[cudders]

Hi,

I have Peas, Caulis and Broccoli ready and need to freeze some.

Do I need to do anything first or just stick them in the freezer?

Cudders

[muntjac]

heat a large pan of water to boiling point add a little salt ...... put an  amount in the water  and bring to the boil again .. have ready a large sink of very cold water with ice floating in ..... drop them in after 2 mins  the water has a boiling roll on . throw in the iced water and cool quickly .,allow to drain well and bag ,freeze quickly  

[cudders]

Is this blanching then? Part cooking?

What is the purpose of it? Sorry to be dim!

Cudders

[Yorkie]

Blanching kills off some of the bacteria so that it retains its goodness and keeps better for longer.

[DD.]

It's not so much the bacteria, but the action of enzymes in the veg that it stops. Enzymes cause the veg to grow & mature up to harvest time & the action of these need to be stopped.

It's a fine balance as under blanching can speed up the action of enzymes, over blanching can kill off flavour & affect texture etc.