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I know that vegetables can be frozen. Which vegetables respond well to freezing? Which don't? Are there specific recommendations for what vegetables freeze well?

justkt
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Bernardina
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  • welcome! I've edited your question - if I didn't get the heart of it, please feel free to roll it back. – justkt Oct 29 '10 at 12:35

4 Answers4

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Lay them out in a single layer in a pan and freeze until they are solid and then transfer to a labelled freezer bag. I freeze fruits and veggies in my chest freezer because it is so much colder than the little freezer in the house. Speed is the key- the faster you can freeze them the less damage there will be.

When I garden I freeze a lot of peppers and okra that last for years without losing (too much) quality.

Root vegetables I don't bother to freeze unless they are cooked into something. Potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, etc. are so cheap and last so long not frozen that I don't bother.

Raw potatoes in particular are a nightmare when frozen. Gray and rubbery. Avoid at all costs. shudder

Leafy vegetables like lettuces will not be recognizable when frozen. Spinach is the only one that would be reasonable as it is so meaty- but, I'm sure you've seen frozen spinach, it isn't pretty.

Sobachatina
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    I think it really depends on the intended use. Anything that's going to be well-cooked anyway isn't going to have as noticeable of a loss of quality. For example, if you intend to use spinach in something like lasagna, frozen spinach really isn't that bad (cook before freezing in that case, though). – Cascabel Oct 29 '10 at 14:12
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I haven't experimented much with this, except in freezing leftovers - i.e. if I have extra shepherds pie, I will freeze it - therefore have frozen (cooked) carrots, onion, beans, mashed potato. As long as you properly heat the dish through again, it tastes almost as good as fresh from the oven.

If you are talking about freezing uncooked vegetables, I think you're probably ok there too - you can buy bags of frozen vegetables (e.g. peas, carrots, beans etc) from the supermarket. They're not as good as fresh but are still edible, especially as part of a larger dish.

If you are freezing because you have too much of something and you think it will go off, I would refer you to this website - Garden Guides - because you haven't mentioned which vegetables you are wanting to freeze, and there are different factors to be aware of for different vegetables.

Hope this helps.

Bluebelle
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    Your indirect suggestion is sounds like a good one - anything that you commonly see in the frozen section at the grocery store is probably a good candidate, although industrial freezing is presumably faster than home. – Cascabel Oct 29 '10 at 14:10
  • Agreed Jefromi...I've taken that exact idea and run with it the past few months and I've got to say, so far so good. Pizza doughs, fruits, veggies, lean-cuisine-style full meals, casseroles to name a few. In my experience, if you've seen it frozen in the store, you can most likely freeze it at home. – stephennmcdonald Oct 29 '10 at 15:54
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Any veg that has a lot of water content are no good for freezer as the veg would get damaged by low temp. If veg has water content, the water will be iced. When you defrost the veg, you will lose water content and veg won't be good.

Therefore, the vegetables that are good for freezing are root type vegetable like carrot and parsnip. Corn also freezes well. Interestingly, some types of mushroom can also be frozen, but you have to experiment with them. Of course, Broccoli and cauliflower are also good to be frozen.

Trott
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Foodrules
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My favorite thing to freeze is corn on the cob. If it's unshucked, you can just throw it in the freezer, as is, and it'll keep for a long time. Then take it out, let it thaw, and throw it on the grill (still with the shuck on), and pull off fresh-tasting steamed corn in 10 minutes or so to the wonderment of your peers.

Satanicpuppy
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