I need to be lazy. Which veg is good in the freezer?

[PeachesMcLean]

And you can even correct me on the grammar there too cos I don't think it's right...

I need to use my freezer more to make life simpler. Obviously peas and sweetcorn freeze well. I also have bags of spinach which I use in curries.

However, I recently bought a bag of frozen carrots which I thought would be good for those evenings I get home from work at 6pm and have to have food on the table within 20 minutes. They tasted truly foul. I've chucked them out this evening (I have a small freezer and can't afford to keep stuff which doesn't pay its way!)

Any other suggestions for good bags of veg from the chiller cabinet at the supermarket??? And what do you use it with?

[colditz]

frozen carrots are the worst, they truly ming.

Broccoli and cauliflower are not too bad frozen, and m,ixed with pasta and cheese sauce they are nice enough.

[InTheseShoes]

I have green beans, cauliflower, sprouts, spinach, peas, sweetcorn in my freezer at the moment and I use them as fresh - I always steam which I think prevents sogginess and they are absolutely ace when you are whipping up a quick curry/soup as the preparation is done for you more or less, and they are frozen as fresh (as Giles Coren reminds us in the Birds' Eye advert). I'm also a massive fan of frozen fruit for smoothies/general eating - ds likes nothing more than a bowl of frozen pineapple.

I am not able to get to the shops more than once a week for food,as I work full time, but I'm not a fan of convenience food much past a pizza, so frozen fruit and veggies are a real life saver (I also freeze milk, bread, cake etc - just experimenting with some cream at the moment)

[Rumpel]

Green beans. Buy carrots and wash them and slice them then freeze - much better. We freeze curry leaves, basil, coriander all sorts.

[serenity]

I agree, frozen carrots are awful (but I'll only eat them raw or tinned anyway ).

We generally have broccoli, cauliflower, sweetcorn (niblets and cob), spinach (only used in pasta sauce), sliced mushrooms (for sauces although the're not too bad fried in garlic butter) and petit pois.

I have to say that for really fast veg those microwave frozen 'steamfresh' bags aren't too bad - just not very economical for us.

[PeachesMcLean]

I'm just getting in to freezing herbs which seems to work ok. And parmesan too, which is very handy.
God I need a bigger freezer... Mine is about the size of a portable TV - which is pretty limiting.
I've seen frozen rasberries in the supermarket? How do they come out if you defrost them? Can you just eat them as you would fresh??? Or are they best smoothied?

[JanH]

Best micro frozen veg is peas. They cook better in the microwave, and it turns itself off when they're done, and you can do them in 2-minute bursts until you're ready for them.

IME all other veg is better cooked in a pan; green beans are OK from frozen but broccoli and cauli are much better cooked fresh and take 2 mins to prepare and 5 mins to cook.

Fresh sprouts do take ages to prepare but cooking is quick; haven't tried frozen for a long time, might be worth it for them (but still in pan not micro)

[saadia]

Waitrose do a bag of really nice grilled mixed vegetables (aubergine, courgettes, peppers, mushrooms (I think) and some other stuff).

[shonaspurtle]

Raspberries freeze very well and can be used just like fresh when defrosted. All berries are good frozen except strawberries which go all mushy.

[sophy]

Broad beans freeze really well.

[janeite]

Frozen raspberries are brilliant for trifle, Eton mess, that Scottish pud with oats etc. Waitrose also do frozen roasted pepper slices which are great for chucking into a pasta sauce.

[SaucyMoo]

Sliced green beans-best thing since sliced bread!