METHOD
Freezing peas and beans is simple and only requires a few steps.
- Pick, Pod, String, Trim do what you would do to prep before cooking.
- The most important step that you must follow is to blanch you legumes (or any other veg that freezes well). A quick blanch ensures that you stop the enzymatic activity which is responsible for degrading vegetables. Missing out this step doesn't render vegetables inedible but will lead to discoloration and/or change in texture which might not be very appealing.
- Blanch your podded peas for 1 minutes, french beans for 1.30 minutes and runner beans for 2 minutes in boiling water.
- Plunge you legumes into a bowl of ice/very cold water to ensure the peas/beans don't continue cooking from the residual heat.
- Drain and pack your legumes in freezer bags, I like using small freezer bags this way I can harvest and freeze more frequently. It also makes sense as you can open one or more bags per meal as needed.
- Make sure you label you bag with the date of freezing and the use by date; Use frozen peas within 8 months and beans within a year. I also like noting the variety as It's interesting to compare how well they freeze.