To blanch or not to blanch

DO NOT blanch vegetables before freezing if vacuum sealing.

What are you saying, don’t blanch vegetables before freezing
them, but I was told you had too. If you are freezing vegetables in a normal
bag or container then yes you will need to blanch them. But if you are going to
vacuum seal your vegetables then you will not need to blanch them first.
So, let’s take a look at blanching and break this down and
find out why we do or don’t blanch.
Firstly, if you want to keep vegetables for an extended time
then you need to stop the enzymes from breaking down the vegetable. You can do
this by blanching and you can also do the same thing by vacuum sealing your

vegetable.

What is blanching and why do we do it?

Blanching is the process where you bring a pot of water to
the boil and then put your vegetables into the boiling water. Bring it back to
the boil for about 1 minute then remove the vegetables and place them in ice
water to stop the cooking process. Take them out of the ice water and drain
them then put them in a bag or container and freeze them. This process will par
cook the vegetables and stop the enzymes from breaking down the vegetable. It
stops nutrient loss, loss of color, flavor and texture. It also cleans them
from any soil, bugs or chemicals. If the vegetable is not blanched properly or
at all, they will go off and taste rotten and decay quickly. The disadvantages
of blanching is the high water usage and time taken, also soluble nutrients
being washed out. And of coarse the high liquid content left in the vegetable

if you are then vacuum sealing the vegetables.

What is vacuum sealing and why do we do it?

The process of vacuum sealing is putting food into a
specialized bag and removing the air from inside the bag then sealing it. By
removing the air, you are removing the ability of enzymes and bacteria or other
airborne fungi or Mold from growing and causing the food to go off. By vacuum
sealing any food before freezing you will eliminate freezer burn as this needs
air to form. Vacuum sealing also makes your food more compact and easier to
pack away. Vegetables that have been vacuum sealed can now be kept in the
freezer for 12 months which will allow you to have supplies of any vegetable
until the next harvest season of that vegetable. Probably the biggest
disadvantage of vacuum sealing vegetables is that you will loss that fresh
crisp texture when thawed out but the same will happen if you blanch and freeze

also.

Common factor of blanching and freezing.

The one most common factor between blanching and vacuum
sealing is that both processes stop the enzymes from breaking the food down. So

why do both?

To Blanch or to vacuum seal.

We are not saying that blanching your vegetables is a waist
of time, just that it is not needed if you are then going to vacuum seal them. So,
if you are not going to vacuum seal your vegetables then blanch them and bag
them up into freezer bags and freeze them. Probably after 4 – 6 months they
will risk getting freezer burn but hey at least you have kept them ok for that
long. If you are going to vacuum seal them then no need to blanch them. Just
put them straight in the vacuum sealer bag, vacuum seal them and straight in

the freezer. Date the bags and use them up within 12 months.

Foods that cannot be vacuum sealed.

As we probably already know there are some vegetables that
should not be vacuum sealed but remember that this is if they are being vacuum
sealed and going into the fridge. If you vacuum seal them and put them straight
into the freezer then this is OK. These foods include members of the onion
family, onions, garlic, shallots, leeks etc... And also, members of the Cruciferae
or Brassicaceae family, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage etc… Some of these
will be ok to steam or reheat once thawed out and others will loss their
texture but be ok to add to stews, soups and slow cookers.

So affectively we do not need to blanch vegetables before
vacuum sealing them as long as they are going into the freezer.