We’ve been planting our own garden and harvesting the fruits of our labor for the past 15+ years. We enjoy planting our own tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, peas, corn, cauliflower, watermelon, cantaloupe, onions, red beets, potatoes, green beans, and a few other things.

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When it comes to harvesting our fruits and vegetables I like to preserve them one of two ways…either by home canning or by freezing. It all depends on the item and how much of it do I have on hand. Freezing is convenient for smaller amounts and let’s face it…some foods taste better coming from frozen. Just my 2 cents on that. Today I’m going to share with you how I like to blanch and freeze peas.

How to Blanch and Freeze Peas

Always start out with fresh product and you’ll want to freeze them shortly after being picked. You don’t want to pick them and then wait days to prepare them. Do it within a few hours for the best results.

Sort through the pea pods and discard any that have blemishes or mold. Just toss them away or use them for composting. Place them in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Flip them around with your hands and rinse again. You want to get all of the dirt and debris off of them. They need to be clean!!!

Using a cutting board and a paring knife…snip off the end of each pea pod. Remove any strings that you see. If you’re working with a type of a pea that has an edible pod (like snow peas) you can process them with the pod on them or de-shell them. For non-edible varieties you’ll want to de-shell them (remove the peas from the pods). Place in a bowl.

In a large pot bring water to a full rolling boil. Place the peas or peas in their pods into the boiling water. Set a timer and boil for 2 full minutes. Remove from heat and pour them into a colander that is sitting in a bowl of cold ice water. You need to do this to immediately stop the cooking process. I let my colander sit in the ice cold water for about 2 minutes and then finish by rinsing them under cold running water. If you see any “missed” debris, pick it out and toss it away.

I fold up 3-4 paper towels and place them onto a plate. I pour the peas onto that plate. Take another 2-3 folded up paper towels and place it on top. Gently use the paper towels to blot up excess water. You want to try to blot up water so that they don’t form a lot of ice crystals once frozen.

I prefer to freeze in freezer storage bags (quart-size) and will measure out 2 cups of de-shelled peas or 3 cups of peas in-the-shell. It’s just the two of us and 2 cups of peas is plenty for us per meal when using them as a side dish. You may want to measure out bigger portions depending on your family’s needs.

When freezing them in a freezer bag you want to purge out as much air that you can. Seal the bag, label and freeze. You want to store your bags FLAT in the freezer, not upright! By storing them flat you’ll help to limit freezer burn, ice crystals, and it helps to save on storage space.

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