Want your veggies to stay crisp for a long time? Chef shares guide for freezing vegetables

We should all be eating vegetables in this day and age, but don’t you just hate how easily they go bad, even if you store them in a chiller?

One way to preserve the freshness of your favorite veggies is freezing them, and we asked celebrity Chef Nino Logarta how it’s done.

^{Chef Nino Logarta}

To prolong the life of your veggies and avoid leaving the house to buy more, here's what you should do:

1. Wash them properly. Most fruits and vegetables go bad because of damage caused by microorganisms such as bacteria. Nobody wants to find creepy crawlies in your leafy greens.

2. Cut them to your desired size. Apart from obvious storage reasons, cutting up vegetables into portions before freezing them will make them ready for use anytime.

3. Blanche them. Briefly submerge your veggies into boiling water, then cool them down in running water or an ice bath to stop the cooking process. It seems like a lot of work, but blanching is an important step as it cleanses the surface of vegetables of dirt and microorganisms.

4. Dry them out. You can help hard vegetables dry by patting them down after draining. Sturdy, leafy vegetables can also be wrung.

5. Store in proper air-tight bags. Chef Nino has a tip to help keep your freezer organized: Label the bags, along with production dates.

Of course, frozen vegetables would need to be cooked before being served, and Chef Nino would not recommend leafy vegetables for fresh salads.

But pulling out a bag from the freezer for stir-fry and other ulam dishes is better than a frequent dash to the supermarket while your area is under enhanced community quarantine.

Chef Nino also shared recipe for easy-to-make Bibimbap for your quarantine cravings. Check it out here.

—JCB, GMA News