Fresh garden peas taste so much better than shop bought peas but sadly that just picked taste doesn’t last for long. A good way to keep your peas tasting just as sweet as they did when they were first picked is to freeze them. Let’s look at how to freeze peas without blanching.
What Is Blanching And What Does It Do?
The process of blanching is simply placing the peas into boiling water and then plunging them into ice cold water before freezing. Blanching removes certain enzymes from the peas, these enzymes will cause the peas to start to rot, discolour and taste”off”.
How Long Can Peas Be Kept Frozen Without Blanching?
The unblanched frozen peas will remain edible for between 6-8 weeks after this time they will deteriorate and be inedible. If you decide that you want to store your peas for longer than 6-8 weeks click here to see how to freeze peas.
How To Freeze Peas Without Blanching
Freezing peas without blanching is a simple process, and I’ll take you through it one step at a time.
How To freeze Fresh Peas Without Blanching
Firstly, shell your peas, it’s best to pick peas before they get too large as not only do they get tougher when large, but they also lose their sweetness too.
Step 1
Wash peas thoroughly, to remove all dirt and debris.
Step 2
Dry peas, this is achieved easily by using 2 tea towels, one below and one above the peas.
Step 3
Once peas are dry, place them in a freezer bag, add just enough for one portion for your family.
Step 4
Put bags of peas in the freezer. That’s it, as simple as that.
Remember because they have not been blanched, these frozen peas will only remain good enough to eat for between 6-8 weeks.
FAQs
Fresh shelled peas will keep between 5-7 days in the fridge however as soon as they are picked the sugar content in the peas starts turning into starch. So for the sweetest peas use or freeze as soon as possible.
Yes but they will only remain edible if consumed within 6-8 weeks. To keep them for a longer period than this you must blanch them first.
This depends on how long you wish to keep them viable. Less than 8 weeks, they can be frozen without blanching. Longer than 8 weeks and you will need to blanch them.
Yes for a short period of time. The maximum time for keeping unblanched peas in the freezer is 8 weeks.
What Do You do With Your Garden Peas?
If you find yourself with a glut of peas what do you prefer, blanching or not? Let me know in the comments below.
