Last year during our gardening, Dad said that carrots would be sweeter if left in the ground over the winter. We tried it and did notice an extra mild flavor in the harvest of winter carrots we dug this spring. Sophia's
4-H project for Preserved Foods this year is a frozen vegetable, so looked up the correct method and got some into a freezer bag.
First, Sophia sliced them into medallions with an identical slicer that my mom used back in the 60's and 70's. It's simple but it works flawlessly. I'm glad I have one.
Next, we blanched the vegetables to reduce the enzymes which cause the products to go bad quickly. This means Sophia tossed a quantity in a pot of boiling water for a length of time. Because the pieces were fairly small, she kept hers in the water for 3 minutes.
She pulled the carrots pieces from the boiling water, drained them on paper towel and put one layer of them on a cookie sheet to freeze quickly - a process called Flash Freezing. Doing so means that the carrots will freeze quickly and in individual pieces, rather freezing moistly together in a large, unwieldy carrot icicle.
Once the medallions were frozen through and through, Sophia pried them loose from the cookie sheet and slid them into freezer bags, which she then labeled and stored away, first for Judgement Day and then for stews and stir-fry.
First, Sophia sliced them into medallions with an identical slicer that my mom used back in the 60's and 70's. It's simple but it works flawlessly. I'm glad I have one.
Next, we blanched the vegetables to reduce the enzymes which cause the products to go bad quickly. This means Sophia tossed a quantity in a pot of boiling water for a length of time. Because the pieces were fairly small, she kept hers in the water for 3 minutes.
She pulled the carrots pieces from the boiling water, drained them on paper towel and put one layer of them on a cookie sheet to freeze quickly - a process called Flash Freezing. Doing so means that the carrots will freeze quickly and in individual pieces, rather freezing moistly together in a large, unwieldy carrot icicle.
Once the medallions were frozen through and through, Sophia pried them loose from the cookie sheet and slid them into freezer bags, which she then labeled and stored away, first for Judgement Day and then for stews and stir-fry.
I'd like to see that carrot slicer more clearly. It looks dangerous, but I want to know its ingenuity.
ReplyDeleteMargo, it's merely a blade on a stand, with an adjustable metal shelf that allows slices of any thickness. I can do a quick post on it.
ReplyDelete