Fresh snow peas are only in season for a short time in early summer. However, you can preserve your harvest or the pods you bought cheaply in the supermarket by freezing them and enjoy them at any time of the year.

Sugar snap peas should be blanched before freezing

What are sugar snap peas and what are they used for?

Sugar snap peas are pea pods that have been harvested when they are unripe. That means: The peas are not yet ripe, so there are tiny little peas in the flat pods. As the French term "mange-tout" ("eat everything") suggests, snow peas can be eaten whole. The terms snow pea and snow pea refer to the same vegetable.
Sugar snap peas taste good briefly cooked in fresh stir-fries, for example, but can also be eaten raw, for example as a crunchy-sweet ingredient in salads.

Prepare snow peas

Before further processing or freezing, the snow peas must be cleaned:

  1. Rinse the pods thoroughly and pat dry with a kitchen towel.
  2. Cut off both ends of the sugar snap pea: the base and the stem.
  3. Some varieties have a solid thread running sideways. If necessary, pull this off.
  4. If desired, you can halve or third the snow peas before freezing to get the right size for later processing.

Blanch and freeze sugar snap peas

To preserve the beautiful green color and crunchy texture of the sugar snap peas, you should blanch them before freezing. This is how the sweetness of the pods comes into its own.

  1. Bring heavily salted water to a boil.
  2. Allow the sugar snap peas to simmer for three minutes.
  3. Strain the pods and place them in ice water for a moment. This way they don't continue to cook and retain their colour.
  4. Place the completely cooled and dried sugar snap peas in freezer bags or freezer-safe boxes with lids.
  5. Close the containers carefully, label them with the freezing date and place them in the *** freezer at -18 °C.

Thaw and process frozen sugar snap peas

If you want to use the pods for a cold dish, simply take the freezer pack out of the freezer the night before and place it unopened in the fridge. This allows the snow peas to thaw slowly and gently without harmful germs being able to multiply on them.
If you want to use the snow peas heated, process them frozen: simply add the snow peas to the saucepan or hot pan. After a few minutes they are warmed up and cook together with the rest of the dish.
Frozen sugar snap peas should be used up after a year at the latest, otherwise they will lose their appetizing consistency and taste over time.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

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Category:

Vegetable garden