National Center for Home Food Preservation

We just got a used freezer yesterday (very big, very cheap; so what if it's not fashionable or pristine?), and I'm on a quest to figure out how to properly freeze just all sorts of things (as well as pointers on what foods just don't freeze well, no matter what you do). The National Center for Home Food Preservation website has tips on that - plus how-tos on canning, curing and smoking, drying, fermenting, pickling, and making jams and jelly.

Here's a counter-intuitive tip from their section on freezing animal products:

Cured meats such as ham and bacon can only be frozen for a short period of time (1 to 3 months) because the salt in them hastens rancidity.

I thought the salt was a preservative? Hmmm. This calls for further research, I think.

I almost never freeze fresh veggies because commercially frozen vegatables are so cheap and, for that matter, are usually better quality than the fresh veggies at our local grocery store. But, for those of you who want to try it, the discouraging information is that:

Blanching (scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time) is a must for almost all vegetables to be frozen. It stops enzyme actions which can cause loss of flavor, color and texture.

[snip]

Blanching time is crucial and varies with the vegetable and size. Underblanching stimulates the activity of enzymes and is worse than no blanching. Overblanching causes loss of flavor, color, vitamins and minerals. Follow recommended blanching times...

I wish I knew who started the myth that homemaking is unskilled labor...