Save Money by Freezing Fruits and Vegetables

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Save Money by Freezing Fruits and Vegetables

Submitted by: Tip Hero 08/05/2009 8:51 PM

In season fruits and vegetables -- whether you purchase them from a supermarket, farmer's market or pick your own at a farm or orchard -- are usually much cheaper than their out-of-season kin. But how can you take advantage of these cost savings and store up for the off season? And what if you grow your own fruits and vegetables but have more than you can consume before they go bad (aside from giving it away)?

Thanks to a couple of terrific articles by TipNut, you can learn how to properly freeze fruits and vegetables to ensure they're easily ready to eat no matter the season.

For starters, TipNut explains that you shouldn't expect freezing fruits and vegetables to perform miracles: If the produce is bad before you freeze it, it will be bad after you freeze it. Makes sense -- and probably pretty obvious -- but good to keep in mind nonetheless.

Another interesting tid-bit of information is that you should freeze fruits and vegetables just as you would serve them or prepare them for cooking. So clean them and cut/chop/shred them as you would before serving or cooking. And she also mentions in her article on freezing vegetables that you should try to freeze them as soon as possible:

Freeze as soon after picking as possible. Ideally, vegetables should go from the garden to the freezer within 2-3 hours; the longer they are allowed to stand, the more food value is lost. If you don�t have your own garden, buy early in the day and freeze immediately for top quality and nutritive value.

We're guessing this is also the case with fruits -- and likely can't hurt even if it's not as critical for them.

Links to the two articles are below, along with an outline of what's covered in each. We strongly suggest reading both articles if you are interested in freezing fruits and vegetables, as there is a lot of information contained in each, including very helpful charts.

How To Freeze Fruit
- Overview
- Packing Fruit For Freezer Storage
- Syrup Recipe Chart
- To Prevent Discoloration Of Fruits
- Preparation Of Fruits For Freezing
- Packaging Tips For Freezing
- How To Thaw Frozen Fruits
- How To Use Fruits From The Freezer

How To Freeze Vegetables
- Overview
- Blanch All Vegetables Before Freezing
- Cool And Drain Quickly
- Pack And Freeze Immediately
- Directions For Freezing Vegetables: Quick Chart
- Do Not Thaw Before Cooking

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Comments:

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You can freeze bananas by just tossing the whole bunch in the freezer as is. Actually I don't do anything special for fruit and they freeze just fine and thaw just fine. Why do more work than you have too?

Posted by anonymous on August 06, 2009 5:06 PM

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I have been trying to find out if it is possible to freeze nuts. I eat a lot of pecans, walnuts, and unsalted and salted almonds. Can any or all of these be frozen? If so, how? Will the taste/texture be altered if frozen? Anything else I need to know about preserving nuts? I'd like to buy large volumes when they are cheapest but know absolutely nothing about preserving them so am hesitant to spend the money.

Posted by Vermilion Lion on September 14, 2009 8:09 PM

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I buy nuts - pecans - walnuts, black walnuts - in bulk and always freeze them. I've kept them in the freezer for a year or more and when I use them, they are fine, no change in texture or taste. Should not be any problem freezing any kind of nuts.

Posted by Eunice on September 17, 2009 1:57 PM

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Yes, I buy walnuts and almonds in bulk and store them in the freezer until needed. It keeps their natural oils from going rancid. You can eat or chop them directly from the freezer--no need to thaw.

Posted by Nancy on September 17, 2009 2:03 PM

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Absolutely, they freeze just fine. Be sure to wrap them well in freezer bags so that they don't get a "refrigerator taste" from long storage. They keep for months and can be used right out of the freezer bag to put into baked goods, for example.

Posted by anonymous on September 17, 2009 2:03 PM

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Vacuum-sealing is a great option too. Also, just keeping them in the fridge keeps them from going rancid.

Posted by Nora on September 17, 2009 2:07 PM

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YES! I keep them in airtight containers in the coldest part of the frig. You can also throw in the freezer. No need to thaw. Chop & use. Keeping them refrigerated or frozen prevents the oils from turning rancid. Take the normal precautions on packaging to reduce freezer burn. I don't know if salted will get weird or clump.

Posted by anonymous on September 17, 2009 2:09 PM

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the only nuts that need to be thawed before eating or chopping is macadamia nuts, they freeze like rocks

Posted by Crazy about nuts in california on September 17, 2009 5:06 PM

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my friend and i used to buy natural (unsalted, unroasted) nuts of all sorts from the healthfood store. we just pop them in single-use-sized ziploc-ish baggies and throw them in the freezer. we ate them cold, but if they happened to thaw in the lunch cooler, no biggie, they tasted just fine.

Posted by heather on September 17, 2009 5:08 PM

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Yes they freeze just fine. I put at least 20 pounds a year in the freezer and they taste great when we use them which is quite offen.

Posted by Pam on September 17, 2009 6:21 PM

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I always freeze pecans so I can use them all year long.

Posted by anonymous on September 17, 2009 6:47 PM

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When salted peanuts in a can are on sale I buy two or three (depending on the price) and put them directly in the freezer when I get home. It keeps them from going rancid (happens after a while no matter how fresh they are when you buy them). Then I always have them for recipes or snacking when company comes over. They keep forever - at least 12 months.

Posted by Grannysmithe on September 17, 2009 8:44 PM

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we also keep flour in the freezer. the only time flour temp matters is for baking bread, which i don't do anyway. it doesn't matter for white flour, but whole wheat flour and cornmeal can get rancid, also, so that's why we do it.

Posted by heather on September 24, 2009 3:35 PM

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Freezing flour also helps prevent weevils. This works with any grain product and cereals.

Posted by anonymous on October 04, 2009 11:39 AM

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I freeze nuts (all kinds) and dried fruits.

They taste as good as when I first buy them too.

I like to start stocking them for my holiday baking, so the freezer keeps them from getting rancid and I never have had a problem with freezer burn on either the fruit or the nuts.

Posted by Trish on October 05, 2009 1:21 AM

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