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How To Freeze Fruits And Vegetables
1. Select the fruit and decide on the type of pack. Use syrup-pack for desserts (chilled fruit in syrup) and sugar-pack for cooking, since there is little liquid. Unsweetened packed fruit may be lower in quality but is handy for special-diet cookery. 2. If needed, prepare syrup and chill the syrup, then wash and prepare the fruit. Do not use galvanized cookware, iron utensils, or chipped enamelware in preparing the fruit. 3. Wash and prepare fruit. If necessary, treat fruit during preparation with ascorbic acid color keeper to control darkening. Follow the label directions for proportions. 4. Pack the fruit into freezer containers, leaving the proper headspace. For sugar- syrup-, and water-packs: Leave a ½-inch headspace for pint containers with straight or slightly flared sides and wide-top openings; leave a 1-inch headspace for quart containers with wide-top openings. For unsweetened, dry packs(no sugar or liquid): Leave a ½-inch headspace for pint and quart containers. 5. Place a piece of crumples parchment paper or plastic wrap atop the fruit to hold it under the juice or syrup. 6. Seal, label and freeze the fruit. 7. Thaw fruit in sealed containers for best color and flavor. Thaw in refrigerator or in a bowl of cool water. For cooking, fruits need to be thawed only enough to separate. Serve uncooked fruits when there are a few ice crystals still remaining in the fruit. Freezing Vegetables: 1. Select, wash, and prepare vegetables; pre-cook, following directions in recipes. The pre-cooking, also called blanching, impedes the enzymes action, thus helping to retain the color, texture, and flavor of the food. Most vegetables are blanched in water. 2. To blanch in water, heat water to boiling in a large kettle with a lid. Use a minimum of 1 gallon water for each pound of vegetables. Place the vegetables in a blanching basket (or wire basket) and lower into the boiling water. Cover and start counting the time immediately. (Heat 1 minute longer at 5,000 or more feet above sea level.) Maintain high heat during blanching. To steam-blanch vegetables, such as broccoli, use a kettle with a tight lid and a rack 3 inches above the kettle bottom. Add an inch or two of water to the kettle and boil. Place vegetables in a single layer in the basket, and lower onto the rack. Cover the kettle and steam for the specified time. (Steam 1 minute longer at 5,000 or more feet above sea level.) Maintain high heat during steaming. 3. Remove the vegetables immediately from the water or steam and plunge the basket or vegetables into a large quantity of ice water. Allow as much time for cooking as for blanching. Drain vegetables thoroughly. 4. Pack blanched vegetables tightly into freezer containers, leaving the appropriate headspace given in the recipe (some vegetables require no headspace). 5. Seal, label, and freeze vegetables. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Sandy is a food lover who has been into food business for more than 20 years. She shares her experience in cooking tips, recipes as well as healthy cooking way. She maintains her site at: www.lowcarbdiabeticdiet.com Read her blog at: www.lowcarbdiabeticdiet.com/blog |
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