PotashRLS Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 Can you vacuum seal fresh veggies for freezing and which ones? I know you can freeze peppers but am wondering about tomatoes particularly. I plan to put some time in with my folks on their garden this summer/fall but don't really want to can all the veggies. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Metal Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 (edited) Yes you can and with great results. We vacuum seal and freeze lots of zucchini, squash, all our green beans. Another thing we tried this last year was apple sauce. My wife bought flats and flats of apples at the Amish Auction in Park County, IN as well as a orchard near Covington. She canned lots of homemade apple sauce and once we ran out of bottles, she loaded up some bags, sealed them and stuck 'em in the freezer. We just used one for supper last week and it was excellent. We also freeze all the wild berries we get off our property and fresh picked blueberries from a place we go. All those freeze and thaw super nice. FYI, you can freeze tomatoes whole, but upon thawing they will only be good for cooking with. Not for say...slicing and putting on a burger, sandwich or like fresh chunks in a salad or taco. You can also freeze eggs!! Edited June 1, 2009 by Heavy Metal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 We usually can our tomatoes Tracy, that and salsa are about all that we do not freeze anymore. Most of our tomatoes get used for salsa. We put in 18 tomato plants this year, that is more than we have done in the past, so we should have some tomatoes to put up. I have not done pickled peppers in quite a few years, but the fresh frozen are just as good, different but good especially in chili and for fajitas. Pickled are better for sandwhiches though. We vacuum seal pretty well everything else, just be sure to blanch properly. Peppers do just fine fresh frozen. We have in the past also put up peppers in premade packages for fajitas and chili with onions and the sliced peppers together in the bag. Kind of time consuming, but worth it to have the fresh stuff and nice to take a bag out of the freezer and it be already ready to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotashRLS Posted June 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 What do you blanch and what do you do fresh specifically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 What do you blanch and what do you do fresh specifically? There are different times for different vegetables Tracy. Here is a timetable http://missourifamilies.org/quick/foodsafetyqa/qafs654.htm. We do beans(green, lima, peas), corn, squash, last year we blanched and froze carrots too. According to that link, we have not been blanching our corn long enough all these years. On the peppers we wash them thoroughly slice them and then freeze them, don't recall ever blanching them first. You probably already know this, but if you are slicing any kind of peppers that are warm to hot, be sure to wear gloves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snipe Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 Can you vacuum seal fresh veggies for freezing and which ones? I know you can freeze peppers but am wondering about tomatoes particularly. I plan to put some time in with my folks on their garden this summer/fall but don't really want to can all the veggies. Any suggestions? Veggies that are heavy water bearing (meaning high water percentage), veggies don't so well...vacuumed or not. It's a cell structure thing. The water in the vegetable expands as it gets colder/frozen. There goes the cell walls that hold the pepper together. So dont expect to have nice crisp peppers and maters when thawed.. You may have some luck with other whole veggies tho... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Veggies that are heavy water bearing (meaning high water percentage), veggies don't so well...vacuumed or not. It's a cell structure thing. The water in the vegetable expands as it gets colder/frozen. There goes the cell walls that hold the pepper together. So dont expect to have nice crisp peppers and maters when thawed.. You may have some luck with other whole veggies tho... Ken is right here. If you are going to use the peppers for cooking like in chili or other foods where you are more concerned with adding flavor than worrying about the crispness factor then freezing is ok. If you are wanting them for sandwhiches or other type of use where you want a good crisp pepper, freezing is not the best option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntermomof4 Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 Tracy, I have vacumed almost any kind of veggie you can think of , if you prepare it right before you do the tomatos they will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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