Freezing green vegetables is a great way to preserve their flavor to eat during the winter when you can’t grow them in your garden. Freezing these vegetables is very easy and something almost anyone can do. Take time to read about the Basics of freezing vegetables and how to blanch or process them to freeze.
Green Beans
Make sure to select tender beans from your garden that aren’t over ripened and too big. Also be sure that there are no rust spots or other blemishes on them. Wash beans in cold water and take the ends off with a knife or scissors then cut them into 2 to 4 inch lengths. You can also French cut them if you wish by cutting each bean lengthwise with a sharp knife on a cutting board into thin strips. Water blanch them for 3 minutes then plunge into cold water. Drain, dry, and place in freezer bags with date they were frozen on them. Seal and freeze.
Broccoli
Select tender stalks with smaller more compact heads. Remove leaves and woody stems. Separate heads into bite size sections and place in a brine of 4 teaspoons of sea salt to 1 gallon water. Leave them in for 30 minutes. This will get all insects out of the clusters including the ones you can’t see as they will float to the top. Remove from brine and rinse and drain. Water blanch for 3 minutes or Steam blanch for 5 minutes. Plunge into cold water immediately and drain, dry and package in plastic freezer bags with the date imprinted on them. Seal and freeze.
Green or Bell Peppers
(You can also use this method for other bell peppers like red or orange). Select crisp brightly colored peppers. Cut out stems, then cut in half and remove seeds then wash in cold water. You can cut in ½ inch strips but you can also leave the peppers halved. You have two choices now. You can either blanch the peppers for use in cooking or you can just pack them and the peppers will retain some of their crispness to use raw. If you want them raw just place into a freezer bag seal and freeze. Otherwise water blanch halves 3 minutes and strips 2 minutes. Plunge into cold water, drain, dry and place in freezer bags. Seal and freeze.
These are just a few of the vegetables from your garden you can freeze. Tomatoes and squash can be frozen as can carrots, and some potatoes.
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