Freezing Questions?

[Gourmet_Mom]

Several questions...I am beginning to understand a LOT of freezing do's and don'ts have changed since I was MUCH younger!

Corn:
-Does everyone still blanch before freezing?
-Has anyone tried freezing it straight out of the field? We stuck a few servings in the old freezer at the camp and will test this theory in the next month or two. I'm curious if not cutting into it in any way will preserve it as well as bagging or cryo-vac does.

Tomatoes:
-How long can I keep my tomatoes in the fridge before I need to freeze them? I find that I am only having a few off at the time and thought, instead of loosing them, I'd process them and use them from the fridge...adding to the jar until I had enough to freeze. Is this safe? And for how long?

[labradors]

Quote:

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Freezing Questions?

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Have never tried freezing questions before. Wonder how well they keep.

[Gourmet_Mom]

Boy, you're quick! Guess you can't help with the rest? I've got 3 bushels, I'm getting ready to go process!

Dinner will definitely late tonight...ARGGG! Gotta go! I'll mix my Blitz Bread first and check back to see if anybody has any advice.

[labradors]

LOL! Have no idea about the tomatoes, but have heard that corn may be cut from the ear, spread out well on a cookie sheet, frozen that way, then stored in bags in the freezer, but I have not had occasion to try it.

[Gourmet_Mom]

Oh, one more....not a freezing question...uh...question about freezing corn, but a question about corn.

Jean or other corn stock experts! I don't know what we did wrong...I don't remember encountering this problem when my grandfather used to raise corn. We had quite a few ears that did not "make" very well. Either the kernels never completely matured or only some matured. The ones that matured all in one half of the cob, I cut to freeze, but well, some just aren't really edible. Instead of trying to freeze them...seems like a foolish waste of space...I thought I'd make corn stock out of them. You think?

[cjs]

With the weather you all have been having, I'm not surprised at the corn results. The only time I had trouble growing corn was up here in Washington (Issaquah). they were just mutated messes.

Corn stock would be a great way to use those bad boys.

Freezing corn - I've never been happy with cobbed corn in the freezer - but, that's a personal preference.

Tomatoes - at what point do you put tomatoes in the fridge? I only put them in once they are beginning to get a little soft, it seems to stop that action. But, tomatoes should not be stored in the refrigerator straight from the 'field.'

[Gourmet_Mom]

Jean, you mention you put them in the fridge when they start getting soft. Can I extend the life by a couple days doing this until I get enough for a batch? This sure would save a lot of trouble. The peeling process is a PAIN for just a pint or so of tomatoes at a time. Otherwise, if I DO have to go through the process, can I "hold" the processed ones in the fridge until I've got enough to freeze or could I just freeze what I've got and keep adding?

Hopefully, I will not have to deal with this for long. With the LARGE number of green ones on the plants, I should be having LOTS to do soon.

Regarding the corn...thanks! I wondered if the wet/dry conditions weren't part of the problem. We also did not "cull" the stunted stalks. I didn't note if the "bad boys" came from those plants, but I think that also may be a issue we need to address next year. All in all, I think a total of 4 bushels to freeze and all the corn we could eat in the last 2 weeks isn't bad for a first year!

[esgunn]

I buy corn from a local farm in late august or when ever it is starting to get ripe here. I shuck, and par boil on the cob for 4 minutes I think - than cool in cold water, and cool completly. Then Cut off the cob. I put them in the food saver bags in 2 cup quantity, freeze, then seal and put back in the freezer. Tried the cookie sheet method for the corn and it just didn't work. I really like it this way. We nuke frozen for 3 minutes and it is ready to eat as a vegie side, or thaw and use in salads, soups or what ever. I am still using up what I froze last year.

Tomatoes. I have not done tomatoes. BUT - I don't think I would process them first and hold in the refer. Just try and extend the life for a little bit till you have enough. Another thought - If it isn't working - Bill/Old Bay posted a tomato sauce recipe that you needed really, really ripe tomatoes for. That could always be a back up plan. I have roasted my tomatoes, and put the dishes of roasted tomatoes in the refer for a day before using the immersion blender and freezing. That has worked fine. That is all I usually make - roasted tomato sauce and tomato chutney.

Good Luck. I am envious. I have three very small very green tomatoes Out of 18 plants...

[Gourmet_Mom]

Thanks Erin!!!!!

We just don't eat THAT much off the cob to go to the trouble. I have too many memories of the torture of getting it off the cob from growing up. Although, if I had time, I should have tried it in salads....not something we've experimented with yet. Oh well, maybe next year.

Now that I think of it, I don't think my corn would work that way. We raised G90, which is a small sweet white/large mellow yellow kernel mix. I'm sure that's not how the farm store would describe it, but you get the picture. When you cut it off the cob, it's more like chunky cream style corn...not individual kernels. If I get enough next year, I will do some this way, but it's a LOT of labor for a little bit of corn, especially when my crowd would just as soon eat it right off the cob...LOL!

[bjcotton]

In regards to tomatoes, we always share our "out of the garden" tomatoes to the extent available. Then when we are ready to make salsa, stewed, etc., we go to the farm store and buy them by the box.

Remember a couple of years ago that my tomatoes got soooo tall and thick? Well, we only planted 3 this year and three purples. The Sun Gold cherry tomatoes are doing it again this year, they grew 4" in two days. The more mature, bottom of the plant is producing tomatoes with blossoms covering the tops. As soon as the sun gets down a little I will take another picture and then post all 3 pix from the last few days. The purples are starting to jump up AND produce too. At the other end of the garden, which is not as fertile I have my bells and jalapenos. They are producing, but the peppers are very small. Two or three years ago, in the same spot, I had sooo many I finally called the gleaners. They pulled them up and put the whole bush in big bags to process at their kitchen. Maybe I scared the poop out of them when I knocked the garage door off the tracks .