raw and cooked, combining it with many dishes. Alas, this magnificent vegetable is seasonal in nature, and is available to us fresh only a few weeks a year. People have long tried to find a way to prepare it for future use, but earlier it was possible to save peas only in the dried version. Such a product can be used only for soups or mashed potatoes, because of its great rigidity it takes a long time to boil it. Today, every housewife has the opportunity to preserve all the unique qualities of green fruits in the best way, for this you just need to know how to freeze peas for the winter .
Preparation of raw materials and the choice of method of freezing
First of all, you should learn how to choose high-quality peas. Growing this beautiful vegetable in your beds you have the opportunity to get environmentally friendly peas without the content of harmful substances. Proper care of plants and timely removal of pests will help to get clean, intact fruits. For blanks, it is desirable to use peas of the same maturity.
Young pods should be selected, they should not be lethargic, have stains and damage. It is best to choose not long pods, which contain up to 10 peas, but pay attention to their medium-sized counterparts, in which the peas are in the amount of 5-6 pieces.
From the following methods, select one or two that best suits you. Prepare peas in the winter in several ways:
- Whole pods.
- Pods after blanching. Some housewives prepare amazing dishes using peas along with skins.
- Peeled Peas Freeze.
- Freeze peeled peas, which are slightly overripe.
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Whole pods
This is the simplest freezing of peas for the winter. Pea pods are thoroughly washed under running water, spread on clean cloths or towels and dried well. After which they are packaged and frozen.
Pods after blanching
For this method of harvesting green pea pods must be young and sweet varieties! Overripe peas will not work!
While the pod is not fully ripe, the peas inside it are in a state of milky maturity, and the skins themselves are unusually tender. This is because a parchment film has not yet formed inside.
Such pods are sorted, washed, then tails and hard tips are cut off from the other side, after that all blanks are chopped, placed in a colander, and briefly blanched, dipping it into boiling water. Then quickly transferred to cold water, recline, dried, packaged in boxes and frozen. This option of freezing can be stored until the next harvest for a year.
Frozen peeled peas
The harvested peas are washed, dried, and then the skins are removed, collecting the grains separately. Crumpled, shriveled and shriveled peas are thrown away. Since the pods are already clean, it is not necessary to wash the peas themselves, which saves time in half. It is very beneficial to freeze just such peas for the winter.
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Blanks that have not been cooked are fairly rigid. They are able to maintain their shape for a long time, so they are packaged in ordinary plastic bags, removing as much air as possible from there.
Peanut Frost Freezing, slightly overripe
When we harvest the last crop of peas from a bed, as a rule, it is already slightly overripe. Eating it alive is not so tasty, but as stored peas for the winter for cooking any dishes, it is quite suitable. The pods are washed, dried, peeled from them peas, placed in a colander in small batches and lowered for a few minutes in a saucepan with boiling water. This is done so that the grains do not lose color, heat treatment removes from the peas the enzyme, because of which they can turn black.
Then it is quickly removed and placed in ice water, then dried on a rag or napkin and frozen in several stages. So that such peas do not stick together and do not deform, they are placed on a flat tray and put in the freezer until they harden, then they are poured into a container and the next batch is frozen.
Some useful tips
- If you want to freeze a large batch of peas, it is better to find helpers, or to freeze parts. The fact is that with prolonged contact with air, the kernels harden rather quickly, because their skin becomes coarsen. If there are no helpers, it is worth clearing the peas in small pieces, blanching, packing, and only then taking up the next batch.
- Pea pods can not be dried for too long, they dry quickly.
- Before blanching the peas in a pot of boiling water, you need to put a container of cold water and ice cubes. After the peas are ready, it must be quickly dipped into ice water, so it will not digest.
- The blanching process should not exceed three minutes.
- Each package or any container with a frozen product must be signed, indicating the date of freezing.
- The maximum shelf life of frozen peas is one year.
- If you plan to cook a dish from harvested peas, you should not defrost it. You just need to pour the required amount out of the freezer and immediately add it to the pan or frying pan.
- You can not add frozen green peas to dishes, but cook them separately by steaming.
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Frozen peas with any of the options do not lose their vitamins and beneficial substances. It has a long shelf life and serves as an excellent addition to a large number of dishes. All this will be available all year round, if you learn how to harvest it in the winter correctly.
Video about freezing peas
