got a tip to share on freezing veggies ? Better & cheaper ?

[ElizabethBarry]

info like what to blanch and what not to blanch. can I freeze anything? Any flavor loss? Sugar loss? .... I would like to do this over canning... Which is better ? Nutritionally flavor or both ? appreciate all sense I'll be doing this for winter. can I freeze salsa in ziplock freezer bag and taste same later like 2-4 months? You get the picture

[tomc]

Most home frozen foods suffer some from the minimal freezing temps a home model can make. Our freezers just don't have the juice to do a great job.

As a result our product doesn't hold as well as colder units make.

As other posters note there are blanched foods, Vaccuum packed, and IQF frozen foods. Onions or peppers IQF for short term storage just fine for example. Maybe you could try making some?

IQF: individually quick frozen

[ElizabethBarry]

I was hoping freezing would be much cheaper than Canning says I have to Canning supplies. iOS vacuum sealer with some bags however they bags are expensive. The cheapest way I can think of going about this is grabbing some Ziploc bags the expensive kind made for freezing.
The best tape but have heard in the past is to freeze them individually own as a IQF as mentioned above. I certainly will be trying sound but it's a ways away still. I'm looking at simple things such as onions and peppers and more similar things. I am even going to freeze ice cubes of basil which I love so much.
If anyone's ever sees a very nice sale online someplace of the vacuum sealing bags please share TIA

[ElizabethBarry]

by the way. I am not a really bad speller I just use my iPhone a lot in the
And at times I forget to check what it is typing instead of me !

[ElizabethBarry]

Freezer paper ? Holy cow I had to look this up on the Internet I have never heard of it before I know probably don't spend enough time in the kitchen. It's even great for cutting material pattern and craft too why I definitely actually definitely will be buying this paper first and then put in the zip freezer bag date and ID. have the Ziploc reusable squared containers been successful for freezing without freezer burn?

[bryce d]

I do know that frost free freezers warm up a bit to get rid of the frost. The food will do much better in a colder freezer that doesn't keep changing temperatures. definitely the colder the better. I like bottles because you don't have to trust a freezer.

[rainbowgardener]

I can some things and freeze some things. Freeze garlic and green onions without blanching. Spinach and other greens, broccoli, and carrots with blanching. After blanching, rinsing, draining, I put them in regular ziplocks and freeze.

[ElizabethBarry]

Thank you everyone

[Rairdog]

I freeze pretty much everything but lettuce. We use ziplock bags and a straw to suck out the air lol. I have a big chest freezer and would not do it in a frost free for very long.

[ElizabethBarry]

Target has canning supply and jars on sale !!! I bought some to complement freezing etc. Great buy FYI

[mattie g]

Since my garden is small, I don't have much to freeze after we eat fresh from the garden, but the main thing I freeze is tomatoes. I seed and core them and pop them into freezer bags, then put them in the deep freezer in our basement. We then use them later for making sauce and salsa as necessary. One of the good things about freezing tomatoes is that the skins slough right off when they thaw out.

I've also frozen blanched peas, spinach, and green beans. It's nice having the deep freezer for this because it stays at a constant -5F to -15F and things stay nice and chilly without fear of possibly thawing ever so slightly...unless we have a storm and lose power (knock on wood!). I have a vacuum sealer, but since we generally eat the frozen green vegetables pretty quickly, I pretty much use it solely for bulk meat purchases...although I have used it a few times for big fruit and vegetable purchases from late-summer roadside stands!

As for cheap bags for the vacuum sealer, I get fairly inexpensive rolls on Amazon. No need to go with the big brand name bags - the non-descript/no frills ones do just as good a job.

[ElizabethBarry]

Thanks for the great info. I see the value if having freezer, fruture investment For me

[ElizabethBarry]

Great reading !!! Glad you have your priorities in good order