On Wednesday, July 17, 2013 10:02:25 AM UTC-7, Moe DeLoughan wrote:
On 7/16/2013 5:29 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:

On Tuesday, July 16, 2013 9:00:26 AM UTC-7, Moe DeLoughan wrote:



What my family has always done is pack the raw cleaned vegetables

into



those heatproof vacuum-seal bags, seal the bags, then drop the

bags



into boiling water to blanch. They then go into ice water for

the



quick chill before going into the freezer. It's much less hassle



bagging them before blanching. It might also preserve a bit more



flavor, being that the juices aren't being washed away in the



water/ice baths.



Very interesting. Raises another question. If water is not

contacting the veg -- which I assume is the ordinary definition of

blanching?? -- why not pop the bags into the micro to "blanch"?

(for what period of time, compared with water blanch?). Then into

ice water, then freezer.



I used to blanch the snap beans in the microwave, but the process

actually goes faster in boiling water. It takes more time for the

microwave to heat the vegetable to the required temperature. Also, for

denser packages - corn kernels, for instance - it usually doesn't heat

evenly. So we moved to boiling water for everything.





I strongly agree with you on preserving not only flavor, but also

VITAMINS! When I nuke fresh veg with a tbsp of water, I always

drink the water.



That's the other advantage of this process. Frankly, I don't like

watery vegetables, and I don't like bags full of ice crystals, which

you can get if too much water sticks to the veggies when you bag them

after the water dip. Plus, when you exhaust the air from the bag

during the sealing process, you can smooth the bag evenly flat so they

blanch evenly, then stack nicely and freeze fast in the freezer.



Anyhow, we've been doing it this way since the days of the Dazey

Seal-A-Meal, if any of the old-timers remember that early precursor to

the vacuum sealers now on the market.

Hey, I used to have one of them puppies! When it died & went to veg heaven,
I shopped for a replacement, but everything's gone hi-tech & expensive. Sometimes the Golden Oldies show up in thrift shops.

HB