Topic: To blanche or not to blanche...?

[bennettsleg]

Harvested the last of the Broad Beans yesterday (will plant MANY more next year) and want to freeze them.  Do I just shove them in or do I have to blanche them first?

What about any other veg? Any particular rules?

What is the difference in final cooked product for either method?

Questions, questions, questions!!!! :D

[tim]

Everything spoils eventually. Blanching extends the life of frozen food.

Many people do not blanch for either short or long storage & swear that they can't tell the difference.

[Mrs Ava]

I don't bother as I try to get things used relatively quickly, although we are still eating French beans from last year!  :o  For me, it is time.  I have very little of it, and by the time I have preped all the veg, I have a mountain of other things I need to get one with, so into the freezer they go.

[supersprout]

I don't bother as I try to get things used relatively quickly

Me too neither :)

[Toadspawn]

Gave up blanching years ago.
Don't bother with kidney(runner) beans, they taste awful.

[Sande Rose Waybill]

Does anybody know how much longer the life will be extended by if blanching? I currently am cropping enough to eat/save - and have just popped mine in the freezer bag directly as i dont like fussing about unless its necessary - but I do not know how long they will be good for, whether blanched or direct frozen as I have never grown more than a dozen plants til this year.

[galina]

Sande Rose, Welcome to A4A.

 I have just shredded my kale directly into freezer bags.  However I do cook veg by steaming, not boiling.  Or I add to soups and stews.  Steaming makes frozen veg taste better than boiling, including beans.

I am in the 'don't bother' camp.  The books tell us we have to blanch to destroy enzymes which are still active and deteriorate food even in the arctic conditions inside the freezer, but it doesn't make much difference to my taste buds.  If anything, the wet, blanched stuff sticks together much more.  If I dry freeze, I can use half a bag and don't need to defrost because the steam soon gets into the small gaps between dry frozen veg bits and starts cooking.  With blanched veg, everything seems to clump together and needs longer to defrost or longer in the steamer.  If you have very discerning taste buds you may notice a difference. 

[Jeannine]

I blanch everything except corn on the cob and rhubarb,all my books on preserving and I am very up to date with them say to blanch. Blanching kills the growing enzyme, and the produce keeps better and greener. I have tried a few veggies both ways on production day and was totally convinced.