How to blanch vegetables

Blanching is an easy way to preserve vegetables from the garden if your yield isn't enough to do much with. Last year I kept getting one or two okra here and there. Okra grow fast but it still would be a week or two in between batches of one or two. Well one or two okra didn't go far among five of us so I learned online how to blanch them. Blanching allowed me to put them in the freezer then I was able to cook them together once I got a big enough batch of okra. Blanching is basically where you drop fresh vegetables into boiling water for a specific amount of time and then into a cold batch of water to stop the cooking process and then you are able to freeze them and they retain the flavor of fresh veggies. It also neutralizes bacteria  and enzymes so the food does not go bad. There are lots of articles online if you get serious about blanching vegetables.Just type in "how to blanch vegetables" or "blanching times for vegetables" into a search engine.

Here is an article or two on blanching....how to do it and the time for each specific vegetable. Enjoy!--Tips

WiseGeek defines Blanching

Blanching vegetables by Gardener's Net

Excellent resource of blanching times for vegetables by Natl Center of Home Food Preservation