Freezing Vegetables and Fruit: Blanching Times
Blanch vegetables for the tested time, cool them fast, and store at 0°F.
Blanch almost every vegetable before freezing: boil it for the time below, cool it in ice water for the same time, drain, pack and freeze at 0°F or below. Fruits and vegetables keep their best quality for 8 to 12 months. Under-blanching is worse than not blanching, because it speeds up the enzymes instead of stopping them.
Blanching times (boiling water)
| Vegetable | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Snap beans | 3 |
| Green peas | 1½ |
| Broccoli, 1½ inch florets | 3 (5 steamed) |
| Cauliflower, 1 inch florets | 3 |
| Carrots, sliced or diced | 2 (small whole 5) |
| Corn on the cob | 7, 9 or 11 by ear size |
| Whole kernel corn | 4, on the cob before cutting |
| Summer squash | 3 |
| Greens (collards 3) | 2 |
| Okra | 3 to 4 |
Use 1 gallon of water per pound of vegetables so it returns to a boil within a minute. Winter squash, pumpkin and sweet potatoes are cooked before freezing.
No blanch needed
Berries (tray-freeze, then bag), hot peppers (wash and stem), sweet peppers for raw use, herbs wrapped in freezer wrap, and peeled tomatoes for cooking.
Do not freeze
Lettuce, cucumbers, radishes, celery and raw cabbage go limp; boiled potatoes turn mealy. Garlic in oil: refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze.
Sources we checked (October 2026): National Center for Home Food Preservation: Blanching Times, Blanching Vegetables, Foods That Do Not Freeze Well, Freezer Management, How Long Can I Store Frozen Foods, Dry or Tray Packing, Freezing Peppers, Hot Peppers, Tomatoes, Fresh Herbs, Garlic-in-Oil.
Common questions
Yes, for almost all of them. Blanching stops enzymes that cause loss of flavor, color and texture. Peppers and herbs can be frozen raw.
3 minutes in boiling water, then 3 minutes in ice water.
8 to 12 months at 0°F for best quality. They remain safe longer but lose quality.
What to plant, flock and hive jobs for the month, in one short email. No spam.
Unsubscribe any time.