What to Do With a Glut of Vegetables
When vegetables overwhelm you, preserve them fast: freeze blanched beans, peas and zucchini; dry tomatoes, peppers and zucchini chips; pressure-can beans and soups; ferment cucumbers and cabbage; and give away or batch-cook the rest. Freezing is the quickest rescue when time is short.
Every gardener knows the feeling: one week there is nothing, the next you are hiding zucchini on the neighbours' doorsteps. Here is how to rescue a vegetable glut before it spoils, matched to how much time you have.
Fastest: freeze it
When you are overwhelmed, freezing is the quickest rescue. Blanch beans, peas, broccoli and corn briefly, then freeze; grate zucchini for baking; freeze peppers raw. Vacuum-sealing prevents freezer burn and saves space; see the best vacuum sealers and what freezes well.
Compact: dry it
Drying shrinks a glut to a fraction of its size. Tomatoes, peppers and zucchini chips all dry well; see how to dehydrate vegetables and the best dehydrators.
Pantry: can or ferment
Pressure-can low-acid vegetables (beans, soups) to tested recipes; see green beans. Or ferment cucumbers into pickles and cabbage into sauerkraut, delicious ways to use a surplus.
Use it now, too
- Batch-cook sauces, soups and ratatouille, then freeze in portions.
- Give some away, share the bounty.
- Match the method to the vegetable; see how to preserve a garden harvest for a crop-by-crop guide.
The takeaway
A glut only goes to waste if you let it. Freeze fast when busy, dry and can when you have time, and a wall of zucchini becomes months of good eating.
Frequently asked questions
What can I do with too much zucchini?
Freeze it grated (for baking) or sliced, dry it into chips, or bulk it into batch-cooked meals and sauces to freeze. Zucchini is high-water, so it freezes and dries better than it cans.
How do I preserve a vegetable glut quickly?
Freezing is fastest, blanch briefly and freeze. Drying and canning take longer but store at room temperature. Work in small batches as things ripen.
Can I freeze vegetables without blanching?
Some (onions, peppers) freeze fine raw; most others keep better colour and texture with a quick blanch first. When truly short on time, freeze anyway and use them cooked.