Freezing chopped veggies

[JustJoel]

I’m going to the bodega today to get a truckload (not really) of onions, bell peppers and chili peppers. They’re so cheap there that I thought I’d buy a passel of them, then chop and freeze them, keeping aside a few for immediate use.

Frozen veggies in the store are flash frozen, though (I assume), which is why they aren’t all clumped and frozen together in a solid mass. My freezer is so inefficient (it takes hours to freeze a tray of ice cubes! I’m afraid that’s what’ll happen with my lovingly chopped veggies.

I’m sure a lot of you do this routinely (another assumption, but not illogical). Is there a technique for freezing chopped vegetables so they don’t clump and freeze into a solid mass? I know there must be a simple answer, but I just woke up, and I’m not even capable of making my coffee yet!

 

[Andy M.]

IQF! Individually quick frozen. Chop the veggies, spread them out on a tray and pop the tray in the freezer. Bag them for storage after they are frozen.

 

[JustJoel]

IQF! Individually quick frozen. Chop the veggies, spread them out on a tray and pop the tray in the freezer. Bag them for storage after they are frozen.

That certainly makes sense! Thanks! What’s “IQF?” I’m notoriously bad at figuring out acronyms!

 

[Andy M.]

That certainly makes sense! Thanks! What’s “IQF?” I’m notoriously bad at figuring out acronyms!

Sorry, I edited my post to include the words. Individually quick frozen.

BTW. when you're doing a lot of freezing such as this you may want to adjust the thermostat on your freezer to a colder temp so things will freeze faster, then turn it back to it's original setting later.

 

[JustJoel]

Sorry, I edited my post to include the words. Individually quick frozen.

BTW. when you're doing a lot of freezing such as this you may want to adjust the thermostat on your freezer to a colder temp so things will freeze faster, then turn it back to it's original setting later.

Now THAT’S a good idea I never thought of! My freezer is so damned inefficient, it takes hours to freeze a tray of ice cubes. If I turn it up too high, though, for too long, everything in the fridge freezes, too! Guess that’s another one of those “first world problems,” Thankful that I have a refrigerator, and a kitchen to put it in!

 

[Cheryl J]

Yep, what Andy said. I just did this yesterday. Chopped a bunch of onion, bells, jalapenos, spread them on cookie sheets, popped them in the freezer, and bagged them up once they were frozen. They don't stick together and it's easy to just grab a handful.

I'll be doing the same thing today with fresh corn. It was on sale for 6 ears for a dollar, so I bought 12.

 

[GotGarlic]

I'll be doing the same thing today with fresh corn. It was on sale for 6 ears for a dollar, so I bought 12. [emoji2]

I wish I could do this! Corn here in Michigan is 8 ears for a dollar! I bought eight yesterday for us to have with meals, and if there's extra, I'll add them to one of the freezer meals I'm making for my FIL. But I can't take them home! Waah!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Yep, what Andy said. I just did this yesterday....I'll be doing the same thing today with fresh corn. It was on sale for 6 ears for a dollar, so I bought 12.

I do this with fruits, too. Raspberry half-pints on sale for $1.50? Yes, please, and a tray-worth or two get bagged into freezer bags for defrosting as needed. Same thing with cherries when they are at peak season and the price drops. I've also frozen sliced peaches. Any one of those fruits will be used over the winter in my serving of plain Fage yogurt.

 

[caseydog]

IQF! Individually quick frozen. Chop the veggies, spread them out on a tray and pop the tray in the freezer. Bag them for storage after they are frozen.

This.

I do this with my surplus peppers that I grow in my garden. I freeze them on a tray first, and then use my Foodsaver to vacuum seal them. If I vacuum seal them first, then freeze, the juices in the peppers squeeze out during the vacuum seal process. If I freeze them on a tray first, the vacuum sealer can't squeeze the juices out.

You don't have to vacuum seal your frozen veggies, but if you don't, you will get freezer burn at some point. If you vacuum seal already frozen veg, at least peppers, they will still be soft when you thaw them, but will still be moist and full of flavor.

I don't know about all veggies -- just the ones I have frozen, vac sealed, and kept in the freezer.

From my own experience, frozen veggies are only good for use in cooking. Thawing them out and eating them raw just doesn't work out like eating fresh veggies. But, they work just fine in cooking.

CD

 

[salt and pepper]

Vacuum Seal !!!