freezing peas

[hedgewizard]

Anybody know a better way to freeze mange-tout type peas? We grow lots of these to bag for winter stews and stir-frys but they all go soggy. I've tried washing drying and freezing, and the same but blanching first for one minute (which makes them a tad sweeter) but they're all sad and soggy.

I've been pinching these off the plant without taking the calyx. Anything anyone can suggest (including a better freezing variety than my sugarbon) would be appreciated!

[Andy Hamilton]

What about drying them? Not tried but in this weather could be worth a go, even just as an experiment.

[Luath]

I've not found a good way yet of freezing them, even for use in soup, etc, so we just eat them fresh, if they get as far as the kitchen................

[Wombat]

G'Day Hedgie,

I think that the process of freezing is the problem, slow freezing allows the ice crystals to form, lancing through the cell walls and making for sog!
That was Clarence Birdsye's innovation, he sped the process up to the point it was so fast that the crystals had no chance to form. He pressed the food between two chilled plates. I'm not sure how to do that on a small scale without invoking the use of liquid nitrogen or something

Lot's of luck mate........what about pickling or Andy's suggestion of drying?

Nev

[ina]

I think drying would result in something akin to hay...

No, freezing as quickly as possible is probably the only improvement - unless there is a better variety, which I don't know about. The danger when you are freezing veg is always that there is too much ready to go in at the same time, and that the temperature drops just too quickly. So turn the temperature down a day before you do it, and the add small quantities at once. (Or use liquid nitrogen - brilliant stuff! Not without it's dangers, of course - we have it in the lab sometimes. Freezes slabs of meat within seconds. Don't know about cost )

[hedgewizard]

Hmm. I think buying in liquid nitrogen might just be a little over the top environmentally. It's made me think though that blanching, chilling, and then open freezing on an already chilled wire rack might be the way to do it. I'll let you know!