Freezing vegetables

[Onionman]

I've always been unsure about the rules of freezing vegetables, particularly if you want to use the veg at a later date for something that isn't stew/soup/casserole/curry based.

I was thinking about this earlier with sweetcorn I had left over. It was your standard from-the-tin variety, but I always seem to have some left over after a tuna-sweetcorn filling and end up having to throw the leftovers away after a week in the fridge.

So, out of curiosity, what veg do you freeze with the intention of defrosting and reusing for 'normal' veg purposes?

 

[queenbellevue]

I don't really freeze veggies but if the supermarket could do it then why can't we, right?

 

[DIna00]

I never freeze vegetables and if I did I am not sure they would come back to life... But then again I am freezer challenged and anything I put in there comes out tasting like freezer burn in just a few weeks.

I know they sell frozen veggies but I think their freezing process is different than a regular freezer, I believe they flash freeze them which somehow preserves them better.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I routinely freeze fresh veg if we have too much of it, but I have to confess that I have never considered freezing any tinned/canned veg once I have opened the can/tin. I do know fresh sweetcorn can be frozen, just cut it off the cob and freeze immediately.

A considerable amount of veg can be chopped and frozen without even blanching it with no problem and this is the method we use. I have often employed this method with beans & peas of all kinds, leafy veg (best blanched first imo), mushrooms and carrots have all been subject to this in this household. Thinking about it further I am pretty sure I have done cauliflower and broccoli raw as well. We just chop it to the size we want, then cook it direct from frozen, straight into boiling water. We have never noticed any issues. Mushrooms can be fried from frozen as well. TBH I think onions would happily survive this due to their high water content though why you would want to freeze onions to store them is beyond me... they store pretty well unfrozen!

 

[DIna00]

@SatNavSaysStraightOn I'll have to try that method of chopping them to size first, then freezing. I do make a lot of lentil stews/curries that I add a lot of chopped veggies to, so it does sound like something that might work for that. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Rosyrain]

I freeze a lot of fresh veggies that I know we are not going to eat through before they go bad. A few months ago I bought a 10lb sack of onions from Costco because they were practically giving them away with the price so low. I took my onions home, stuck half of them in the basement and then chopped up the other half to sizes that I would need for meals and then bagged them in several different bags and placed them in the freezer. They tasted wonderful when I later used them. I also freeze carrots, beans, green beans, and an assortment of different veggies when I have them on hand.

 

[HornedDemoN]

I don't freeze vegetables, as eating them fresh is far superior. If that's not a possibility, I'll buy a vegetable that's suitable for the season or just buy frozen vegetables directly from the store (plenty of options as it is).