Blanching Vegetables

Blanching vegetables is the important first step to freezing vegetables. First, you need to know how to blanch vegetables…. it’s easy. Second, you need to identify the  blanching time for each vegetable, as it varies by vegetable.

Listed below are the easy instructions to blanch your homegrown vegetables and fruits. 

First, let’s answer the question “Why should I blanch my vegetables?”

Enzymes in fruits and vegetables help the fruit to grow and to mature. After you pick them, the enzymes are still in the fruit, and they continue the maturation process. If you do not kill the enzymes, the vegetables and fruit will ultimately turn overripe and tough. Sugars will be converted to starch.

Blanching kills the enzymes, stopping this process. Without blanching, frozen foods still contain active enzymes. These enzymes will continue to work, even while the food is frozen.

Note: While we speak about the enzyme effect in fruits and vegetables above, fruits are usually not blanched.