Need help about freezing vegetables

[LexieA]

I need to respond to posts I wrote before and I'm sorry I haven't but I've been unwell again.  Think it was dairy I experimented with:/

But right now the stores are selling acorn squash and also sweet potatoes (that are from the USA) that is VERY hard to get later on. And if I find them they are not nice. Last winter was awful because it was hard to find fresh foods I could eat. I'm in the midwest and we just get really bad food in the winter, even at the most posh stores. Frozen from stores has made me sick and I don't trust it. Frozen stuff rarely has a sell by/expiration date also or it's encrypted or something.

So I've heard that your freezer can have a lot of stuff in it, the more the better. I'm thinking of peeling and making big cubes of both of these - not cooking them - putting them in freezer bags (do they need to be the freezer kind?) and freezing them to use in the coming months. I've never done this. I hope I have the energy to even do this. But I don't know these things:

Will this work in the first place?

Is it okay to freeze it raw? (I'd much rather)

Are freezer bags okay? Or is there something better to use?

How long does something like this last? I'm planning to put them in a pot and just boil them later in water for soup, puree or whatever. Like 3 months? Even that would help cut the winter gap.

Should I add water for any reason when freezing them?

[Ennis-TX]

50 minutes ago, LexieA said:

I need to respond to posts I wrote before and I'm sorry I haven't but I've been unwell again.  Think it was dairy I experimented with:/

But right now the stores are selling acorn squash and also sweet potatoes (that are from the USA) that is VERY hard to get later on. And if I find them they are not nice. Last winter was awful because it was hard to find fresh foods I could eat. I'm in the midwest and we just get really bad food in the winter, even at the most posh stores. Frozen from stores has made me sick and I don't trust it. Frozen stuff rarely has a sell by/expiration date also or it's encrypted or something.

So I've heard that your freezer can have a lot of stuff in it, the more the better. I'm thinking of peeling and making big cubes of both of these - not cooking them - putting them in freezer bags (do they need to be the freezer kind?) and freezing them to use in the coming months. I've never done this. I hope I have the energy to even do this. But I don't know these things:

Will this work in the first place?

Is it okay to freeze it raw? (I'd much rather)

Are freezer bags okay? Or is there something better to use?

How long does something like this last? I'm planning to put them in a pot and just boil them later in water for soup, puree or whatever. Like 3 months? Even that would help cut the winter gap.

Should I add water for any reason when freezing them?

Freezer bags will work but might get freezer burned after 2-6 months. I invested in a vacuum sealer years ago, one of the best investments ever. You can vacuum pack foods and they keep without burning for over a year. Also you can make veggie steam pouches out of them by packing your veggies, seasonings and herbs in a bag and when you want them, just stab some holes in the bag and toss it in hte microwave covered on a plate and steam cook them.

[Awol cast iron stomach]

"vacuum sealer" to build on what Ennis said if you have a Menard's by your Midwest location you can get some items there in the small appliance section- those 11% rebate sales help. I buy canning items,  mason jars there, a dehydrator, they were out of the little camp single burner I hoped to get last time on sale. I did see some vacuum sealers too, I do not recall the price. In time I'll score a vacuum sealer. I use regular size gallon freezer bags for veggies. It is nice as you say to stock up on our veggies over winter, at good sales, peak season etc. I am hoping my herbs make it this season indoors some hate being raised by a Midwesterner. 

Hope you feel well soon-

[LexieA]

46 minutes ago, Ennis_TX said:

Freezer bags will work but might get freezer burned after 2-6 months. I invested in a vacuum sealer years ago, one of the best investments ever. You can vacuum pack foods and they keep without burning for over a year. Also you can make veggie steam pouches out of them by packing your veggies, seasonings and herbs in a bag and when you want them, just stab some holes in the bag and toss it in hte microwave covered on a plate and steam cook them.

Okay, then I will think about not using freezer bags. Or just doing some in them at first but marking them to eat in the next 2 months. A vacuum sealer sounds amazing but is it hard to figure out? I don't think I have brain cells to do anything complicated. But I'll have a look at them. It sounds like a really useful thing, especially for those of us who need to be super organized and eat at home a lot. I guess it's worth the investment for things if they make it easier. I still want to get a bread machine too but haven't done that yet. Thanks Ennis.

 

[Ennis-TX]

5 minutes ago, LexieA said:

Okay, then I will think about not using freezer bags. Or just doing some in them at first but marking them to eat in the next 2 months. A vacuum sealer sounds amazing but is it hard to figure out? I don't think I have brain cells to do anything complicated. But I'll have a look at them. It sounds like a really useful thing, especially for those of us who need to be super organized and eat at home a lot. I guess it's worth the investment for things if they make it easier. I still want to get a bread machine too but haven't done that yet. Thanks Ennis.

 

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The above are what I have very simple you seal one end first cut to size, pack then seal the other end and done.
I found bread machines to be overrated. I just bake my bread in a loaf pan, But I do yeast free quick breads so I do not need that "right" temperature or wait time for the yeast to rise. I just mix up my recipe dump in a parchment paper lined loaf pan and bake for the 1-2 hours it take then pull it out of the pan by the paper and let it cool on a wire rack.

[GFinDC]

If you sign up for a Foodsaver account, they send out promotional pricing emails once in a while.  Also, you can find Foodsaver type bag rolls on Amazon for far less than buying from the Foodsaver company.

If you get the Mason jar attachment, you can use Mason jars to vacuum seal things that are fragile.  For example, potato chips could be crushed by a vacuum sealer, but in a Mason jar they won't be crushed.

[LexieA]

40 minutes ago, Awol cast iron stomach said:

"vacuum sealer" to build on what Ennis said if you have a Menard's by your Midwest location you can get some items there in the small appliance section- those 11% rebate sales help. I buy canning items,  mason jars there, a dehydrator, they were out of the little camp single burner I hoped to get last time on sale. I did see some vacuum sealers too, I do not recall the price. In time I'll score a vacuum sealer. I use regular size gallon freezer bags for veggies. It is nice as you say to stock up on our veggies over winter, at good sales, peak season etc. I am hoping my herbs make it this season indoors some hate being raised by a Midwesterner. 

Hope you feel well soon-

I think I'll start with the gallon freezer bags just to experiment and then go to Menard's and see if they have any vacuum sealers there on special offer. We do have one around here but I've not been there very much. I'll start looking though if they have good deals. Now that my life revolves around whole foods it's worth it to purchase some things to make it easier. Probably after Christmas would be a good time to get deals?  Or after New Years. I hope your herbs adjust to the inside! I'd love to grow some indoors and was just thinking about this lately. Tell them it will be Spring again in no time. ^.^

Thanks for the well wishes, I appreciate it.

[LexieA]

Thanks Ennis, I saved those. Oh, so it's not as expensive as I guessed and it doesn't sound hard at all as you describe it. Think I'll give it a shot.

The bread maker is kind of an indulgence and I'm sure I'll bake more just in the oven too. But I space out a lot and I'm afraid I'll just burn stuff in the oven. I know that's what timers are for! I'm for sure going to try out some of your recipes no matter what. I've already saved a bunch for later. c:

GFinDC That sounds great! I LOVE mason jars anyway. That's so cool that you can vacuum stuff inside of them. Okay, looks like I'm getting a vacuum sealer now. I'm under the vacuum sealer spell now.

[LexieA]

By the way, is there any benefit at all to parboiling things before freezing them? I thought it might kill any bacteria. I guess I can google it and stop bothering you. But if you have any thoughts about it I'd like to hear them. Otherwise thanks for all the tips. I'm ready to hit the grocery stores now and see what's going cheap! Instead of designer shoes, which I never gave a toss about anyway, I'm going to be scoping vacuum sealers in the January sales, lol.

[kareng]

6 minutes ago, LexieA said:

By the way, is there any benefit at all to parboiling things before freezing them? I thought it might kill any bacteria. I guess I can google it and stop bothering you. But if you have any thoughts about it I'd like to hear them. Otherwise thanks for all the tips. I'm ready to hit the grocery stores now and see what's going cheap! Instead of designer shoes, which I never gave a toss about anyway, I'm going to be scoping vacuum sealers in the January sales, lol.

I think parboiling is supposed to help maintain the  quality of some veggies when you freeze them.

[LexieA]

1 hour ago, kareng said:

I think parboiling is supposed to help maintain the  quality of some veggies when you freeze them.

Wow, in that case it's well worth it to me. I'll look into that. It wouldn't be hard at all if you had a pot boiling. Thanks!