Boil and cold bath — Photo by Author
Blanching and freezing are a quick, easy way to preserve numerous vegetables - broccoli, corn, asparagus, carrots and potatoes - to name a few.
My example is a sweet potato. The process is basically the same for all veggies. Ready to pluck from your freezer when you're ready to cook.
- Scrub
- Boil
- Cold Water Bath
- Freeze
Follow along and learn how to decrease kitchen prep time while you reduce food waste.
Choose your slice type — rounds, wedges, cubes, traditional fry cut, and most likely more. I chose traditional cut since we would be making fries.
Step 1 — Scrub and slice the sweet potatoes. You’ll need a good knife to cut the sweet potatoes. The first cut needs to be across one side of the potato. This keeps the potato flat on the cutting board and helps with slicing.
Step 2 — Boil a pan of water. Once boiling, carefully add the potatoes. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes. The potatoes should be tender but firm.
Note — I used one quite large sweet potato. I blanched* the fries in two batches. Makes 4–6 servings. *Blanch definition — boiled briefly then immediately cooled.
Step 3 — Using a slotted spoon, scoop the potatoes out of the boiling water and place them in a large bowl of cold water for 2 to 3 minutes. This will stop the potatoes from cooking.
Step 4 — Remove the potatoes from the cold water bath. Place them on a baking sheet or cutting board mat. Pat with paper towels to remove the moisture.
Step 5 — Place in the freezer for 3 to 4 hours. Then store in a freezer bag. The potatoes will keep for up to a year.
Steps 3, 4 & 5 — Cold bath, dry, and freeze. Photos by Author.
Check your frig and your cupboards to see if you have veggies that need to be saved for another day.
You'll be happy you made "the save" when you have these delish fries at a later date.
Blanching and freezing is a quick way to do so. You'll feel a lot better too knowing they won't be thrown into the trash.
Let me know if you have any questions. I'm here to help.
Eat Well! Stay Well! Live Well!