Have you ever wondered if you can freeze an apple!? The need has probably never been that pressing until our lifeline to fresh food was abruptly severed. Que the panic Googling! With trips to the supermarket becoming a luxury excursion, here are the best tips to make your fresh produce, that wilt quickly, last.
Top tips:
There are some specific freezer tips for individual fruits and vegetables, but the broad strokes are:
- Wash your produce and pat it dry.
- It can be a good idea to pre-chop your veggies or core and slice larger fruits to make them easier to freezer and use later.
- Briefly dipping your veggies into boiling water to blanch them will set their color and texture, helping to prevent them becoming mushy after thawing. Make an ice bath in a deep bowl to transfer them to from the boiling water, this cools them quickly, stops them from cooking and, they won’t steam up your freezer or the bag that you put them in (which can lead to freezer burn) – Onions and peppers are the major exceptions to this rule – they can be frozen raw. The other exception are squashes and pumpkins, they need to be fully cooked. Raw fruit freezes very well.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and freeze your produce in a single layer.
- Once the fruits and vegetables are fully frozen individually, then you can transfer them into a freezer-safe bag, remove as much air as possible before you seal the bag. Don’t forget to label and date each bag, (I always think I’ll remember what’s what, but I literally never do!)
- Place back in the freezer.
- Citrus fruit will last 3 months, but all other freezable fruits and vegetables will last 8 to 12 months. – Hopefully plenty of time to see us through this!!
What shouldn’t you freeze?
Veggies high in water content do not freeze well; celery, watercress, endive, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers and radishes. They become water-logged when thawed and do not taste nice. There are other preserving tips for some of these.
Freezing tips by Fruit:
Apples/Pears:
- Baking
- Desserts
- Smoothies
Apples can be frozen whole, but slices are more freezer friendly. To prevent browning, you can steam the apples for 2mins minutes, or place them in a bowl with 1 Tbsp of lemon juice per 4 apples and mix them around so they are evenly coated, then freeze.
Bananas:
- Baking
- Desserts
- Smoothies
I have been freezing bananas for years. Wait until they are ripe, and starting to show black spots, this is when they are sweetest. Peal them first before popping in a freezer-safe bag. They can stick together if I am unable to keep them flat before they freeze, but they can be pulled apart easy, no need to follow any special recommendations.
Berries:
- Baking
- Smoothies
- Jams
Berries are wonderful to freeze. They require no special prep, apart from a wash and dry, then freeze them whole in a freezer-safe bag.
Citrus:
- Juicing
- Smoothies
- Sauces
- Jams
To freeze for juicing later simply cut in half and freeze. Otherwise, peal and cut into sections. Make sure to place flat on a baking paper lined tray to freeze first, then you can transfer to a freezer-safe bag. You can also zest the ride and freeze this separately. Frozen rind freezes very well and is an easy way to add tonnes of extra flavour to your baking and cooking.
Avocado:
- Guac
- Dressings
- Spreads
Avo’s are easy to freeze. The freezing process does change the texture of the flesh once thawed so this means while it’s not great ‘as is’, it still works very well when mashed up. Wash the whole avocado, slice in half and freeze in a freezer-safe bag.
Stonefruit:
- Baking
- Desserts
- Smoothies
- Juices
Remove the pits in all cases for freezing. Then either you can simply freeze with the skins on or you can remove the skins, in which case, blanch the flesh for 30 seconds, transfer to an ice bath, dry, freeze the pieces flat on a baking sheet first, and then transfer to a freezer-safe bag.
Freezing tips by Vegetable:
Zucchini/Courgette:
- Baking
- Sauces
- Roasted
- Burger patties
Zucchini is great in all sorts of baking, and frozen is just as good as fresh. To use in baking, grate the zucchini first, blanch it for 1 to 2 minutes, transfer to ice bath, pat dry, then freeze.
A tip for making it manageable after freezing is spoon the grated zucchini into a muffin tray and freeze it in this first, then you can just pop out the frozen blocks and freeze these in a bag. If you don’t have a muffin tray, you can just form small balls with your hands, place these on a lined tray and freeze.
Otherwise, frozen zucchini is good for use in a number of cooked dishes, once thawed it isn’t so nice without being cooked. To freeze now and cook later, slice or dice, blanch for 1 min, transfer to ice bath, allow to dry, then freeze.
Spinach:
- Sauces
- Soups
- Smoothies
Blanch for 2 minutes, transfer to ice bath, pat dry then, using the same tip as with freezing the grated zucchini, spoon the spinach in to a muffin tray and freeze like this first.
Capsicum/Bell Peppers:
- Salads (thawed & ‘fresh’ or cooked)
- Sauces
- Roasted
- Burger Patties
There is no need to blanch capsicums first. Just remove the seeds, cut them into slices or dices, and freeze in a bag, easy!
Broccoli & Cauliflower:
- Sauces
- Stir-fry
- Roasted
- Pizza topping
Remove the leaves and the thick stems, and cut into Trim off any leaves and remove the stems. Cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces before blanching for 3 minutes. Then, cool in an ice bath, dry, and freeze in freezer-safe bag.
Corn:
- Cooked once thawed for ‘corn on the cob’
- Baking
- Sauces
- Soups
- Pizza topping
- Burger patties
Corn can be frozen whole or off the cob, however you would like to enjoy it later. Remove the ears, blanch whole for 4 minutes, allow to cool, and freeze. Remove the kernels with a sharp knife after cooling if you’d prefer to freeze it this way.
Green Beans and Peas:
- Salads (thawed & ‘fresh’ or cooked)
- Stir-fry
- Sauces
Remove peas from their pods and blanch for 1-1/2 minutes. For green beans , blanch for 3 minutes, transfer to ice bath, dry, and then freeze.
Tomatoes:
- Sauces
- Soups
You need to remove the skin before freezing. The best way I’ve found to do this is by slicing a skin deep ‘X’ into the top of the tomato, pop it whole into boiling water for 30 seconds, let it cool for a moment, and then peal off the skin, using the ‘X’ as the starting point. One skinned they can be frozen whole, sectioned, or diced, however you prefer. It is best to freeze these lying flat first as they will stick together in a large clump otherwise.
Zucchini/Courgette:
- Baking
- Sauces
- Roasted
- Burger patties
Zucchini is great in all sorts of baking, and frozen is just as good as fresh. To use in baking, grate the zucchini first, blanch it for 1 to 2 minutes, transfer to ice bath, pat dry, then freeze.
A tip for making it manageable after freezing is to form the grated zucchini into 1/2 cup size balls and freeze these flat first, then pop all the balls into a bag.
Otherwise, frozen zucchini is good for use in a number of cooked dishes, once thawed it isn’t so nice without being cooked. To freeze now and cook later, slice or dice, blanch for 1 min, transfer to ice bath, allow to dry, then freeze.