|
Vegetable
|
Preparation |
Blanching |
Packing |
|
Asparagus |
Wash, sort by size, cut off tough ends, cut to
uniform size |
Boil: Thin stalks 2min
Medium 3min,Thick 4min |
Alternate spears top to bottom or if upright, all
spears down, leave headroom. Seal; freeze. |
|
Beans-Lima |
Shell, wash, sort by size |
Boil: small 2min, medium 3min, large 4min |
½ inch headroom. Seal; freeze. |
|
Beans- Snap, String, Green, Italian |
Wash, Cut in 1-2 inch pieces, slice length -wise or
leave whole if young and tender |
Soft Boil: 3 minutes |
½ inch headroom. Seal; freeze. |
|
Beets |
Wash and sort for size, max 3".
Leave tail and ½ inch of stem so juice does not leak out. |
Boil: 25-30 min for small
45-50 min for medium |
Cool, slip off skins, trim, cut into slices or
cubes.½ inch headroom for cubes, none for sliced or whole. |
|
Broccoli |
Peel coarse stalks, trim leaves and blemishes, split
if large. Salt soak ½ hour |
Steam: 5min stalks
Boil: 3min stalks
|
Leave no headroom
Seal; freeze.
|
|
Brussels Sprouts |
Salt soak, wash, trim outer leaves, sort by size |
Boil: small heads 3min, medium 4min, large 5 min |
Leave no headroom
Seal; freeze. |
|
Cabbage (use for cooked dishes) |
Trim course outer leaves, cut heads in medium or
coarse shreds, thin wedges or separate leaves. |
Boil: 1 ½ minutes |
Leave ½ inch headroom
Seal; freeze |
|
Carrots |
Remove tops, wash, and peel, leave baby ones whole,
cut others into ¼ inch cubes, thin slices or lengthwise strips. |
Boil: tiny whole ones 5 min, dice slices or strips 2
min |
Leave ½ inch headroom
Seal; freeze. |
|
Cauliflower |
Break or cut florets into 1" pieces, salt soak,
wash, drain. |
Boil: salted water
(1 tsp per quart) 3 min |
Leave no headroom
Seal; freeze |
|
Celery (use for cooked dishes) |
Strip course strings from young stalks; wash, trim
and cut 1"pieces. Leaves may be minced |
Boil: salted water
(1 tsp per quart) 3 min
|
Leave no headroom
Seal; freeze
for separate
storage.
|
| Corn
|
Whole Kernel:
choose ears with thin, sweet milk. Husk, remove silky strands, and
wash.
Cream style: choose ears with thick, starchy milk.
Husk, remove silky strands and wash.
On-the Cob: Choose ears with thin sweet milk. Husk,
remove silky strands, wash, sort for size. |
Boil: 4 min
Boil: 4 min
Boil : small ears, less than 1 ¼ " diameter for
7min. Medium ears to 1 ½ for 9min. Large ears for 11 min.
|
Cut from cobs at 2/3
depth.
Leave ½ inch head room.
Cut from cob at center
of kernel.Scrape cob with back of knife to force out hearts of
kernels and juice, mix with cut corn. Leave ½ inch head room.
In containers or wrap in moisture/vapor-resistant
material. |
|
Eggplant |
Choose glossy small fruits w/tender seeds. Very
young eggplant need not be peeled. |
Steam: diced or small slices 2 min. Up to 5 min for
thick slices. Chill in cold water with lemon juice 4tsp per gallon. |
Leave ½ inch headroom
Seal; freeze |
|
Greens, Garden |
Remove imperfect leaves, trim away tough midribs and
stems. Cut large leaves in pieces. Wash carefully, lifting leaves
from water to let silt settle. |
Boil: Salted water (1 tsp per gallon, shake pot to
keep leaves separated. Spinach, kale, chard, mustard, beet and
turnip for 2 min. Collards for 3 min. |
Leave ½ inch headroom
Seal; freeze |
|
Mushrooms |
Wash carefully in cold water.
Cut off ends and stems, mushrooms larger than 1",
slice or quarter. |
Steam (when serving cold): in one layer, whole for 5
min, quarters/caps for 3 ½ minutes, slices 3 min.
Pre-cook (when serving hot): sauté in skillet until
nearly done. |
Freeze in pan juices.
Leave ½ inch headroom
Seal; freeze |
|
Okra (use in soups and stews) |
Wash and cut off stems. Careful not to open the seed
cells. |
Boil: Small pods 3 min, large pods 4 min Leave whole
or cut into crosswise slices. |
Leave ½ inch headroom. Seal; freeze |
|
Peas, Black-eyed (cowpeas) |
Shell, use only tender peas. |
Boil: 2 min Leave ½ inch headroom |
Seal; freeze |
|
Peas, Green |
Shell, use only tender sweet peas |
Boil: 1 ½ min. Leave ½ inch headroom |
Seal; freeze |
|
Peppers, Green (Bell, Sweet) |
Wash, cut out stems, seeds and white membranes. |
Blanching not necessary: May precook halves for 3min
or slices for 2 min to soften to condense space needed for packing. |
Blanched: Leave ½ inch headroom
Raw: leave no headroom
Seal; freeze. |
|
Peppers, Hot |
Wash and stem |
No blanching necessary |
Leave no headroom. Seal; freeze. |
|
Squash, Summer & Zucchini |
Use young squash with small seeds and tender rinds.
Cut off blossom and stem ends. Wash and cut in slices. |
Boil: 3 min.
Steam: 3-4 min. |
Leave ½ inch headroom
Seal; freeze. |
|
Sweet Potatoes |
Use medium/large sweet potatoes that have
air-dried (cured). Can store whole, sliced or mashed.
Sort for size; wash. Leave skins on. |
Precook: Cook until almost tender, in water, steam,
pressure cooker or oven. Cool. Peel; cut in halves, slices or mash.
Dip peeled potatoes in ½ cup of lemon juice mixed in 1qt of water to
prevent darkening. Mashed potatoes mix in 2 tbs. Orange or lemon
juice per qt |
Leave ½ inch headroom
Seal; freeze.
|
|
Tomatoes |
Stew: Remove stem ends and cores of ripe tomatoes;
peel and quarter. |
Cook: covered enamel or stainless steel kettle,
gently in own juice until tender 10-20 minutes. Put kettle in cold
water to cool contents. |
Leave ½ inch headroom
Seal; freeze |
|
Turnips (white) |
Store in root cellar. |
Wash, cube & freeze or cook fully and mash. |
Leave ½ inch headroom. Seal; freeze. |
