I stopped prepareing foods for the freezer decades ago when SIL ask why I went to so much trouble cuting,par boiling to freeze. Now I just throw the whole plant into the freezer works great with tomatoes, the skin just peels right off once put into water to thaw.I do all my fruits the same way like lemons,oranges.Taste just as good once thawed.
To avoid the extra sugar and ingredients in ice cream just sprinkle with 100% cocoa powder for chocolate ice cream flavor, its not only sugar free but chocolate is good for you. You can't tell the difference far as flavor.
I was reading yesterday that whole lemons can be frozen. Not sure why I never thought of that before; I hate to buy lemons and then they shrivel up before I use them. The article said for best results, store them in an airtight container, so I'll bag some and use the vacuum sealer. To use the frozen fruit, place the lemon(s) in cold water for about 10 minutes to thaw them. (Attn: @John Brunner )
Huh. I have bought a bag of lemons on sale, juiced and zested them, then frozen both. I also keep lemon, lime, apple and orange frozen concentrate on hand as backup. I never thought of freezing the entire fruit. With all this talk of an impending food crisis, I'm on the verge of buying another small chest freezer. Maybe I'll stock it with some fruit.
Foods frozen without blanching will be OK for a while but they will get an off taste if frozen long. I know. I tried it with corn. Blanching stops the enzyme action.
I just posted about blanching corn in another thread, mainly to stop the sugars from converting into starch. I think my neighbor freezes tomatoes rather than canning them, but I'm not sure if she goes through any prep. These days, when you buy stuff at the store, you have no idea how long it's been sitting in a gas-filled warehouse. I'm not certain if the blanching step would be required for the store-bought stuff...the enzymes may have been long-deceased.
I just posted elsewhere that although my fruit trees are covered in blossoms- where last year was an off year- what few pollinators we have around are being voraciously eaten by birds. This might be a bad fruit and veggie year.