Bulk prepping then freezing raw veggies advice please.

cooking-mama

I had a bit of a disaster at Christmas when i cooked and froze potatoes,carrots etc..
Now i would like to try freezing my veggies raw,but not sure of the best way..my plan is to have 1 big veggie prepping day..chop,grate,dice,slice and portion up raw carrots,leeks,turnips,onions,etc etc(depending on whats in veggie box),im hoping this will cut down on the risk of any wastage and free up room in my fridge...i have a vague memory from food and nutrition class of veggies being "blanched" before freezing...brussels sprouts i think were the veg of choice then,but I cant actualy remember what blanching entailed,and what other veggies needed this done.
Any advice appreciated.

harrys_nan

http://www.allotment.org.uk/allotment_foods/Storing_the_Surplus_Freezing.php

any help?

cooking-mama

harrys_nan wrote: »

http://www.allotment.org.uk/allotment_foods/Storing_the_Surplus_Freezing.php

any help?

Yes very helpful,thankyou.

rosie383

I have to say that I never bother blanching veg. Onions I just peel and chuck in the FP, freeze in a good, strong freezer bag on a baking tray, then, once frozen, drop it from a great height onto the floor (kids love doing this bit!) which breaks it up into useable bits.
Anything else just gets sliced or diced and frozen in bags.

Aarons_mummy

Yup same as Rosie I just chop it all up and portion in freezer bags, never cook any veg before freezing unless it's excess and I have to freeze it to avoid wastage.

Linda32

I do the same, simply peel and chop, then put all carrots say in a freezer bag and pick out an handful at a time, just as you would if you had bought a frozen bag from the supermarket.

I freeze broad beans, runner beans, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, courgettes (we have an allotment) Beetroot needs to be boiled first then sliced and frozen. You can freeze the fresh beetroot as well, if you arn't going to use it all.

ButterflyKisses

I end up freezing loads of veg partly to reduce waste, partly just so I can prep it when I have a day off then bung it all together from frozen when I'm busier, and partly to take advantage of a glut of reduced veg at my local supermarkets. :T

I'm not sure if it's necessary but I usually do blanch things for a minute or two in boiling water, then spread out on a baking tray to open freeze and then into a tub once frozen in separate chunks/slices. As the rest of you seem not to bother I may just be making work for myself!

As far as I'm aware mushrooms are better cooked before freezing or they go a bit black when defrosted, but again I either sweat them off in a bit of oil/butter quickly then cool and open freeze, or blanch them depending on what I'm doing with them later.

HTH

beedeedee

I'm another who just chops/slices and freezes without blanching - carrots, parsnips, green beans, turnips, courgettes etc......I don't usually bother with potatoes though as they go grey.

cooking-mama

Another question,sorry, Do I have to defrost before cooking,or just add to recipe,steamer etc whilst still frozen?. I really haven't used any type of frozen veg much at all.

beedeedee

I just add them still frozen - but I defrost and pat dry courgettes if I'm going to be frying them - otherwise they're a bit watery and spit everywhere.

LavenderBees

"They" do recommend blanching veges before freezing to kill germs.

I do a bit of both - blanch most veges like carrots/parsnips/sprouts/beans but onions I just chop and freeze (I've just frozen a huge bag of onions from Mr A's £1 for 3kg).

ETA - sorry, just saw your other question. Definitely most veges should be cooked from frozen.