Blanching and flash-freezing vegetables to keep them fresh makes summer cooking more convenient

On hot summer days, when appetites are poor, many people prefer light meals and salads to improve the taste. The Agriculture and Food Agency of the Council of Agriculture worked with 32 outlets, including the New Taipei City Farmers' Association, the Taitung County Farmers' Association and Mama Fish Wild Seafood Supermarket, to put a variety of frozen vegetables on the shelves, such as tri-color corn kernels and broccoli. Chen Wen-te, deputy minister of the Council of Agriculture, said, "Frozen vegetables have good nutritional value and are convenient to cook with," and they can also help regulate the production season and avoid price fluctuations in agricultural products. He suggested that people should break the stereotype that "only fresh is best."

The Chialu Fruit and Vegetable Production Cooperative, which has been processing frozen vegetables for 15 years, contracts with hundreds of farming households in Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan every year to grow vegetable crops. Person in charge Su Sang-yi said, "All products are made from fresh vegetables that are harvested, blanched within 45 minutes, and flash-frozen at minus 60 degrees C." Take corn as an example: the cooperative first removes the husks, then uses a machine to shell the kernels, blanches them, pre-cools them in ice water, and flash-freezes them. After freezing is complete, black kernels and some corn cobs are removed by hand before the product is packaged and put on the market.

Simply thaw the frozen vegetables you want to eat slightly, put them in a jar, drizzle with sesame dressing, salad oil or Caesar dressing, and they are ready to eat, convenient and healthy.