Blanching



Pennyaline wrote:
>
> Okay, Shelly, it's a waste of time. A total waste of time. Okay.
> Continuing this with you is too, as there is no point in trying to
> communicate with anyone who is chronically correct about everything.


Part of the communication problem is that you're trying to maintain an
academic position and he's speaking from personal experience. No doubt
you're correct about the effects of blanching and freezing. But, and
it's a large but, the question remains whether it matters in its
practical application.

There are obvious detriments to blanching in its effect on the eventual
quality of the vegetable when it is finally used. Not blanching often
yields a superior result in the frozen-then-thawed product. What you
have not addressed in your zeal to be academically correct is whether
blanching is necessary or beneficial in any way when the intention is
that the freezing period will be relatively brief, say, up to a couple
of months.

All your references will say, for example, to blanch green beans or
asparagus for 1 to 2 minutes. Most say 2 minutes. I know from
personal experience that green beans blanched for 15 to 30 seconds will
give me a better result 30 days later when I thaw them. I know from
personal experience that blanched asparagus is no better than limp
canned asparagus when thawed after a month's freezing, while asparagus
frozen raw is at least tolerable. I know that bell peppers frozen raw
are better than blanched peppers. And so forth.

Perhaps what you say would matter if I kept them for a year or two but
I don't care because I have no need to do that. -aem
 
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected]ess says...
> > Then the article is wrong. You are right that freezing does not kill
> > bacteria but that was not the original claim. Freezing does stop all
> > bacterial action.
> >

>
> you might be surprised:
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=
> 10943552&dopt=Abstract
>
>


Permit me to indulge in a minor fit of sighing and eye-rolling. OK, now
I'm done.

"Below freezing" which is what this article talks about means "below 0
degrees C." It does not necessarily mean "frozen." Yes, a few organisms
can exist at temperatures below 0 degrees, but they are not frozen - the
water has not crystallized. That is what we have been talking about.

--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths pages at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm
 
Peter A wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected]ess says...
>>> Then the article is wrong. You are right that freezing does not kill
>>> bacteria but that was not the original claim. Freezing does stop all
>>> bacterial action.
>>>

>> you might be surprised:
>> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=
>> 10943552&dopt=Abstract
>>
>>

>
> Permit me to indulge in a minor fit of sighing and eye-rolling. OK, now
> I'm done.
>
> "Below freezing" which is what this article talks about means "below 0
> degrees C." It does not necessarily mean "frozen." Yes, a few organisms
> can exist at temperatures below 0 degrees, but they are not frozen - the
> water has not crystallized. That is what we have been talking about.


Anything else? Last I knew, water freezes at 0 degrees C (32 degrees F),
and that means crystallized.

<ohhhhhh, you mean at sea level>
 
Pennyaline wrote:
> Peter A wrote:
>> In article <[email protected]>,
>> [email protected]ess says...
>>>> Then the article is wrong. You are right that freezing does not kill
>>>> bacteria but that was not the original claim. Freezing does stop all
>>>> bacterial action.
>>> you might be surprised:
>>> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=
>>>
>>> 10943552&dopt=Abstract
>>>
>>>

>>
>> Permit me to indulge in a minor fit of sighing and eye-rolling. OK,
>> now I'm done.
>>
>> "Below freezing" which is what this article talks about means "below 0
>> degrees C." It does not necessarily mean "frozen." Yes, a few
>> organisms can exist at temperatures below 0 degrees, but they are not
>> frozen - the water has not crystallized. That is what we have been
>> talking about.

>
> Anything else? Last I knew, water freezes at 0 degrees C (32 degrees F),
> and that means crystallized.
>


Some organisms are able to accumulate a bunch of glycol or glycerin in
their cells that acts as an antifreeze to lower the freezing point.

Bob
 
zxcvbob wrote:
> Pennyaline wrote:
>> Peter A wrote:
>>> In article <[email protected]>,
>>> [email protected]ess says...
>>>>> Then the article is wrong. You are right that freezing does not
>>>>> kill bacteria but that was not the original claim. Freezing does
>>>>> stop all bacterial action.
>>>> you might be surprised:
>>>> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=
>>>>
>>>> 10943552&dopt=Abstract
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Permit me to indulge in a minor fit of sighing and eye-rolling. OK,
>>> now I'm done.
>>>
>>> "Below freezing" which is what this article talks about means "below
>>> 0 degrees C." It does not necessarily mean "frozen." Yes, a few
>>> organisms can exist at temperatures below 0 degrees, but they are not
>>> frozen - the water has not crystallized. That is what we have been
>>> talking about.

>>
>> Anything else? Last I knew, water freezes at 0 degrees C (32 degrees
>> F), and that means crystallized.
>>

>
> Some organisms are able to accumulate a bunch of glycol or glycerin in
> their cells that acts as an antifreeze to lower the freezing point.


And spores are not affected by ordinarily high and low temps, including
freezing and boiling.