Preserving food: freezing
2. Freezing
Not only does Stewart declare freezing the fastest way to save those fruits and veggies, she also puts it at the top of her list. "This is my preferred method of preservation, because it's so very, very easy." The only supplies needed are freezer-weight plastic bags to protect from freezer burn or sturdy, stackable food containers. "Remember to leave some room for expansion," Stewart cautions for either method. So don't fill your containers to the brim.There are various ways to freeze different fruits and vegetables, so be sure to use a reputable source such as pickyourown.org for specific directions.
Tossing fresh berries into containers or freezer bags can leave you with large frozen lumps of fruit later on, so it's best to spread them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them singularly. Once they're frozen, then you can combine them. "This works really well when you're going to use them in smoothies or wherever you have to measure them."
Many vegetables freeze better when they're blanched first, to kill any bacteria and stop the enzymes that can destroy nutrients. Boiling vegetables in water for a few minutes followed by a soak in ice-cold water for a few more minutes does the trick.
You may also want to prepare the produce as you'd like to serve it. "I freeze tomatoes whole or in chunks with the skins on," says Stewart, who uses the tomatoes directly from frozen in soups, stews and sauces. "I puree apricots and peaches with a bit of ascorbic acid to make the base for salad dressings."
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Page 2 of 3
Not only does Stewart declare freezing the fastest way to save those fruits and veggies, she also puts it at the top of her list. "This is my preferred method of preservation, because it's so very, very easy." The only supplies needed are freezer-weight plastic bags to protect from freezer burn or sturdy, stackable food containers. "Remember to leave some room for expansion," Stewart cautions for either method. So don't fill your containers to the brim.There are various ways to freeze different fruits and vegetables, so be sure to use a reputable source such as pickyourown.org for specific directions.
Tossing fresh berries into containers or freezer bags can leave you with large frozen lumps of fruit later on, so it's best to spread them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them singularly. Once they're frozen, then you can combine them. "This works really well when you're going to use them in smoothies or wherever you have to measure them."
Many vegetables freeze better when they're blanched first, to kill any bacteria and stop the enzymes that can destroy nutrients. Boiling vegetables in water for a few minutes followed by a soak in ice-cold water for a few more minutes does the trick.
You may also want to prepare the produce as you'd like to serve it. "I freeze tomatoes whole or in chunks with the skins on," says Stewart, who uses the tomatoes directly from frozen in soups, stews and sauces. "I puree apricots and peaches with a bit of ascorbic acid to make the base for salad dressings."
Click to continue...
Page 2 of 3
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