Ev Convert wrote:

> Which fruits and vegetables survive well in a regular freezer?  I ate 
> a frozen banana today.  It was yummy.  I've heard that green 
> vegetables in general don't do too well unless they are flash frozen 
> with commercial freezing equipment.  What other plants should I throw 
> in the freezer before I let them rot?

You need to blanch and cool the vegetables before freezing: this means 
to drop in boiling water for a few minutes,
then remove and put in cold water.  Then package them to exclude air as 
much as possible, and freeze.  Green beans should
be okay, corn if you eat it.  The tougher greens such as kale. I don't 
think zucchini would do well, but you can dry
them and they are nice that way.

Tomatoes you can blanch, peel and freeze, or you can just put them whole 
unpeeled uncooked into a freezer
bag.  They keep beautifully that way.  When thawed they have become 
soft, not so good for salads, but wonderful
for cooked dishes.  Most anything you freeze, should be pretty fresh 
when you start.  Otherwise, make vegetable
soup out of them and freeze the soup, which should be very successful.  
You can cook and puree winter squash
and pumpkin, and freeze; works well and keeps a long time.  Be sure to 
use the widemouth freezer jars, peanut
butter jars, or widemouth plastics, or plastic bags for things like 
soup.  Standard glass jars will certainly break and you'll
have a mess with broken glass embedded in it. (the Voice of Experience here)

You can also freeze fresh cherries, strawberries, gooseberries, 
blueberries, peaches, pears, plums,
applesauce, and really most any fruit.  You don't need to use sugar.  
Peaches should be peeled,
cherries pitted.  I think even melon would work well though I have not 
tried them.

    Lynnet