy veg when reduced or on special offer.handy for filling up those small corners of the freezer.I also, when making mash potatoe's do extra, and open freezer ice cream shaped balls of mash on a plastic plate and when frozen bag up to use when I only need a small amount.Save a lot of cooking as sometime I might not feel like peeling a couple of spuds just for me.nowt gets wasted in my house:D