Topic: Whats the best way to blanch....

[kt.]

I had never blanched food for freezing till a recently. Did some cauliflower. Boiled the water, put cauli in for 5 min, cooled then froze. Yesterday I went to get some out & it is a off-white creamy, light yellowy type colour. (Not what it should be anyway).

What did I do wrong?   :-[

Do you blanch all foods differently?  ???

Do all foods need blanching for freezing?  ???

[craftyparsnip]

Do not boil it for too  long - 2mins max  and add a little milk to the water to keep it white, did you boil the water before putting the cauliflower in?  do not put it into cold water then bring to the boil... afterwards do not let it cool down , take straight from pan and plunge in cold water

[supersprout]

If the veggies are to be stored in the freezer <3 months, I don't blanch them and they seem fine :)

[saddad]

We used to blanch when we started but now we are up to industrial quantities (two teenage sons) we don't bother like supersprout says. I'm surprised that you have enough Cauli to blanch.... it's one of my perpetual failures!
 ::)

[tim]

Yes - timing. If in 1" florets, not more than 3 min. But use your biggest pan & only blanch a couple of handfuls at a time so that the water doesn't go off the boil.

I still much prefer steaming - timing is always from the moment you add the veg. Longer, yes (5 min), but not overall.

And open freeze so that you don't get a wodge!

[Curryandchips]

I don't blanch either, and most of my produce is in the freezer for up to 6 months or so.

[Larkspur]

We don't blanch either ;). It doesn't seem to make any difference ;).

[cornykev]

As Tim says 3 min in florets, there's a freezing chart on another forum it says add egg white to keep its colour, I wish I never blanched its a pain but if others don't I don't think I'll bother.   :) ;) :D ;D :) ;) ;D

[the_snail]

Personally I do not blanch my veg when freezing them. I like to soak them in salt water before I freeze them to make sure and bugs and beasties do not get frozen with the veg then its straight from the freezer and into the pan.

The_Snail

[manicscousers]

the only way I use frozen cauli is in cheese sauce, if it gets to the frezer !!

[tim]

Salt water? I 've always wondered - does that not kill them in situ??

[Columbus]

Hi all, Merry Christmas,  :)

I read somewhere (probably on this forum) that blanching is no longer necessary because modern freezers bring the food to zero much quicker than they used to, so its a redundant practice.
I don`t salt my food but all home-grown veg is washed several times on the plot and at home.

Col

[euronerd]

Can't speak for all beasties tim, but those I've watched go into a sort of panic mode first, when they frantically wriggle out of the hole they've made, then just float to the surface. Depends on the strength of the brine I suppose.

Geoff.

[cornykev]

A bloke on my lottie recommends soaking in salt water to farm out the beasties but like you Columbus I don't like to use salt so I like to rinse under the tap afterwards.  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D