How To Blanch And Freeze Peas Fresh From The Garden - Getty Stewart

So here’s what to do…

How to Freeze Peas to Capture Their Sweet Flavor

1. Harvest Time

Harvest peas when the peas inside the pod are a nice round form but aren’t so big that they’re crowding each other and straining the sides of the pea pod. When you’re checking your peas, compare the feel of a small, medium and large pea pod and then do a taste test to get a sense of the difference in flavor between the different sizes. If in doubt, err on the side of underripe rather than overripe.

If you’re getting peas from a farmer’s market, have a good look at the pea shells and see what stage the peas are at. You want about 90% of them to be like the ones in the middle in the photo above. If there are a lot of shells that are tight and bumpy, leave them as they are overripe and will taste starchy not sweet. If there are too many that are too small, you’ll get good flavor, but you won’t get much volume – consider waiting until next week’s market.

In the photo below, notice how big the peas in the first pea pod are. Notice the color difference too, they’re a pale green compared to the juicy, sweet tender peas in the bottom pod. That top pod is overripe.

2. Handling Time

Shell, and freeze your peas as soon after picking or buying as possible. Peas will continue to age once picked. They’ll also start to lose moisture and get limp. Process them right away to capture that fresh sweet flavor.

3. Proper Processing

I wish I could tell you that you don’t have to blanch peas. But you do. Even if you find tons of internet sites that say you don’t have to – you really do! I know this both from my schooling as a Professional Home Economist and from first hand experience. Yes, despite knowing better, I was lured by internet posts that promised I didn’t need to blanch peas. I got suckered into freezing several bags of peas without blanching. BIG MISTAKE! When I took those peas out several months later, their color and flavor were not pleasant. The peas tasted starchy and bitter. Just like my profs said they would, the aging enzymes in the peas continued to age the peas, even in the freezer. So my young, tender peas tasted as bad as those big fat peas we hate.

So please, DO NOT freeze peas without blanching first – no matter what you might find on the internet!

To stop the aging enzymes and properly preserve flavor, color, texture and nutrient loss, you need to blanch veggies first.

If you choose not to blanch your peas, use them within two to three months before the effects of aging become noticeable and your peas start to taste off.