How To Stockpile Summer Veggies!

 

Calling all Stockpilers! Summer’s abundance of heat, humidity, and torrential afternoon monsoons, leads to an abundance of seasonal product. In my neck of the woods, you can currently score four ears of corn for a dollar, asparagus for under $2.00 a bundle, and yellow neck squash for under $0.50 each! Such prices, call for stockpiling… and hopefully year round savings!

So, for this weeks Making More Out of Monday Meals, I wanted to post about one of my favorite ways to save money while stockpiling, blanching and freezing vegetables, otherwise known as Blanch and Shock Vegetable preservation!

By blanching and flash-freezing your vegetables, you will be able to save 90% off of your produce bills! If you watch your weekly sales ads, and purchase vegetables on promotion, and take a portion of all fresh produce, and freeze these goods, you will never be without health, life saving vegetables!

Here’s how to make them:

1. Take your vegetables, and prep them; wash, sort, inspect, and chop your vegetables.
2. Prepare a pot of 1 gallon salted water; use 1/2 teaspoon of salt per half gallon of water.
3. Bring water to a boil.
4. Put your vegetables in the boiling water for 3 minutes, no more no less; use a kitchen timer for this process.
5. While your water is boiling, take a separate bowl, and fill it with ice.
6. After 3 minutes, using a strainer, transfer your blanched produce to your prepared ice bath; soak vegetables in the ice bath for another 3 minutes, timed. The ice water will stop the internal cooking process, and flash-freeze the produce.
7. Strain, then drain your vegetables.
8. Place the produce in pre-marked and dated baggies, then freeze!

Please note, this will preserve veggies for up to one year in a deep freeze, and when ready to use in a recipe, allow to thaw for 2-3 hours, per baggie! 

A few tips? Always start counting blanching time when the water returns to a boil, and the use of a strainer or deep fry basket, while blanching helps, too! 

Also, here is a chart to help you know just how long to blanch! 

 

Here’s to saving,