Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Blanching Vegetables




It doesn't take long this time of year for the vegetables to get deep. Atleast twice a week I have to have a several hour  minimum blanch session to get them all preserved for the freezer.  This time it was broccoli, cabbage and peas.  



The peas had to be shelled and washed.




The cabbage and broccoli soaked in salt water for atleast half an hour to kill any sneaky little green worms hiding in there. Then chopped and prepared in whatever sizes you prefer. 


The process of blanching is simply submerging your vegetables in rapidly boiling water for the specified time . Ball Blue Book has an excellent chart on how long to blanch each vegetable. 




I prefer to use my old spaghetti cooker with the lift out basket but any big pot will do.




Here's a trick. Not only do I freeze bottles in the shed freezer for the animals but I also keep some in the inside freezer. They are great when blanching vegetables to just drop into the sink with water. When your veggies are finished blanching drop them in the ice water to stop the cooking process.   



Then drain your veggies good to get as much water as possible off.







Then I place them on cookie sheets to flash freeze.




After several hours they are taken out of the freezer and put into Foodsaver bags.




Then the bags are sealed.



Once sealed they are then returned to the freezer for future use. 

Freezing is a great way to preserve those vegetables that are not normally canned such as broccoli, and cabbage. The down side to freezing is that in times of emergency there is not always electricity to run freezers. And I have heard many horror stories about freezers going out. However I still choose to use all three methods of preservation together. Some things I freeze, some I dehydrate and others I can. Somehow I always manage to fill those freezers and pantry shelves before that first snowflake falls. 

Blessings from The Holler 

The Canned Quilter






9 comments:

  1. Oh, what beautiful vegtables! How in the world are you beating the bugs?

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    1. Lots of picking stuff off by hand, garlic spray, BT, and a little luck : )

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  2. I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blog and how much I learn from you. When I was picking suckers off my tomato vines, hubby asked me where I learned that and I told him about "this blogging lady" who does everything! Every time he sees me doing something new he asks if the blogging lady taught me! I love to see what you do next and try to incorporate it into what I need to do. Today's work will be processing green beans. Even though I don't can them (I don't like the taste of canned so I freeze)I still have to blanch them, dry them and package them. I hope you someday realize all the people that you have taught simply by sharing what you are doing. We ALL thank you!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Tracy I am truly humbled by your kind words. For older women like myself it is truly gratifying to think that in this modern and fast paced world that we still have something to contribute and that there are still people like you that value our skills. Thank You so much for making my day : )

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  3. I did not know you could freeze cabbage. Hmmm! Going to have to try it. I don't like many greens canned because of the texture. Thanks!

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  4. I've never even thought of freezing cabbage-now I feel like duh : ) Great post!!

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  5. Love reading about your garden bounty. We live on a "mountain" top in Eastern Oklahoma and the soil is bad so we can only garden in containers or raised beds; which limits our garden to tomatoes and kale for now. But, our little town has excellent sweet corn and I've canned 2 bushels of it. I just wish I could find some green beans......sigh. My Grandmother used to say that all the food you preserved was not to be opened/eaten until Thanksgtiving. Ever hear that old saying? :) Keep up the good work and have a great Summer.

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  6. Thank you for this post, CQ! I've bookmarked it. :o)

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  7. Amazing and nice trick, which is health and hygiene for human health. I love to make my own little farm in my house, but I was afraid of these worms, etc. But after reading this -post, I will definitely make my own farm now. Thanks for sharing this helpful -post.
    Health and safety training

    ReplyDelete

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