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I have suddenly found myself with a mountain of snow peas and sugar snap peas! I absolutely love these crunchy sweet treats, but I just can’t keep up. Luckily, snow and snap peas are simple to freeze so that we can enjoy them all year long.
We have been getting heaps of delicious edible pod peas in our CSA basket lately. Plus, we are growing snow peas in our own community garden and they are practically out of control! I swear they appear magically overnight- it’s incredible. Even though I’ve been tossing them in every dish and my boys love snacking on the right off the vines, my crisper drawer is maxed out.
I love canning, but freezing is my go to for preserving these crunchy edible pod peas. It’s easy to do! I’ll walk you through how I like to prep and freeze snow and sugar snap peas.
How to Prep & Freeze Snow Peas or Sugar Snap Peas
Since these varieties of legumes are so similar, and I use them the same way, I have mixed mine all together. But this is a good method for either one.
First, you’ll want to give them a good rinse and snap off the ends, gently pulling along the pod to remove the tough string (if there is one.)
Next, roughly chop the peas into one to two inch pieces. This is optional, but I like this size for stir frys and stews.
Next prepare a large pot of boiling water and a bowl of ice water.
Drop 2-3 cups/handfuls of snap peas into the boiling water and blanch for only 90 seconds.
Remove peas with a slotted spoon or drain into a colander and immediately plunge them into the ice bath to stop the cooking. Let them chill out for one to two minutes.
Strain out the cooled peas, spread them out on a dish towel, and pat dry. And/or, I like to give them a whirl in a salad spinner for faster drying.
Pack the dried pods into freezer bags, removing as much of the air as you can. Pop them in the freezer and enjoy the taste of early summer all year long!
Do I Have to Blanch Them?
Here’s the deal. I hate extra work as much as the next busy gal. But the best thing about snap peas is that sweet crunch! Blanching gives you the best chance of preserving the texture and flavor.
Veggies contain enzymes designed to break down the plant. But freezing doesn’t destroy them. Which means while unblanched peas won’t go “bad” in the freezer, they will continue to deteriorate, losing taste, texture, and nutrients. (source) Amazingly, one 3.5 ounce serving of either snow or sugar snap peas contains 100% of our daily vitamin C requirement! Not to mention lots of vitamin K and fiber. So it is well worth preserving them the best we can! (source)
I hope your summer is off to a delicious start. What garden goodness are you reveling in right now?! Leave me a comment- I love to chat!
How to Freeze Snow Peas and Sugar Snap Peas
A sweet crunchy treat of early summer, snow peas and sugar snap peas are simple to freeze so that we can enjoy them all year long!
Ingredients
- snow peas
- and/or sugar snap peas
Instructions
- Prepare fresh peas: rinse in cool water and snap off the ends, gently pulling along the pod to remove the tough string (if there is one.)
- If desired, roughly chop the peas into one-two inch pieces. This is optional, but I think this is a good size for stir frys and stews.
- Prepare a large pot of boiling water and a large bowl of ice water.
- Drop 2-3 handfuls of peas into the boiling water and blanch for 90 seconds.
- Remove peas with a slotted spoon or drain into a colander and immediately plunge them into the ice bath to stop the cooking. Let them chill out for one to two minutes.
- Strain out the cooled peas, spread them out on a dish towel, and pat dry. Or, for faster drying, I also like to give them a whirl in a salad spinner.
- Pack the dried pods into freezer bags, removing as much of the air as you can. (Remember to label the bags with the date!) Pop them into the freezer and enjoy the taste of early summer all year long!
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This is great. I wanted to order a large amount of sugar snap peas while they are still in season and did not know if I could freeze them. Thank you so much for taking the time to create and share this very valuable video!
sugarsnappealoversRus
You are very welcome! “sugarsnappealoversRus” hahaha! 😀
I am a bargain hunter! I was at our local Harris Teeter grocery store and checked out the reduced price produce. I bought a BIG bag(64 oz) of snow peas and a BIG bag(81 oz) of tomatoes! Each bag cost $2 – what a bargain when the same store usually has snow peas for $3.99/lb. I told my sister that if she came over to my house she could have a bunch. She’s too tired, so I am sitting here wondering how in the world one person can eat that much! Did a search on freezing snow peas & saw your site about blanching, drying, and freezing! Sounds like just what I need to do, rather than using what i can and letting the rest go bad.
Now I just need to figure out what to do with all those very ripe tomatoes 🙂
Wow! Nice score, Joanne! Thanks for sharing. When I don’t have time to deal with canning tomatoes, I like to freeze them, too! You can just rinse and hull them and pop them straight into the freezer. When you take them out to use, the skin will slip right off after a few minutes. It’s a huge time (and tomato) saver. I didn’t do a blog post about it, but here is a short video I made about how to freeze tomatoes without blanching or peeling! https://youtu.be/T6oktgq3E8I
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I followed your directions today and put up enough snap peas for winter. Here’s a suggestion: I placed the blanched peas on a cookie sheet and placed them in a freezer for a few hours and then put them in freezer bags so they would be loose and not stick together id there was any moisture. I do this with berries too. I used a utensil I have for lifting out fried food to remove larger quantities of peas from the boiling water. Very satisfying afternoon! Thanks for the help.
Apologies for my belated reply! This is a great tip, thanks for sharing! I also do this with berries and it’s perfect for the peas as well. I didn’t get nearly as many peas as I hoped this season from my garden so I am jealous of your freezer stash already! I might try to plant them again in a few weeks and try to get a second fall harvest of snap & snow peas!