Do I HAVE to blanch the fruit and vegetables that I grow in my garden, before I put them in my freezer? What happens if I do not? Eliza

What an interesting question. Different vegetables will need different amounts of time to blanch them, but once your blanching is done the vegetables have to be cooled very quickly in order to stop the cooking process. Blanching slows the action of enzymes. Up until harvest time, enzymes cause vegetables to grow and mature. If vegetables are not blanched, or blanching is not long enough, the enzymes continue to be active during frozen storage causing off-colors, off-flavors and toughening. So we do recommend that you blanch your vegetables before freezing. I hope this helps.

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The New Ice Age Team