Vegetable

Preparation

Blanching Times and Freezing Techniques

Artichoke hearts

Remove all leaves, woody stems, and fuzzy portion. Wash hearts in cold water and drain.

Water blanch 7 min; drain, pack, and seal.

Asparagus

Wash. Sort by size. Snap off tough ends. Cut stalks into 2-inch lengths or leave whole.

Water blanch

Small: 1 1/2 min
Medium: 2 min
Large: 3 min

Steam blanch

Small: 2 1/2 min
Medium: 3 min
Large: 4 min

Beans (snap, green, or wax)

Wash. Trim ends. Cut if desired.

Water blanch

Whole: 3 min
Cut: 2 min

Steam blanch

Whole: 4 min
Cut: 3 min

Beets

Wash. Remove leafy tops, leaving 1 inch of stem.

Cook until tender, 25–30 minutes for small beets, 45–50 minutes for medium beets. Cool promptly, peel, trim tap root and stem. Cut into slices or cubes.

Broccoli

Wash. Trim leaves. Cut into pieces.

Water blanch 3 min

Steam blanch 3 min

Brussels sprouts

Wash. Remove outer leaves.

Water blanch 4 min

Steam blanch 5 min

Cabbage

Wash. Discard coarse outer leaves.

Water blanch

Wedges: 3 min
Shredded: 1 1/2 min

Steam blanch

Wedges: 4 min
Shredded: 2 min

Carrots

Wash, peel, and trim. Cut if desired; leave small carrots whole.

Water blanch

Whole: 5 min
Sliced: 2 min

Cauliflower

Discard leaves and stem. Wash head, then break into florets.

Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to water.

Water blanch 3 min

Steam blanch 4 min

Corn, kernels

Remove husks and silks and trim ends. Wash ears.

Water blanch medium-sized ears, 3–4 ears at a time, for 4 min. After blanching, cut kernels (about 2/3 depth) from cob, bag kernels, and freeze.

Corn on the cob

Remove husks and silks and trim ends. Wash ears.

Water blanch medium-sized ears for 7 min. Cool and drain. Wrap ears individually in plastic wrap. Pack wrapped ears in plastic freezer bags.

Eggplant

Wash, peel, and slice 1/3 inch thick.

Water blanch for 4 min in 1 gallon of boiling water containing 1 1/2 tablespoons citric acid or 1/2 cup lemon juice. Alternatively, sauté in oil.

Greens (kale, spinach, etc.)

Select young, tender greens. Wash. Trim leaves.

Water blanch 2 min

Steam blanch 3 min

Herbs

Wash. Snip or leave on stalks.

For basil only, water or steam blanch 1 min. For other herbs, blanching is not necessary. Freeze in a single layer on baking sheet lined with wax paper; transfer to containers when fully frozen.

Kohlrabi

Select tender, mature stems. Trim ends and peel off tough bark. Wash. Slice tender centers crosswise, 1/4 inch thick. Leave small roots whole.

Water blanch slices for 2 min, stems for 3 min.

Mushrooms

Wipe with damp paper towel. Trim hard tips of stems. Sort by size; cut large mushrooms.

May be frozen without blanching. Or, blanch whole, 5 min; quarters, 3 1/2 min; slices, 3 min. Or, sauté mushrooms in butter or margarine and cool quickly.

Okra

Wash. Separate pods 4 inches and shorter from longer pods. Remove stems.

Water blanch small pods 3 min, large pods 4 min.

Onions, green onions, leeks

• For onions, remove peel and chop.
• For green onions, trim ends, then slice or leave whole.
• For leeks, make a cut through leaves and bulb. Do not cut roots. Wash thoroughly. Trim tops. Leave whole or slice.

May be frozen without blanching. Bag and freeze. For best odor protection, wrap onions in plastic warp before putting in bags.

Peas, garden/snow/sugar

Shell garden peas. No need to shell snow or sugar peas.

Water blanch 1 1/2 min

Steam blanch 2 1/2 min

Peppers, green/red/sweet/hot

Wash, remove stems and seeds.

Freeze whole, or cut as desired; no blanching needed. (See NMSU Extension Guide E-311, Freezing Green Chile [http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_e/E311.pdf].)

Potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes

Wash. Peel, cut, or grate as desired. Either cook in water or sauté grated potatoes in oil. Grated potatoes for hash browns and mashed potatoes freeze well.

For new potatoes, water blanch whole potatoes 5 min, pieces 2–3 min.

Sweet potatoes

Wash and dry.

Bake just until tender, then cool, peel, and cut. Pack in flat layers or roll in lemon juice and brown sugar. Or, purée with orange juice.

Tomatoes, red and green

Wash and dip in boiling water for 30 seconds to loosen skins.

Core and peel. Freeze whole or in pieces. Pack into containers.

Winter squash/spaghetti squash/pumpkin

Wash and remove seeds.

Bake whole or cut in half. Place cut side down on baking sheet. Cook until tender. Scrape pulp from rind, or remove rind and cube. For pumpkin, cool and cut into cubes, then freeze; or mash pulp, cool, and pack.

Zucchini/summer squash

Wash, trim ends. Cut into slices or strips.

Water blanch 3 min or steam blanch 4 min and freeze. Or, cover with breadcrumbs and sauté in oil. Cool and freeze. For sautéed squash, place waxed paper between slices before freezing.