Storage Times

• If vegetables are consistently stored at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, most varieties will maintain their quality between 12 and 18 months. Unopened, commercially processed frozen vegetables generally last longer than home frozen ones, which should ideally be eaten within a year, before the next crop is ready to be harvested. Vegetables frozen longer than the recommended times may suffer from fiber breakdown, ice crystal formation or freezer burn but are still safe to eat.
  
  

Frozen Dry-Packed Vegetables

• You can prepare vegetables for freezing in one of two ways, dry or tray packing. Dry packing requires blanching the vegetables in bunches and packing them in freezer-safe containers. Wash the vegetables, plunge them into boiling water for one to two minutes to kill harmful bacteria and then immediately immerse them into a sink or large bowl filled with ice and water to stop the cooking process and set the color. Drain well in a strainer or colander. If using freezer bags, squeeze as much air as possible out of the bags before sealing. Blanched vegetables frozen in containers should be tightly packed to avoid air pockets.
  
  

Tray-Packed Frozen Vegetables

• The tray-packing method involves laying individual pieces of vegetables on a tray or baking pan and freezing them solid before packaging. This option is good for small vegetables like green beans, cut corn or peas that tend to clump together and form ice crystals if dry packed. Follow the same packaging instructions used for dry packed vegetables.
  
  

Frozen Vegetable Containers

• Whether you choose flexible or rigid containers to freeze vegetables, they must be vapor- and moisture-proof to protect the food from air. Rigid plastic or polyurethane containers stack well in the freezer and are easy to label, but removing air from them is difficult. Specially designed freezer bags are thicker than regular food storage bags to keep out air and moisture and are easy to rid of air before sealing. Heavy-duty foil or freezer paper can be used to package vegetables but do not normally provide the protection of plastic containers or bags.