Blanching times for summer vegetables

It's easy to freeze a few batches of fresh summer vegetables to enjoy months from now if you know how to blanch.

Thu, Aug 13 2009 at 11:09 AM

Related Topics:

Maybe your garden is producing faster than you can consume. Maybe there’s a great bargain on green beans at the farmers market. If you’ve got extra produce that you aren’t able to eat, freezing it for later is an easy way to make sure it doesn’t go to waste. It’s also a great money saver because you won’t be paying a premium price for out-of-season vegetables come winter.

Before you freeze most vegetables, you need to blanch them. Blanching is a method that partially cooks the vegetables in boiling water to help them retain their nutrients, color and texture. Then the vegetables are plunged into an ice bath (this part is called shocking) to stop the cooking process. For a step-by-step tutorial on how to blanch, visit All Recipes.

One of the tricks to blanching is knowing just how long each type of vegetable should be boiled before it is pulled out. Here’s a handy chart that I got from my farmers market's weekly newsletter.

Beets: cook to tender
Broccoli (1.5" pieces): 3 minutes
Cabbage (shredded): 1 1/2 minutes
Cauliflower: 3 minutes
Corn-on-the-cob, large ears: 10 minutes
Eggplant: 4 minutes
Greens: 2 minutes, 3 for collards
Green or wax beans: 3 minutes
Mushrooms: (steam, don't boil)
Whole (steamed): 5 minutes
Buttons or Quarters (steamed): 3.5 minutes
Slices (steamed): 3 minutes
Onion, sliced into rings: 10-15 seconds
Sweet Peppers
Halves: 3 minutes
Strips or Rings: 2 minutes
Pumpkin: cook through, freeze cubed or mashed
Zucchini/yellow squash: 3 minutes
Squash-winter: cook through, freeze cubed or mashed
Sweet potatoes: cook through, freeze cubed or mashed

If a vegetable you want to freeze isn’t listed here, try doing a search online using the name of the vegetable you want to blanch and the words “blanching time.”

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

Previous Post
Halloween candy in August?

Next Post
Meryl Streep stretches Julia Child's chicken

You might also like:

Join the conversation

Comments: 8

skywoman Aug 29 2009 at 8:39 AM

Slice the corn from the cob, spread it out onto a baking sheet, put it into the oven at 200 degrees until the moisture is gone (an hour or so), give it a stir once or twice to keep it from sticking, the corn gets a slight brown color and a wonderful earthy flavor. Allow the corn to cool before storing it in a (recycled) jar or any container, it will be good for a year or more. To rehydrate: cover the corn with water, bring to a simmer, let it sit for 30 minutes and then add seasonings if desired,

.... More

simmer again until tender. This is a traditional native method of preserving food. It works great for most vegetables.

Log in or register to post comments
Report This Post

Judy Lowe/Diggin' It Aug 26 2009 at 5:07 PM

It isn't necessary to blanch peppers at all. Just stick them in a plastic bag in the freezer -- whole, halves, chopped, sliced. A great time-saver!

Log in or register to post comments
Report This Post

grace alvarez Aug 24 2009 at 5:02 PM

eat vegetables to make you alert,healthy and smart.

Log in or register to post comments
Report This Post

Guest Aug 22 2009 at 10:01 PM

That sounds awfully long, especially since most times it gets mushy after 5 min.

Log in or register to post comments
Report This Post

Robin Shreeves Aug 24 2009 at 2:46 PM

10 minutes is how long I boil corn to fully cook it - although it's never mushy.

Pickyourown.org recommends 4-6 minutes for corn on cob but a website called ochef is saying 8-11. Hmmm. Maybe we should just eat all the corn in the summer and wait impatiently for the next July.

Has anyone ever successfully blanched corn? How long did you keep it in the boiling water?

Log in or register to post comments
Report This Post

Susan Aug 26 2009 at 12:37 PM

Hi, I've blanched sweet corn for about 3 minutes, but have also taken it off the cob. I wasn't sure if the instructions in the article were for corn on the cob intact, or as sweet corn kernels. I would suppose, too, that the time between picking and blanching should be considered. Maybe if there's a long time between the two, more time should be allowed. I've also taken raw kernels off and frozen the corn, which tasted as sweet as blanched. Of course, what I wouldn't necessarily have tasted are the

.... More

nutrients. So if blanching helps retains nutrients, then my frozen raw sweet corn kernels may have been a bit light in that department. Still tasty though!

Log in or register to post comments
Report This Post

AnnH Aug 22 2009 at 12:59 PM

In addition to blanching some of our garden's extras, I also roast and freeze eggplant and peppers. Drying tomatoes also preserves that intense summer flavor.