Freezing my Zucchini...

I have zucchini coming out my ears! I'd like to freeze it, but not sure how to do this. Do I simply cut it up and freeze it? Or do I need to boil first? I'll be storing in freezer bags in the freezer, if that makes any difference.

All help/advice is appreciated.

Thanks, Brigitte

Reply to
Brigitte J.
Loading thread data ...

----- Brigitte, I looked it up in my Freezing Guide (by Dow, makers of ziplock bags) And it says to wash Squash/Zucchini, then blanch it for 3 minutes or steam it for 4 minutes, thern put it in the freezer bags and freeze it.

Just in case you don't know, blanching means to get the water boiling and drop the things in, then wait 3 minutes and remove them. You can even run them under cold water to stop the cooking process but I'm not sure it's necessay for zucchini.

Now I'm wondering if the DOW company has this freezing guide on their website.

10 minutes later....

Sorry, but this page below is the only thing they have related to freezing. Too bad. The booklet was called... "Freeze It! - Home Freezing Made Easy," but it's no longer available.

formatting link

Reply to
---pete---

This is a yellow zucchini. It's growing vigorously with an abundance of flowers and zucs, but many of the zucs start turning mushy when the flowers fade. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

Appreciate your advice. Karen Portland, OR

Reply to
Anonny Moose

On Thu, 01 Jul 2004 12:44:32 GMT in , snipped-for-privacy@LOL.com (---pete---) graced the world with this thought:

This is pretty simplified... if you drop five pounds of zukes just out of the fridge, into two quarts of boiling water, I guarantee you they won't be blanched. To use a formula like that, you need a large quantity of water, and room temp zukes, and only put enough in the pot that boiling is only interrupted minimally. they'll be blanched.

Reply to
belly

Should I salt the water?

Reply to
Brigitte J.

They're not getting pollinated. The blooms with the baby zucchini are female, the ones without are male. Break off a male bloom, expose the pistil, and rub it on the female stamens. Yep, you're artificially inseminating a plant :-).

I seem to have better luck if the male bloom is from a different plant than the female bloom.

And the blooms are short-lived so you should check every day.

Reply to
Larry Blanchard

Thanks! I never would have imagined doing that. I only have the one plant - so maybe that is a problem? However, I have gotten a few good-sized zucs so far. I'll give this a shot and see what happens.

Karen I have the same question about the WMDs!

Reply to
Anonny Moose

Actually, growing a single zuc plant shouldn't be a problem, as long as there are enough bees around to polinate.

Some WMD's have been found...some destroyed...some shipped out...yet, we still ask this question? Saddam had his day in a new Iraqi court and that is a good thing...

Reply to
Dee Jay

sounds like it's time to start crankin out the quick zucchini breads... they make great gifts! : )

-j

Reply to
jay

Reply to
STEVEN STEIN

Break off a

It's easier to use a small paintbrush (artist's, not housepainting). Gather some pollen from a male pistil and brush it onto the female stamen.

Reply to
Jim Thomas

I use a q-tip, works fine for me.

Reply to
KK from NJ

Brigitte,

I read somewhere, maybe here, last year that dried zucchini is good (sliced thinly). I'm not a zucchini fan but if zucchini chips are good, I'll grow it. There is one, repeat one, plant at the end of my rhodie bed. Though it's not in the ideal location, it should produce enough to let me try it. My family would laugh themselves silly if I were to start growing the stuff after all the years we tried to avoid being given the stuff, usually over-grown and not too flavorful (some people don't realize there is a size opimization to certain squash types).

If you have lots, it's worth a try. :-)

Glenna with a bumper cucumber crop this year!

Reply to
Glenna Rose

I personally found zucchini by itself isn't a good freezing vegetable. It comes out all soggy and tastless when thawed. In the past, when I have had an abundance of zucchini's I have tried various methods of 'cooking' things up with zucchini, to freeze. I have tried

  1. Zucchini 'broth' for soup basis (reasonable successful)
  2. Various forms of zucchini slices/pies

The best result I have had so far was a tomato/zucchini pie.

similar to this site (though I used a dough base and then layered the zucchini and tomato on top, then the egg/milk/cheese filler)

formatting link
other ideas for freezing zucchini's ?

Reply to
Kirsty

You don't need to wait to see a forming zucchini to determine which flower is male/female. The flowers that stand erect (surprise surprise) are male. The other's are female.

P.S Zucchini flowers are fantastic fried up in batter and stuffed with anchovies and cheese. I prefer to cotton bud pollinate rather than rip the flowers apart, but then its probably more fiddly if you don't want to eat the flowers. (Pumpkin flowers can be treated the same)

These flowers cost a fortune to buy in countries like Italy. They are equivalent to caviar :) I prefer to eat them.. (Must be picked/cooked the same day without snap freezing)

Reply to
Kirsty

They're also pretty great in an omelet. In Mexico it's common to see baby zuchs with the flower attached on an omelet bar.

Tyler

Reply to
Tyler Hopper

Reply to
Dave and Miss

I make zucchini pancakes. Grate, salt, drain, and squeeze squash. Mix with flour, baking powder, s&p and egg (proportions are in a zillion recipes on the web), and cook in a skillet like pancake-pancakes, although the mixtureshould be thick enough to be patted out rather than poured. These freeze very well and are a handy veg side dish. I serve with butter and grated Parmesan.

Reply to
Frogleg

I think the zucchini grower should experiment with the length of time she steeps the zukes in boiling water. I can say that 3 minutes in boiling water would see my zucchinis cooked right through; this is excessive for blanching. The time needed depends on the size of the fruit. Zucchinis are at their tastiest when they are just about four inches long, without their stem, and at this size I reckon around one minute might be enough. Though if you leave them to grow to full maturity then your longer blanching time will be needed.

I wonder would microwaving the fruit be an alternative to dunking in water? Anyone tried it?

Reply to
John Savage

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.