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I have had a lovely crop of peas and dwarf french beans so I decided to blanch & freeze some.  Used some of the frozen ones yesterday but they were very watery, what am I doing wrong.  Help please and thanks ???

I only blanch for thirty seconds to a minute...............did you allow them to go cold before you put them in the freezer?Also give them a good shake in the colander so they are as dry as possible........just ideas.

Bring them to the boil quickly, don't add salt, as I add it later if required.  Strain and pour over loads of cold water, shake the calender well.  Then let them cool on a tray and then freeze, and they are OK, not quite as good as fresh but OK.

we don't blanch peas as I bet bird's eye don't  ;D

manicscousers  I will take that bet.

Quote from: manicscousers on July 25, 2010, 14:27:20
we don't blanch peas as I bet bird's eye don't  ;D

We don't blanch peas either. Just cook our own from frozen. ;) :)

I blanch peas and beans.I have anmetal  insert with holes in that peas go in, it fis the pan

In large pot, boil water till full rolling boil, have standing by a sink full of ice cold water.


When water is boiling, drop insert in to hot water for 1 minute,2 for whole green beans, remove, shake excess water off, drop into ice cold water to cool quickly, then in colander to drain , pack and freeze straightaway.

I find the 1 minute boiling preserves the quality of the peas,it kills the growing enzyme which still works on if just frozen. It alao gives a deep rich green colour to the veggies.

The only thing I don;t blanch is sweetcorn , I freeze it straight from the plant, still in it's jacket, you can soak in salt water first for a bit then drain dry. When I cook it I  thaw ,leave the jacket and microwave for 4 minutes.

XX Jeannine

I put sweetcorn direct from the freezer into the microwave for 4 - 6 minutes (750) - depending on size.

Tricia

Quote from: manicscousers on July 25, 2010, 14:27:20
we don't blanch peas as I bet bird's eye don't  ;D

Birdseye do blanch peas I saw it on the telly, one of Jimmy Doherty programs I think.

I don't bother blanching, I don't have a big freezer so any frozen veg does not stay long frozen, so don't think it needs it.

I`ve been freezing my produce for over 30 years and I`ve never blanched anything yet.  Peas, beans, cauliflower and soft fruits go straight into the freezer and keep perfectly through the winter - and I`ll back the taste of my frozen peas against Birds Eye any day.

A couple of years ago I tested the blanch/no blanch theory of several veggies for myself as I saw   absolutely no point in making work if it made no difference.  Eating after 2 months there was no  real difference after 4 there was a  definate superior taste to the blanched ones and after 6 months the unblanched were only fit for long cooking in soups etc. In my opinion.

My neighbour never blanched either and she said hers were fine,she had done it that way for years, we compared and she had to agree that my blanched ones were better, but she said she would not have been convinced if she hadn't compared them side by side..now she blanches.

However if someone is happy with what they have that's fine, we all have different taste buds. Try both ways then pick which is best for you.

Blanched or unblanched  they won't do you any harm

XX Jeannine