Can You Freeze Mangetout?

Mangetout is a delicious vegetable that is a great accompaniment to many dishes. It can be served as it is or flavored with mint or thyme. Add it to a salad or use it in a stir fry. It is a great addition to a Thai green curry or Hoisin beef.

Mangetout has great nutritional benefits and contains considerable amounts of folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin K, and thiamin. Because you can eat them whole, you will get a good dose of fiber as well as vitamins A and C.

Perhaps you grow mangetout in your garden and have a glut of them or maybe they’re on sale in the store. Is there a way you can keep the excess without it spoiling? Well, yes there is. You can freeze mangetout and in this article, we will tell you how to do this.

How To Freeze Mangetout

It is very important that you blanch your mangetout before you freeze it. This ensures that the mangetout keeps all the nutrients. Blanching also helps the mangetout retain taste and texture.

1. Prepare the mangetout.

Top and tail the mangetout but don’t remove the pod as that is also edible.

2. Prepare for blanching.

Get a pan of water and bring the water to boiling point. Make sure that you have a bowl of ice-cold water on hand.

3. Blanch the mangetout.

Blanch the mangetout for two minutes. Drain the mangetout and plunge it into the bowl of cold water for 90 seconds.

4. Flash freeze the mangetout.

Get a baking tray and put a sheet of parchment paper on it. Lay out the mangetout, making sure that they aren’t touching each other. This will ensure that they won’t stick together when they are bagged up. Put them in the freezer and freeze. It should take a couple of hours as they are thin.

5. Put the mangetout in a freezer bag.

Make sure that you squeeze out all the air so that freezer burn doesn’t occur. If it does, your mangetout will lose taste and texture. Don’t fill the bag right up to the top as the mangetout will expand when frozen. If you want, you can divide the mangetout into meal-size portions and put in separate freezer bags. Put a label on the bags with the date frozen.

6. Freeze.

Tips For Freezing Mangetout

Blanch the mangetout. You can skip this step but we don’t advise it as nutrients and texture will be lost. It only takes a few minutes to do, so it is worth the extra effort.
Squeeze out the air from the freezer bags so that freezer burn doesn’t occur.
You can freeze mangetout with other vegetables, so you have an interesting side dish to serve at a dinner party. Vegetables that freeze well with mangetout include sugar snap peas, garden peas, runner beans, French beans, sweetcorn, and kale.
If you are making a dish like a stir fry, you can add them straight to the dish without defrosting.

For How Long Can You Freeze Mangetout?

Mangetout lasts for ages in the freezer as do most vegetables. You can keep mangetout in the freezer for up to nine months. If you use vacuum-sealed containers or bags, you can keep the mangetout in the freezer for up to fourteen months. However, the sooner you eat it, the better it will taste.

How Do You Defrost Mangetout?

It is best to defrost mangetout slowly as this stops bacteria from forming. Don’t put it on your countertop to defrost as this can cause it to spoil. Put it in the fridge overnight.

If you forget to do this and you want to eat your mangetout that day, there is a short cut but the mangetout may lose some texture. You can get a bowl of warm water and put your mange tout in it. It will take no time at all for the mangetout to defrost. However, you must use it straight away as it could start to spoil.

If you are using your mangetout in a dish such as a stir fry or curry, you can add the mangetout straight from the freezer. It will defrost in no time.

Can You Refreeze Mangetout?

It is safe to refreeze mangetout but the taste and texture may change. If you do decide to refreeze it, go through the steps for freezing it as you did the first time. However, it won’t last another nine months. The nine months start from the day it was first frozen. To avoid refreezing, freeze the mangetout in meal-size portions.

Mangetout tastes better if it is refrozen in a dish, so if you have leftover curry or stir fry, you can freeze them. Most dishes freeze for around three months so don’t think that you can keep the leftovers in the freezer for up to nine months just because mangetout lasts for that long in the freezer.

Is It a Good Idea To Freeze Mangetout?

Yes, it is a good idea to freeze mangetout. It is a vegetable that freezes particularly well and doesn’t lose much texture or taste. When you defrost it, it should still be a nice bright green color and will have a crispy texture. However, if you keep the mangetout in the freezer for too long, it will lose some of its nutritional value.

Frequently Asked Questions

Hopefully, you now know all there is to know about freezing mangetout but in case you still have some questions, we have answered a few here?

How do I defrost mangetout if I want to use it in a salad?

The best way to do this is by defrosting it slowly in the fridge. Mangetout salads are good with a mustard dressing or in a salad with avocado and a citrus dressing.