How to Freeze Mangetout Vegetables

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"Mangetout" vegetables refer to those vegetables you can eat whole along with the skin. This refers specifically to peas, or the type of pea such as sugar snaps or snow peas that you do not need to hull in order to eat. When freezing these vegetables for longer storage, you will need to blanch them to kill the bacteria and enzymes that could hamper extended life. Make a large batch ahead of time and only briefly scald them, prior to shocking them in cold water, and sealing for freezing.

Wash the vegetables in the colander. Rinse the mangetout peas in cold water. Optionally, snap the ends and pull off any strings.

Blanch the vegetables. Place the mangetout peas in a blanching basket or sieve and place them in a large pot of boiling water, filled 2/3 of the way up. Keep the peas in there, covered, for 90 seconds. Reuse the water for up to five blanchings. Refill the pot with hot tap water as necessary to maintain the level of the water.

Drain the blanched vegetables, and dunk them in a bowl of ice water for as many minutes as you cooked them, in this case, 90 seconds. Drain again.

Bag the vegetables in plastic storage bags. Push out as much air as you can when you seal them, or vacuum seal them if you have the machine.

Freeze. Keep for up to 9 months in a regular bag in the freezer, or 14 months for vacuum-sealed bags in deep freeze.