Putting Food By - Janet Greene [110]
Cooking Frozen Vegetables
The secret of cooking frozen vegetables well, if it is indeed a secret, is to cook them in a minimum amount of water—no water if they’re to be microwaved—and only until the texture suits you. A bit of the cooking already happened in blanching.
Most are best cooked without thawing, but defrost greens enough to separate the leaves.
Generally you bring to the boil ½ cup of water for each 2 cups of frozen vegetables. Add the food, cover, and begin to count cooking time when water returns to the boil. Exceptions: 1 cup of water for each 2 cups of Lima beans; water to cover for corn-on-the-cob.
Remember that at high altitudes, water boils at lower temperatures the more you rise above sea level.
Cooking times. Spinach—3 minutes; turnip greens—15 to 20 minutes; all other greens—8 to 12 minutes.
Depending on size of pieces: large Lima beans, cut green/snap/wax beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, corn in all forms, green peas—all from 3 to 10 minutes.
Kohlrabi (and similar-textured vegetables)—8 to 10 minutes.
Summer squash—up to 12 minutes.
Microwave Cooking
Microwaving is ideal for cooking any vegetable, fresh or frozen. Follow the maker’s directions for your particular microwave oven.
GETTING DOWN TO FREEZING
Asparagus
Sort for size, wash well. Using a vegetable peeler, strip skin from the bottom 2 inches of the stalks or snap or cut off tough ends. Leave spears in uniform length to fit package, or cut in 2-inch pieces.
Blanch. By boiling thin stalks 2 minutes, medium 3 minutes, thick 4 minutes.
Pack. With headroom; for spears, alternate tips and ends down (wide containers, all tips down). Seal; freeze.
Beans, Lima
Handier canned, but freeze tenderest ones if you can afford the space. Shell, wash, sort for size.
Blanch. In boiling water, small beans 2 minutes, medium 3 minutes, large 4 minutes; cool promptly and drain well.
Pack. With ½ inch of headroom. Seal; freeze.
Beans—Snap/String/Green/Italian
These also can well. Fancy young tender ones are better frozen.
Cut in 1- or 2-inch pieces, or in lengthwise strips (frenching), or leave whole if they’re very young and tender.
Blanch. In soft boiling water—for 3 minutes. Cool immediately, drain.
Pack. Leave ½ inch of headroom. Seal; freeze.
Beets
Baby ones are worth freezer space. (Why not can larger ones plain or pickled?)
Wash and sort for size—maximum 3 inches, small are best. Leave on tails and ½ inch of stem so their juice won’t bleed out while boiling.
Boil. Until tender—25 to 30 minutes for small beets, 45 to 50 for medium. Cool quickly. Slip off skins; trim and cut in slices or cubes.
Pack. Leave ½ inch of headroom for cubes; no headroom for whole or sliced. Seal; freeze.
Broccoli
Peel center stems, trimming off leaves and blemishes. If necessary, salt-soak for ½ hour (1 tablespoon salt for each 1 quart cold water) to drive out bugs; wash well. Halve or quarter large stalks, or cut up.
Blanch. In steam—5 minutes for stalks; in boiling water—3 minutes for stalks. (Reduce blanching time for cut-up or chopped.) Cool immediately; drain.
Pack. Leave no headroom for stalks or large chunks; arrange stalks so blossom ends are divided between either end of the container. Leave ½ inch of headroom for cut-up or chopped (they have less air space). Seal; freeze.
Brussels Sprouts
Give freezer space only to the best heads.
Salt-soak as for Broccoli. Wash well. Trim off outer leaves. Sort for size. Blanch. In boiling water—small heads for 3 minutes, medium heads for 4 minutes, large heads for 5 minutes. Cool immediately, drain well.
Pack. Leave no headroom. Seal; freeze.
Cabbage (and Chinese Cabbage)
Plan to use these only in cooked dishes: after being frozen they aren’t crisp enough for salads.
Trim off coarse outer leaves; cut heads in medium or coarse shreds or thin wedges, or separate the leaves.
Blanch. In boiling water—1½ minutes. Cool immediately and drain.
Pack. Leave ½ inch