5 ways to freeze green peas for the winter at home

Pea is a tasty and healthy bean crop, but its fruiting period is short. Therefore, many people come up with the idea to freeze green peas for the winter at home. There are several ways to freeze: quick, with preliminary blanching, in water or broth, freezing pods, canned peas. Read further the detailed description of each method and subtleties of technology.

How are peas frozen?

Today, housewives are increasingly resorting to freezing food, and conservation is slowly but surely fading into the background. And it’s not only that putting peas or other vegetables in the freezer is faster than putting them in a jar. Low temperatures - from -18 degrees - allow you to save up to 80% of nutrients. While heat treatment not only affects the taste of products, but also significantly reduces the content of important vitamins and minerals.

How to freeze green peas? There are several ways. You can just peel the peas and put them in a bag in the freezer. But it’s right to resort to blanching first - this will make the seeds soft and prevent bitterness after defrosting.

The best grade for freezing

First of all, high quality peas are subject to freezing, without signs of illness, worms. Pods should be saturated green, not overripe. Ripe peas are tasteless and poorly suited for freezing. It is better to choose pods of medium ripeness, with small elastic grains.

• Varieties with brain and smooth peas are frozen peeled. Their pods are inedible, since the sashes are lined with a parchment layer from the inside.
• Sugar and snow peas can be frozen both in grains and in pods: they are sweet and have a delicate piquant taste.

Container selection

Before proceeding directly to the freezing of peas, you should decide what to store it in. It is recommended that you choose small dishes or packages that match one serving. A serving can be 100, 200, 300 g, depending on how many peas you usually use.

The following packaging is perfect for freezing:

• food trays;
• dense plastic bags;
• packages with a zip-fastener (zip-lock).

Of course, peas in bags take up less space. But in the plastic containers, the grains are reliably protected from deformation.

Fresh peas have a fairly long shelf life in the refrigerator in the freezer. He can wait in the wings during the summer, fall and all winter. The shelf life of a frozen product is 9 months.

Pea quick freeze

The harvested crop has the ability to ripen quickly at room temperature. After 1-2 days, the grains harden and lose their taste. Therefore, freeze peas immediately.

Description of the easiest way:

1. Place the pods in a colander and rinse under running water to remove debris and dust.
2. Peel the grains. To argue the work, it is advisable to attract a couple of extra hands to help. They press on the pod in the center, after which it easily opens - and the peas spill out.
3. Sprinkle the peas in a colander and wash.
4. Let it drain - leave for 15-20 minutes. Better yet, sprinkle the seeds in one layer on a paper towel.
5. It is better to freeze completely dry peas, otherwise it will stick together and turn into a large ice lump.
6. Pack dried beans in bags or other containers.
7. Turn on the quick freeze mode, if any, or simply transfer the containers to the freezer.

Peas frozen in this way may begin to bitter after some time. This is felt if you use it without heat treatment - for example, add to the salad. In soups and stews, taste changes are almost imperceptible.

Blanching method

The second method, although more troublesome, but allows you to fully preserve the taste of young green peas.

In the procurement process, the following materials will be needed:

• a pot of boiling water;
• colander;
• cracked ice;
• a bowl of cold water;
• pea storage container.

How to freeze peas for the winter correctly:

1. Wash the pods and empty the seeds.
2. Place the peas in a deep sieve or colander and dip in boiling water. Keep it in boiling water for 3 minutes.
3. Pour ice into a colander and transfer it to a bowl of cold water. This is necessary in order to quickly interrupt the thermal process.
4. After 3 minutes, remove the colander from cold water and dry the peas on a towel.
5. Pack it in containers of the desired volume and freeze.

Blanching promotes the destruction of specific enzymes in pea tissues. If they are left, then over time the grains darken, deteriorate and begin to bitter.

Ice cubes with peas

A very interesting and unusual recipe for freezing green peas - its charm is that the grains do not need to be dried. Ice cubes with green peas look aesthetically pleasing, and adding them to the soup looks like magic.

Description of the method:

1. Rinse the pods and remove the peas.
2. Place the washed beans in small trays or silicone molds. Peas should occupy approximately 2/3 of the total volume.
3. Add a little boiled water or broth to each container. No need to pour liquid to the very edges: during freezing, the water will expand and go out.
4. Place the peas in the freezer for 3-4 hours. After the specified time, remove the ice from the molds and pack in bags.

Pod freezing

It is possible to harvest not only grains, but also pea pods for the winter. They are edible in varieties of snow and sugar.

Description of the method:

1. Take away green, without damage and yellow spots pods.
2. Rinse under running water and clear of grains.
3. Cut the tails on both sides and, if you want, cut the pods into 2-3 parts.
4. Put the green mass on a towel to glass the water.
5. Pack dried pods in small plastic bags or plastic trays and place in the freezer.

Later, greens from peas are added to pasta, stew, soup. And from the pods prepare a useful side dish. For taste, it is sweetened with sugar and butter is added.

Frozen peas

An opened can of peas has a fairly limited shelf life when stored in the refrigerator. If the product could not be fully used in 1-2 days, then it will be correctly frozen. Freezing does not harm canned food. Of course, the content of nutrients in peas is reduced, but not significantly.

How to freeze canned peas:

1. Drain all liquid from the can.
2. Pour the canned peas into a food container and close the lid.
3. Place in the freezer to freeze.

It is not necessary to specifically defrost green peas. It is right to immediately add frozen peas to dishes: vegetable stews, soups, omelettes, casseroles, pizza.

Now thrifty housewives are freezing everything that is possible. Nutritious green peas were no exception. Its harvest happens once a year in the summer - and sometimes you really want to taste fresh juicy peas in the winter. Freezing allows you to preserve the beneficial properties and natural taste of the product. Choose your favorite method and feel free to get down to business!