Can You Freeze Fresh Produce?

In addition to meat, you can freeze almost anything, including fruits and vegetables. While you can purchase already frozen vegetables in stores, you can also purchase and freeze fresh produce. Freezing fruits and vegetables increases their lifespan by months, preventing food waste by keeping produce fresh. Keeping your freezer full of fresh, frozen produce ensures that you have a supply of certain fruits and vegetables on hand. Blanching may be needed to freeze vegetables, while fruits typically don't require additional steps to freeze. In this article, we'll explain how you can properly freeze and store fresh fruits and vegetables.

How to Freeze Vegetables and Fruit

When you want to store fruits and vegetables long term, you may find yourself wondering exactly how to freeze fresh produce. The process of freezing fresh produce is basically the same for most fruits and vegetables. However, there are some slight differences. While some vegetables can be frozen raw, most will require blanching before they can be frozen. On the other hand, fruits don't require blanching before they're frozen. Blanching vegetables before freezing them helps maintain their texture, taste, and color. Depending on the vegetable, you may need to peel, chop, trim, or core it before blanching. After you have blanched the vegetables, you can start the process of freezing them.

Blanching is the only step that differentiates the process of freezing fresh vegetables and fruits. After blanching, the process is the same for both.

1. First, wash and prepare your fruits and vegetables.
2. If needed, cut, core, peel, or chop the produce.
3. Arrange the vegetables or fruit pieces on a lined baking sheet, ensuring they're spread out to prevent them from freezing into a congealed blob.
4. Place the baking sheet with the produce inside the freezer, leaving it to properly freeze.
5. Once the vegetables and fruits are thoroughly frozen, you can remove the baking sheet and place the produce in freezer-friendly containers or bags.

How do you blanch vegetables?

While it's possible to freeze some raw vegetables, you should really blanch any vegetables that you plan on freezing. As previously mentioned, the blanching process prevents enzymes from negatively affecting the quality of the vegetable. To blanch vegetables, you must first prepare a bowl of ice water and boil a pot of water. Once the water is boiling, you can add the already cleaned and prepared vegetables to the pot. Let the vegetables cook for around 1 to 5 minutes, depending on the vegetable. You can tell when the vegetables are ready to be removed from the pot when their color brightens. After you remove the vegetables from the boiling water using a slotted spoon, plunge them into the ice water to cool down. Leave them in the ice water for around the same time it took to boil them and then drain them into a colander. After draining, freeze the vegetables according to the steps above.

How should you store frozen fruits and vegetables?

To ensure your fresh produce remains properly frozen and safe from harmful germs and bacteria, you must store your fruits and vegetables in the proper containers. You can store your frozen fruits in airtight containers as well as freezer bags. Containers with lids can be stacked to conserve space inside your freezer. If you opt to use freezer bags, ensure you remove as much air as possible before placing them in the freezer.