Why blanch?

josusa47

Can anyone tell me how vegetables are supposed to benefit from being dunked into boiling then chilled water before freezing?  My little garden doesn't often produce enough of anything to be worth freezing, but this year there's a modest surplus of runner beans.  I just top and tail, slice them, wrap them in any clean plastic bag that comes to hand, and bung them in the freezer.  When we cook them, the taste and texture is no different from the ones we've eaten straight from the garden, and no-one's got food poisoning yet.  Do the commercial freezing plants go in for all that boiling and chilling?

Dovefromabove

It’s as I understand it, it’s more to preserve the quality rather than to prevent poisoning. 

Blanching in boiling water kills enzymes etc that are present in the veg that would otherwise cause a degree of decomposition over time ... that’s why not blanching works if you’re not going to keep the veg in the freezer for a long time. The longer you’re going to freeze the veg for the better the flavour and texture will be if you blanch. 

At at least that’s what I was told in a WI class on freezing home produce way back in the 70s.  

And yes, Birds Eye etc blanch their beans ... or that’s what the veg farmers in my family tell me.  😊 

josusa47

Thank you.  Don't think I'll bother.

Lyn

I do with runner beans but not with fruit, raspberries and rhubarb just go in as they are, washed and chopped. 

Skandi

I've not noticed a difference with peas over 6 months in the freezer, but I guess any loss in quality would be gradual so I probably wouldn't notice!

Dovefromabove

Lyn said:

I do with runner beans but not with fruit, raspberries and rhubarb just go in as they are, washed and chopped. 

I don’t do it with berries or rhubarb either. 

Lyn

Or peppers.