One of the methods that I've used successfully is blanching and freezing for beans. It's straightforward and relatively low effort. If you want to try this method, you'll need
well-washed beans with the ends snapped off
a big pot of boiling water
a bowl of ice water
a colander, and
a zip-type freezer bag.
You'll want to have everything set up at the beginning, since once you're underway, things happen pretty fast. The idea with blanching is not to cook the beans, but just to break down the outer layer so it freezes at the same rate as the insides and doesn't get tough.
Bring the pot of water to a full, rolling boil. Shut off the heat, and dump in the beans.
Stir gently and watch for the beans to start to turn a brighter green. This happens fast - only about 45 seconds in my kitchen. (It's better to under-blanch than overcook if you're not sure.) See the color change?
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Drain the beans through the colander and transfer as quickly as possible into the ice water to stop the cooking process.
Drain the beans through the colander and transfer as quickly as possible into the ice water to stop the cooking process.
The beans will quickly be cool enough to handle comfortably. Drain through the colander once more. Pack in a labeled zipper bag, remove as much air as possible to avoid freezer burn, and stick in the freezer. TADA!! Your own frozen veggies are now ready for winter.
The blanch and freeze method works well to preserve lots of vegetable options. The only difference is the length of time to blanch. The peas from early in this season were pretty delicate, so those blanched for me in about 10 seconds - almost as fast as I could get them in and out of the boiling water. Basically, the sturdier the veg, the longer it will take, but most everything will take only a couple of minutes max.
Happy preserving!
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