Freezing Asparagus

I am planning on doing a lot more food preserving to save money and enjoy foods at their freshest when they are not in season.  In keeping with that, I decided to preserve asparagus in the tastiest way possible: by freezing them.  If I have to eat non-fresh veggies, I prefer them frozen, rather than canned, especially asparagus.  (Unless they are pickled!)  Anyways, I brought an extra twenty dollars to the farmer's market and bought eight bunches of asparagus.  Follow these super easy steps to freeze your own!

Here are those bunches of beautiful asparagus.  My family eats two bunches at dinner, so that is how I will prepare and freeze them.

If I'm making asparagus for dinner, I usually just snap off the tough ends of their stalks.  But, since I was working with such a larger quantity, the quicker way to do this was to simply cut off about an inch off the bottom.  To make it a neater process, keep them banded together while cutting.  Afterwards, you can take the bands off and rinse them.  Save those tough ends to make broth,or chop them small and add to a soup!

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Carefully put the asparagus in and leave in, or blanch, for about one minute.  It's okay if you somehow forget and the time creeps up to two minutes, but try not to leave them in beyond that.  You don't want mushy, boiled asparagus.  The water will inevitably stop boiling when you put the asparagus in.  That's okay; do not leave them in waiting for the water to come back to a boil.  Simply start your timer when they go in.  Bring water back to full boil before adding your next batch, however.

Use tongs to remove asparagus from pot and place in colander.  Rinse under cold water for another minute or so to stop the cooking process.  Shake as much excess water through the holes as possible when done.

Place in freezer bags, two bunches at a time, if you are freezing them in the same quantities I am.  Press the air out and seal the bags.  Freeze until you are ready to prepare them for a meal.  Simply thaw and cook as usual.

I hope this was a useful step-by-step program on how to preserve delicious springtime asparagus.  Look for more tips coming up soon!