Is your refrigerator overflowing with irresistible local summer produce? What a delicious problem to have! With a little planning, you can enjoy that peak-season flavor and nutrition long after summer is over.
Seasonal Roots’ small family farmers work hard to bring you fruits and vegetables picked at the peak of ripeness—and you deserve to enjoy them at their healthful, flavorful best. If you have more fresh produce than you can enjoy right away, there are easy ways to save that summer goodness for later.
Freeze it: Fresh produce can keep in the freezer for 8–12 months, making it easy to enjoy your favorite summer fruits and vegetables well into the colder months.
Can it: If you’re curious about learning a new skill, canning is a fun way to preserve the season and enjoy your local produce for months to come.
Refrigeration can help extend the life of fresh produce, while freezing and canning let you preserve it for months to come. So when summer’s bounty is at its peak, save some for later—and keep those fresh flavors and nutrients on hand whenever you’re ready to enjoy them!
Freezing is quick, easy, and requires no special equipment—which is why we’re focusing on it here!
Start with produce that’s as fresh as possible and in good shape.
- Wash: Give it a good wash!
- Blanch: For zucchini, beans, carrots, and other veggies, boil or steam for 2–5 minutes, just until tender. Then plunge them into ice water. This “blanching” helps preserve nutrients, color, and texture. Tender herbs, greens, berries, and peaches can skip this step.
- Bag it: Let the produce cool, then pack it into freezer bags, squeezing out as much air as possible.
- Keep it loose: To prevent everything from freezing into one giant block, spread produce in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen, transfer it to bags. Then you can grab just what you need!
- Label it: Write the contents and date on the bag. Future you will thank you!
With a little freezer space, you can keep summer’s local goodness on hand for smoothies, pies, soups, stews, and more—all year long.
And don’t worry too much about nutrient loss. Freezing promptly helps preserve nutrients, and in most cases, any loss is comparable to what happens during cooking. It’s generally a much better option than letting fresh produce sit in the fridge for weeks.
Here’s a more detailed how-to on freezing from Mother Earth News.
About Seasonal Roots
Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected families in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our neighborhood market managers – who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grass-fed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.