Come September, Minnesotans don’t usually like to talk about freezing — unless we’re talking about thawing brats or making ice for another cool beverage in the back yard. But late summer and early fall is the season to gather and preserve fresh produce items for the upcoming wintry months. Below you’ll learn the best veggies and fruits to freeze so you can assemble a delicious stash for winter. For simplicity and speed, it’s tough to beat freezing for preserving the local harvest. Plus, you probably already have all the tools you need to get started — just stop by the co-op and pick up your produce.

Most vegetables will need to be blanched before freezing to cleanse the surface of dirt and organisms and stop the enzymes that reduce flavor. Follow the recommended blanching times from the National Center of Food Preservation on the right (image is below). Shave blanched sweet corn at its prime into freezer bags to use for the perfect side dish this Thanksgiving. Freeze tomatoes whole, separated from one another on a cookie sheet. Come New Year’s Eve or Super Bowl Sunday, when you’re ready to make a very special salsa or chili, thaw, slide the skins right off and prep, as needed.

It may be tempting to simply leave fruit as is and freeze, but the best practice is to prep the fruit for how you intend to use it. Otherwise you could end up with a solid undistinguishable fruit brick. Begin by washing and drying the fruit. Once apples and pears are peeled and cored, pits are removed from stone fruits, strawberries are hulled, and the rinds are removed from melons freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet. For later use in Thanksgiving pies, chunks or wedges work best. A rough chop for back-to-school smoothies is great. When the fresh fruit season seems too far away, you’ll be thankful for the frozen summer fruit morsels tucked away in the freezer.

How to $ave

Did you know we offer discounts on case quantities ordered in advance — 10 percent off for owners and 5 percent off for non-owners. Another tip for saving money on bulk purchases is to stock up on sale items. Some of the best deals are on Fridays during #FarmFreshFridays, when three to five produce items are on sale for 25 percent off. Follow us on social media for #FarmFreshFridays deals.

Tips:

• Start with the freshest produce possible.
• Portion vegetables into individual portions and store in a larger bag so you can just grab what you need when you need it.
• To freeze herbs, either blend in olive oil or place in water and freeze in ice cube trays.
• Build your own smoothie pack recipe for the perfect back-to-school breakfast: 2–3 cups fruit, 1 cup greens (optional). Add 1 cup of liquid (water, coconut water, juice, milk) then blend.
  • Work fast, as defrosted fruit will stick together once frozen resulting in a giant ice block.
  • Boost your smoothie’s nutrition by adding chia or flax seeds.
  • Freeze yogurt in ice cube trays to add to smoothie packs.

Getting dinner on the table and lunches packed can be stressful as the back-to-school tensions and schedules resume. Soon, you may find yourself longing for the easy, breezy days of summer where you could minimally prepare whatever produce looked and smelled the freshest and throw whatever the butcher recommended onto the grill. However, there is still time to capitalize on the harvest before fall marches into winter and while the days are still a little longer. So, we invite you to try your hand at these DIY snacks and make-ahead meals sure to make packing lunches and weeknight meals a cinch.

DIY Snacks

Veggie Chips — Dried vegetables are the perfect addition to any otherwise mundane winter casserole or soup, but have you ever eaten them as a snack or chip alternative? We encourage you to try out a variety of vegetable chips and decide which is your favorite — you may never buy potato chips again.

Fruit Snacks — Dried fruit is delicious on its own as a healthy after-school or post-workout snack, as well as a welcome addition to granola, cereal or yogurt.

Fruit Leathers — Kids and adults alike love fruit leathers, and there are many advantages to drying them yourself at home. Making your own allows you to control the sugar content, saves you money, and provides another healthy-choice snack option for busy families on the go.

Make-ahead Meals

Stretch the harvest with these make-ahead meal ideas — no recipe needed! We see some of the most flavorful fruits and vegetables pass through our Produce department. Our meats are sourced from sustainable farmers and producers — many of whom we know by name. Whenever you need an expert opinion, touch base with our eager-to-help cheese monger for advice or a recommendation!

Quiche

Egg dishes are no longer just for breakfast. All you need to do is pick up the essentials: pre-made frozen pie crust (prepare according to instructions), six eggs, and a ½-pint carton of heavy cream. Then, the rest is easy. Combine with your favorite filling, then bake at 375 F for 30–40 minutes. Allow to cool and then freeze for up to 2–3 months or enjoy immediately. If filling with meat, be sure to brown the meat before adding to quiche.

Pizza

Pizza can be an easy way to get servings of all the food groups. You’ll need a strong foundation on which to build your pizza, so swing by the Grocery aisles and pick up pizza crust, sauce (marinara, alfredo or pesto), and a Seward-made, fresh mozzarella ball. If topping with meat, be sure to use cured meats or brown the meat before freezing.

Smoothie Bags

A great way to get kids (and adults) to eat their fruits and vegetables is to blend the produce up in a smoothie! Build your own smoothie packs with this general formula: combine 2–3 cups of fruit (fresh or frozen), 1 cup of greens, 1 cup of liquid (water, coconut water, juice, milk or yogurt); then blend. Stop by our Bulk section for chia or flax seeds to add a boost of protein and fiber. Pro tip: freeze yogurt in ice cube trays to add to smoothie packs.

As we enter into the month of March many of us are craving tropical fruits and the warm, sweet sunshine they bring to our kitchens. I am reminded every year by Travis, the produce manager at our Franklin store, that March is mango month. I then remind him that mangoes don’t really come into season until April or May and that we should call it “May-ngo” month instead. I like his catch phrase “March On Mangoes” though, because at this time of year, I really feel like I’m just “marching on”; waiting for spring to come, waiting for local farmers to start selling their first harvests, waiting for the days to get longer and the air to become fragrant with tree blossoms.

Mangoes are one of the world’s most popular fruits and there are hundreds of varieties, yet we are only fortunate enough to sample a few here in Minnesota. The types of mangoes that come through our doors are: Tommy Atkins, Kent, Keitt, Ataulfo, and if we’re really lucky, the Francique mango from Haiti.

Tommy Atkins, Kent and Keitt mangoes are rounded and green to golden red skinned. When ripe, the fruit is sweet and luscious.

Ataulfo Mangoes, also known as champagne mangoes, are oblong with a smooth skin ranging from greenish to deep golden. The smooth, custardy flesh is piney sweet, sometimes accented with a bit of a tang.

A related variety, the Francique, comes from Haiti tasting musky sweet. These mangoes are Haiti’s top export crop and, in some areas, represent a solution to the country’s massive deforestation problem – if small farmers can sell export-quality fruit from grafts on weed-mango trees, they won’t chop the trees and sell them for charcoal. We hope to see some this season.

Pick a mango by its smell and feel. A ripe mango will smell exciting, and will give when you press it very gently, like a peach. Ripen mangoes by leaving them on the counter in a paper bag or with a banana. Whatever you do, don’t refrigerate them! This discolors the flesh and leaches out the flavor. If you cut one that’s gray inside, it’s probably been chilled. Mostly, skin color doesn’t indicate ripeness; sometimes what’s green on the outside is sunshiny orange inside.

Mangoes complement many foods including: ice cream, soft cheese, fish and seafood, chicken, and black bean soup, to name a few. They can be diced and added to salsas, mixed with banana and papaya for a tropical salad, or blended into smoothies. Mango chutney is a classic condiment for Indian meals. While most people love the mango for its sweetness, you can eat them even when green. Sprinkled with chili powder and lime juice, they taste a lot like pickles.

Most mangoes that come from outside the US are dipped in a hot water bath. Mangoes hate this! They are dipped in this hot water bath to remove a potentially invasive fruit fly species that are prevalent in certain areas of Mexico and South America. It changes the texture and flavor-which is why we are always especially excited when we can source undipped mangoes. The Baja region doesn’t have these types of fruit flies, so they are usually undipped when they sourced from that region. Once ripe, they are especially sweet and juicy. Undipped mangoes are only available infrequently, so indulge!