I love to whip up eggplant casseroles during winter. They make me warm as well as the house. The problem is eggplants are summer vegetable. I solve this problem by freezing eggplants this time of the year. Freezing eggplants isn’t as easy as freezing tomatoes, but the reward is worth it. Here’s what you do:
- Choose glossy, small fruits with tender seeds.
- If to be fried, cut in 3/4-inch slices; for casseroles or in mixed vegetables, dice or cut in strips.
- Steam-blanch 2 minutes for small dice/thin slices, up to 5 minutes for thick slices.
- Chill in cold water to which 4 teaspoons of lemon juice have been added to each 1 gallon of water.
- Drain; pat dry.
- Pack, leaving 1/2 inch of headroom.
- Seal; freeze.
Last year I froze several bags of both Italian and Japanese eggplants. We used them to make eggplant casseroles. I still have a couple of bags left, and I plan to make eggplant Parmesan with them. YUM!
So this weekend, grab some eggplants at the Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market and freeze them!
2 responses so far ↓
Christie Ison // August 21, 2009 at 12:29 pm |
THANK YOU for this! I asked this very question after buying too much at the Argenta Farmer’s Market the other day.
Will do this today.
Check out my little roast of Fairy Tale Eggplants at http://www.fancypantsfoodie.com.
Nao // August 24, 2009 at 10:41 am |
No problem, Christie! Whenever I served eggplant casserole in the winter, people looked shocked to find out that the eggplants were local. Something about local eggplants and tomatoes that impress people in the winter.
I checked out your blog. Very nice! I linked it to mine.
Again, thanks for reading. Happy cooking!