Guide to Freezing Vegetables:

• Freeze only high quality vegetables of proper maturity
• Always use fresh garden vegetables and freeze them within a few hours of gathering or purchasing
• Select the variety of vegetables that is recommended for freezing
• Clean and cup up vegetables as you would for cooking
• Prepare and pack quickly
• All vegetables must be blanched before freezing to retard enzyme action and thus retain colour,flavoiur and texture.
• To remove insects that may be present in broccoli, brussels sprouts or cauliflower, immerse prepared vegetables for 30 minutes in a brine made from about 1 tablespoon of salt to 5 cups of water. Rinse throughly and blanch.
• Pack in suitable freezer containers, freezer bags or freezer wrappings
• Store frozen vegetables for up to one year

Blanching Vegetables:

Vegetables contain enzymes, which, if not controlled by blanching will cause undesirable changes in flavour, colour and texture of the vegetables when frozen.

Place vegetables in a wire basket, colander or cheesecloth bag, Lower into vigorously boiling water , cover and immediately start timing (see chart below for recommended times). Keep heat on high so that water will quickly return to boiling. As soon as water returns to a vigorous boil, remove cover and move vegetable container up and down to ensure uniform blanching. Follow the blanching time, then remove and chill immediately by p0lacing under cold running water, Drain thoroughly and do not allow the vegetables to remain in the cold water any longer than necessary. Blanch only one pound of vegetables at a time.

To Cook Frozen Vegetables:

• Cook most vegetables without thawing.
• Vegetables requiring partial thawing should be thawed in an unopened container.
• Thaw asparagus, broccoli and spinach just enough to break apart.
• Corn on the cob should be thawed completely before cooking.
• Pumpkin or squash can be thawed completely and used as you would for cooked or canned.
• In general, frozen vegetables are cooked by the same methods as fresh except that cooking time is reduced to about 1/2 the time.

For Guide to Freezing Fruits, please visit:

http://www.mama-knows.com/recipes/guide-to-freezing-fruits.html

Hope this guide has been helpful to you – please send in your comments and suggestions – your input is always appreciated!

Freezing your fruits and vegetables is easy – here is the basic guide to get you started preserving your favourite fruits!

Guide to Freezing Fruits :

• Freeze only high quality fruits
• Always use garden-fresh fruits and freeze within a few hours of gathering
• Select varieties of fruits that are recommended for freezing
• Clean and cut up fruits as for eating, cooking or baking
• Prepare and pack quickly and carefully, working with only enough fruits  to fill 3 or 4 containers at a time
• Pack fruits  in freezer containers, freezer bags of freezer wrappings.
• Store your fruits for up to 1 year.

Guide to Packaging:

Dry Pack: Suitable for those fruits which can be frozen without any preparation other than washing, draining, discarding imperfect ones and packing – i.e. blueberries, cranberries, currants, gooseberries, rhubarb.

Dry Sugar Pack: Suitable for those fruits which can be combined with sugar, packaged and frozen. Fold recommended amount of sugar carefully into the fruit and package to freeze. See chart below for details.

Syrup Pack: Suitable for fruits which are packed in a syrup of a strength best suited to tartness of the fruit. (see chart below for details) Slice or cut the fruits directly into the container. Leave berries whole, if desired. Be sure that the syrup covers the fruit and that there is enough head space for expansion during freezing. To keep fruit under syrup, especially apricots and peaches, place a piece of crumpled waxed paper or cellophane on top.

To make syrup: Add sugar to boiling water and stir until dissolved. Chill only – do not cook or heat,

Thin syrup:1 cup of sugar + 2 cups of water

Medium syrup: 1 cup of sugar + 1 cup of water

Heavy syrup: 1 cup of sugar + 3/4 cups of water

To Prevent Discolouration of Fruit:

Syrup Pack – add 1/4 teaspoon of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) to 4 cups of syrup and stir to dissolve

Dry Sugar Pack – for apples, apricots and peaches – dissolve 1/8 teaspoon of ascorbic acid in 2 tablespoons of cold water per 2 cups of prepared fruit, sprinkle over prepared fruit and mix gently.

Serving Frozen Fruits:

To Thaw – leave in unopened container in refrigerator for about 6 hours or at room temperature for about 2 hours

To Use in Pies, Muffins or Cobblers – thaw in unopened package just until fruit can be separated. Continue as with fruit that has not been frozen.

To Use in Sauces, Jams, Jellies or Preserves - place frozen fruit directly in saucepan and continue as with fruit that has not been frozen.

To Use as Fresh Fruit – serve when partially thawed – a few ice crystals should remain

Freezing Fruits Easy Chart:

For Guide to Freezing Vegetables, please visit:

http://www.mama-knows.com/recipes/guide-to-freezing-vegetables.html

I hope this simple guise will help you – please send in your comments and suggestions, your input is always welcomed!