Everyone has told me that once as bag of veggies is freezer-burned that it's no good, and you'll have to throw it out. This is not true! There is one thing you can do with freezer burned veggies and that's make homemade veggie soup.
What you do is run warm water into the bag and let it sit until all the freezer burn and frozen water has melted. Now rinse the veggies off with fresh, clean water several times You can use a colander if you like, but I just poke several holes in the bottom of the bag and run tap water through the bag.
Then just put the veggies in your favorite type of soup stock and use a lot of flavoring; like onion, garlic, soy sauce, Italian seasoning and bouillon. You won't taste the freezer-burn.
By Cyinda from near Seattle
I also like to do that but take it one step further. I purree the veggies with some water and use if for a soup base.
Here is a tip I learned a long time ago that might help prevent freezer burn all together.
By getting cheap zip lock bags at the Dollar Tree, I double bag the veggies (meat, soup, leftovers, etc.). That way, the one inside can keep the veggies fresh, and the second bag (needs to be the next bigger size), keeps that air out. Then, inside the outer bag, I put a piece of paper (recycled junk mail works perfect!) that tells me the date I put it in. No more lost food!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Is there any nifty way to remove the freezer flavor that sometimes gets into frozen veggies? Thanks!
Stephanie from Anchorage, Alaska
Here's what I do; I slit the bag about an inch from the top, across the bag for about 2-4 inches. Then I hang the bag over the faucet in the hole I cut, I run water (hot or cold) into the bag till it doesn't over flow. Then with a sharp knife I stab the bag, as many times as I want to. I do this near the bottom first and then more times farther up the bag, refilling the bag with water several times.
Of course you can put the veggies in a bowl, add water, swish around and drain in a colander, dirtying a bowl and colander.
After veggies have been drained you can taste the raw thawed veggies to check flavor. Also pick any discolored ones out. Or choose to throw them away.
I sprinkle on lemon juice, maybe a teaspoon, to freshen the taste of a bag of frozen vegetables.
If you rinse the frost crystals off first then cook they have a better flavor. Do not just heat them up! But cook like fresh veggies and season like regular food. Enjoy!
