August 28, 2003

Prairie Fare: Freezing in the Heat of Summer

By Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist
NDSU Extension Service

I helped preserve lots of fruits and vegetables when I was young. I usually was the "prep cook," because I wasn’t allowed in the kitchen when Mom was pressure canning.

I shucked boxes of corn, cut up pails of green beans and shelled tubs of peas. Frankly I was quite tired of looking at vegetables by the end of summer.

According to child nutrition research, children who help prepare foods are more apt to eat them. I, however, wasn’t particularly interested in corn, beans, peas or other vegetables for quite some time after canning season. Obviously I hadn’t read the child nutrition research when I was a child. By Fall, however, the vegetables I helped preserve tasted pretty good at dinnertime.

Choosing a Freezer

Before you freeze foods, of course, you need enough freezer space. When selecting a freezer, consider size, shape, efficiency and defrosting capabilities.

While many refrigerators include a freezer compartment, the frozen food storage area isn’t necessarily a true freezer. A true freezer maintains a temperature of 0 degrees F or lower.

Upright freezers require less floor space and are easy to load/unload; however, they lose more cool air. Chest freezers, which require more floor space, usually are more economical to operate and they lose less cool air.

How do you know what size freezer you need? The rule of thumb is to allow 3 to 6 cubic feet of freezer space per person, depending on what form of food (canned vs. frozen) your family prefers.

Preparing Foods for Freezing

Freezing is one of the easiest methods of food preservation. Freezing does not inactivate enzymes, the naturally occurring chemicals that can lead to undesirable texture and flavor changes during frozen storage. Most fruits and vegetables require some type of pretreatment to maintain their quality during frozen storage.

Blanching, a brief heating process in steam or boiling water, inactivates enzymes and helps preserve quality in frozen vegetables. Vegetables vary in the recommended blanching time, so follow current guidelines available from Extension Service offices. After blanching vegetables, cool them quickly and package in freezer bags or freezer boxes.

Enzymes in fruits can lead to undesirable browning and loss of nutrients, so ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is commonly used. Sugar syrups also are commonly used to help preserve shape, texture and color of frozen fruits.

Organizing a Freezer

A full freezer is most energy efficient, but sometimes foods can become "buried" and forgotten. Keep an inventory sheet of amounts and kinds of food in the freezer. Also, keep the freezer organized by food groups in a "first in first out" order.

For more information about food preservation, visit the NDSU Extension Service Web site: www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/food.htm

Before you freeze all your fresh vegetables this season, try this tasty and healthy snack or appetizer recipe.

Veggie Wrap

1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
4 large white mushrooms, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped (optional)
4 (10-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
4 Tbsp. fat-free cream cheese
4 Tbsp. salsa (optional)

Combine all vegetables in a small bowl. Thinly spread one tablespoon cream cheese on each tortilla. Place one-fourth of the vegetable mixture down the center of each tortilla. If desired, add one tablespoon salsa to each tortilla. Roll tortillas tightly and slice into one-inch rounds to serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

Makes 4 servings. Each serving contains 300 calories, 4 grams fat and 60 grams carbohydrate.

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Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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