The Veg Cart — A greengrocer's produce counter: how | thevegcart.com
Blanch, chill, dry, pack flat and freeze at -18 °C: done this way, beans and peas keep 10-12 months instead of fading within 2-3.
Freezing does not stop vegetable enzymes; it only slows them. Left active, those enzymes strip colour, flavour and texture even at -18 °C, which is why unblanched vegetables deteriorate within 2-3 months. Blanching — a short scalding followed by an immediate ice bath — switches the enzymes off and is the single step that extends freezer life to 10-12 months.
Step one: wash and cut the vegetables to the size you will cook them. Step two: blanch in plenty of boiling water — typical times are 1.5-2 minutes for peas, about 3 minutes for green beans and broccoli florets, 2-3 minutes for sliced carrots, and about 4 minutes for sweetcorn on the cob. Start timing when the water returns to the boil.
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Step three: chill immediately in iced water for about as long as the blanch took, so the heat stops at the vegetable's surface and the centre stays crisp. Step four: drain and dry thoroughly — surface water becomes ice crystals that damage texture and cause clumping.
Step five: pack. Spread pieces on a tray to freeze loose first, then bag them with the air pressed out, or pack directly into flat, labelled bags. Flat packs freeze faster, stack better and thaw more evenly. Set the freezer to -18 °C or colder.
A few vegetables skip the blanch: peppers and onions freeze well raw for cooking use, and tomatoes can be frozen whole for sauces. For everything else, the blanch is what you are paying for with ten minutes of work — the difference between 10-12 months and 2-3. Freeze in season using the vegetable calendar, when quality is highest and prices lowest, and store fresh-bought produce correctly in the meantime using the main storage table.
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