[WG.]

if I must always blanch veg before freezing in order to reduce enzymes and bacteria, that obviously means if i'm going to eat the veg raw (spinach) it's going to br harmful

Totally incorrect assumption.   Enzymes and bacteria do not, in general, cause you harm; you eat / drink billions of bacteria every day.  The theory of blanching is to protect the spinach NOT to protect you.  Pro-blanchers will assert that enzyme action on unblanched food in the freezer will lead to off-flavours.

[Annie]

I may be wrong but I thought the idea of blanching was simply to halt enzyme action that would otherwise spoil the taste of frozen veg.over time.I have blanched spinache and when used treat as if raw in other reciepes.I suppose you could use in a smoothie,the best way is blache/freeze and try Vfresh spinach smoothie,as WG says you can grow perpetual spinach all year so why freeze unless you grow too much?

[yummy]

You must always blanch veg before you freeze - it does help reduce enzymic and bacterial affects- .

I asked someone on the allotment commitee ages ago, if I needed to blanch my broadbeans before freezing them and they said no. They said I only needed to blanch things that had been below ground.

I'm confused now  :shock:

[WG.]

They said I only needed to blanch things that had been below ground.

B*ll*cks  

Some people blanch, some people don't but that particular rule is nonsense.

[Aunt Sally]

Depends how long you want to store them.  Short time - don't bother  

[corndolly]

I have read somewhere that if you plan to eat the frozen veg within 3-6 months there is no need to blanch. I blanch beans
( broad,french,runners) because we stock the freezers to provide a years supply .

When blanching I do small quantities at a time so that the heating up and cooling can be done quickly.

I dont blanch fruit such as plums, raspberries , gooseberries , rhubarb and we've never had any problems.

Tomatoes I pour boiling water over them take off the skins and pop into bags then into freezer, or make a puree or my favourite is to make ratatouille with onions, garlic and courgette and freeze, this can be added to all sorts of recipes .

Herbs I chop and freeze in small quantities then add to recipes frozen.

I  would treat spinach the same as herbs , chop finely and freeze in small quantities , add to recipes straight from freezer.

 Cool to freezing and heat up to above 63 c as quick as possible to retain colour, flavour , texture and avoid bacteria multiplying.