Freezing food is a great way to save time and energy in the kitchen – keeping you super organised. It also reduces food costs as food that is in seasonal abundance is generally cheaper.
What you will need:
Storage containers: Zip locked bags or vacuum sealed bags are ideal as they can minimize the fruit and vegetables’ contact with air. They are also very space efficient in most freezers.
Fresh produce: Select fruits and vegetables at the peak of their season when they are the ripest. Avoid produce that has been damaged or bruised.
Blanching equipment: Most vegetables need to be blanched briefly prior to freezing. This helps them to retain more of their nutrition and flavour during the freezing period. To blanch vegetables, you only need a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, and a large bowl that you can fill with iced-water.
How to freeze fruit:
Fruit doesn’t require pre-cooking, so it is relatively easy to prepare for freezer storage.
Simply remove any stems or pips, slice into bite-size pieces and place on a flat tray in the freezer.
Freeze until firm, and then transfer fruit to a zip-locked or vacuum-seeled bag. If possible, remove as much air from the bag as possible. Contact with air will cause the fruit to go off more quickly in the freezer.
Ideal freezing time is 1-2 months.
A few tips for freezing fruits:
Avocadoes, kiwi fruits and other soft fruits don’t freeze well.
Tomatoes are best pre-cooked and mixed in a blender to form a smooth paste (also known as ‘passata’) prior to freezing.
Grapes and berries can be frozen whole (hence don’t require any pre-chopping or preparation).
How to freeze vegetables:
Prepare vegetables by removing any dirt and slicing them into bite-size pieces.
Blanch the vegetables by cooking in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then transferring to a bowl of iced water.
Place vegetables in a zip-locked or vacuum-sealable bag and squeeze out as much air as possible.
Store for up to 3 months in the freezer.
A few tips for freezing vegetables:
Garlic, black pepper or other ‘seed spices’ don’t freeze well. Their flavours become bitter-tasting after freezing.
Onions benefit from long, slow cooking prior to freezing. This is a great addition soups, stews and omelettes when you are in a hurry.
Cabbage leaves can be blanched and frozen flat (useful for making cabbage rolls in winter).
Peppers (including capsican) don’t require blanching. Prepare them as you would fruits.
