Frozen peas: 4 ways to freeze green peas for the winter at home

Which peas are best for freezing?

For freezing in shelled form, varieties with brain and smooth seeds are better suited. These peas are tender and sweet, but the shells of the pod have a parchment layer, which prevents them from being used as food.

Sugar pea and snow pea varieties are suitable for freezing in pods. Sugar peas have thick pods, while snow peas have flat pods with unripe seeds. Both types of these peas can be frozen in pods.

Methods for freezing green peas

1. How to freeze green peas raw

The easiest way to freeze green peas is to freeze them fresh. To do this, pea pods are washed under running water and dried on a towel.Then the grains are removed from the pods, selecting only bright green, undamaged seeds. All that remains is to pack the peas into bags or containers and put them in the freezer.

It should be borne in mind that with this method of freezing, the seeds may be slightly bitter. To avoid this, peas are subjected to heat treatment.

See the video from the “Tasty Corner” channel - How to freeze green peas for the winter

See the video from the channel “Flowers at Svetik” - Freezing green peas for the winter

2. How to blanch peas before freezing

Initially, the peas are shelled. Only dense, bright, and without signs of spoilage peas are selected for freezing. Then the seeds are placed in a sieve and rinsed under the tap. It is better to do this several times, each time changing and re-rinsing the sieve.

Then the pea seeds need to be dipped directly in a colander or a special fabric bag into boiling water for no more than 3 minutes.

After heat treatment, blanched peas should be immediately immersed in ice water. To keep the water at a minimum temperature, first place a couple of dozen ice cubes in a bowl of cold water. Rapid cooling stops the cooking process. The pea grains are discarded in a colander and allowed to drain as much water as possible.

The peas are then scattered onto a flat surface and frozen for several hours. This will make the freezing crumbly. After the grains are slightly frozen, they are poured into a freezer bag and stored in the freezer.

The option of freezing blanched peas preserves their color and taste.

See the video from the channel “Useful tips about everything” - How to freeze vegetables without losing taste

3. How to freeze peas in pods

In order to freeze pea pods, they are first washed and dried on a towel. Then the ends are cut off on both sides of the pod and the hard longitudinal fibers are removed.

Green pea pods are blanched in the same way as grains. The only thing is that if you use snow peas, you should blanch them not for three minutes, but for one.

After the pods have undergone the blanching and rapid cooling procedure, they must be dried with paper towels and placed in packaging bags or containers.

4. Freezing green peas in molds

Another interesting way to freeze green peas is to freeze them in ice cube trays in water or broth.

To do this, peas are removed from the pods, washed, and damaged specimens are removed. Place in ice-freezing containers or small silicone baking molds. Then the peas are poured with water or broth, without adding to the very edge of the molds, since the liquid, expanding when freezing, can leak out.

The filled forms are sent to the freezer for a day. The frozen ice with green peas is removed from the molds and put into bags for storage.

Shelf life of green peas

Frozen peas should be stored at a temperature of -18 ºC for no more than 9 months, so it is recommended to put a mark on the packaged product about the date the product was frozen.