To add to what others have said, the reason you want to spread things out is that slow freezing means big ice crystals which destroy cell walls and make things mushy. That's also why you dont want to thaw and refreeze foods cause the texture just gets bad.
Celery probably doesnt matter, though, if you just end up using it for mirepoix where you end up cooking it down anyway.
I can't find a reference now, but I heard a radio show many years ago about the benefits of "freezer blanching". If I can remember it right, putting veggies directly in the freezer without blanching will cause intercellular ice crystals to form which will pierce the cell walls and cause the vegetable to take on a partially cooked texture, much like water blanching. The advantage is that the nutrients in the vegetable are all contained in the bag so that when you toss the frozen vegetable into soup, chili or whatever, you retain all of the original nutrients.
If you're looking to freeze vegetables for eating directly, like corn, peas, beans, this will probably not work so well. For vegetables which will be added to a stew, soup, chili or similar, the difference is negligible.
I've done this with tomatoes for sauce or soup, carrots, onions, celery, peppers, and other vegetables that I'll toss into a soup or chili for garden fresh flavors in the middle of winter.
I’d imagine the main concern is it freezing in a big lump. If you freeze them on a tray first, they don’t stick together as much when you bag them.
The reasons for spreading the pieces out on a cookie sheet are 1. to freeze them quickly so the middle doesn't stay tepid too long, and also 2. to freeze them separately so they can be portioned out later, the bag can be squashed into whatever shape there's room for in the freezer, and they can be thawed quickly/evenly or even cooked from frozen. This step doesn't take terribly long though. See if there's a way to temporarily arrange the frozen foods and slide a cookie sheet on top. Or if it's the dimensions of the freezer itself, what will fit that you could spread a thin layer on? Even dinner plates could work, although that means doing small batches which is more work. You're supposed to have drained and cold-water-shocked them, so they won't be hot, won't defrost anything else. Push comes to shove, you put just enough in a ziploc bag that you can flatten it out to a centimeter and freeze them that way. Don't stack the bags until each is fully frozen.
What if you did ziploc bags of one or two servings, flattened them, and froze those?
I freeze veggies all the time (mostly onions, peppers, carrots, potatoes) and Jo, they don't need to be blanched first.
But they will behave differently than fresh - onions and peppers are soft once thawed, and require higher heat to wilt as the moisture comes out faster.
I would cut them up, lay them on a tray and freeze, then bag. If you freeze in the bag they clump together and are a pain to work with.
Potatoes I make into something (roasted for example), and don't cook fully so when I reheat they have some moisture left.
Taken a nice photo of your creation? We highly encourage sharing with our friends over at !foodporn@lemmy.world.
Posts in this community must be food/cooking related. Recipes for dishes you've made and post picture of are encouraged but are not a requirement. Posts of food you are enjoyed or just think like food are welcomed as well.
Posts can optionally be tagged. We would like the use and number of tags to grow organically. Feel free to use a tag that isn't listed if you think it makes sense to do so. We encourage using tags to help organize and make browsing easier, but you don't have to use them if you don't want to.
[QUESTION] What are your favorite spices to use in soups?
!bbq@lemmy.world - Lemmy.world's home for BBQ.
!foodporn@lemmy.world - Showcasing your best culinary creations.
!sousvide@lemmy.world - All things sous vide precision cooking.
!koreanfood@lemmy.world - Celebrating Korean cuisine!
While posting and commenting in this community, you must abide by the Lemmy.World Terms of Service: https://legal.lemmy.world/tos/
Failure to follow these guidelines will result in your post/comment being removed and/or more severe actions. All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users. We ask that the users report any comment or post that violates the rules, and to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting.