Sunday, June 3, 2012

Freezing Peas


You've never lived until you have tasted the sweetness of green peas fresh from the vine. My kids walked around with their pockets stuffed full of these delicacies snitched from mama's garden. And here in Hickery Holler it is pea pickin time..



O Wise One does the picking and I do the shelling. He likes to start at first light to beat the heat and bugs. As he fill his dishpans he brings them in to me.  The most tedious part of peas is sitting there and shelling all those things. I like to put on a little soft music and just enjoy the peace and quiet of the early morning as I rock and shell.   



When the peas are shelled I wash them in cool water and they are ready to blanch.



We bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the clean peas. Then I just turn it off and let them sit there for about 4 minutes. 





Then I pour them into a colander to drain and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process. 



You can see from the change in color that they are blanched


Then we pour them onto baking sheets and put them into the freezer to flash freeze.



After several hours they are frozen and ready to bag.




Add the desired amount of frozen peas to a bag and seal. For us we like about 2 cups in a bag.



And then store in freezer. These are ready for soups, casseroles and just to eat plain. 



Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

12 comments:

  1. CQ, It's so true! You have never tasted good peas until you've tried fresh.
    When I was little, I hated peas. That's because, my mom would cook peas from the can. One day my friends were going to the local farmers field to pick peas. I joined in and had a blast picking and eatting. Fresh pea's are wonderful!!!
    Thanks for sharing CQ, you brought back wonderful memories.

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  2. Yum! I had to chuckle when I read about the little ones with peas in their pockets. My two year old discovered them off the vine this year -- he loves peas. We had to watch him closely when out in the garden because he pulled one whole vine out, LOL.

    By the way, how do you like your Food Saver. Been thinking of getting one.

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  3. Ahhhhhhh, that top photo of peas reminds me of our years on the farm in southeast Texas..the first time I recall growing those wonderful "english' peas. I knew fresh from the garden was supposed to be better but OMYYYYYYYYY how wonderful, we ate the peas, shared the peas, ate the shells/pods [I forgot what they are called] then when they "went to seed" in the garden I pulled those wonderful trailingvines and decorated tables at church for a dinner. How that for "using the whole hog?" lol

    Jonell

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  4. As usually a great tutorial!

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  5. Wow! You have made this look so quick and easy. I don't have quite the amount you have. Our garden is relatively small for everything we grow. But, I do have some peas growing and it seems that the yield is just enough for a meal now and again ☺ You have provided a great tutorial and I would like to invite you to share in our recipe hop. It will be open until midnight Wed ☺ Thanks for sharing!

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  6. We are trying our hand at shelled peas for the first time this year. Ours aren't quite ready to pick yet. Folks keep telling me they're a pain to shell. I like your idea of doing it in the quiet of the morning with some nice music on. Do you have any tips to make shelling easier / quicker? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Make sure to pick your peas early in the morning or late evening when it is cooler. Keep your peas cool so that they do not wilt and shell as soon as possible. Once they wilt or get soft then they become more difficult to peel.

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  7. Wow that doesn't seem difficult. Now you have me wishing I had planted some. Definitely will next year and be on the lookout to buy some to put up this year :)

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  8. Thank you for linking this up at the Carnival of Home Preserving!

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  9. Thanks so much for sharing these directions! I am definitely pinning them for when we grow our peas next year. Thanks again! Stopping by from the Homestead Barn Hop.

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  10. Hi CQ,

    Do you ever can your peas?

    Thanks!

    Fern

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