Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

-------------------STOPPING THE SPOILERS------------------------

Extreme cold, and that means temperatures of zero degrees F or lower,
is what stops the growth of the microorganisms in or around food that
can cause spoilage. Zero temperatures also slow down enzyme activity
and oxidation, which are chemical changes affecting the color,
flavor, and texture of food. Although cold doesn't kill off these
spoilers the way heating at high temperatures for canning does,
freezing halts their activity during the time the food is stored.
There are five major spoilers that can affect frozen food if it isn't
handled properly.

1. Bacteria, yeasts, and molds are normally present in all fresh
foods. When these begin to multiply rapidly, spoilage occurs. You can
stop these spoilers in their tracks by using the highest quality
vegetables and other foods, by preparing them under the most sanitary
conditions, and by storing food at the specified, very cold
temperatures.

2. Enzymes, also normally present in all food, work to bring about
chemical changes in it. These changes result in spoilage unless
enzyme activity is stopped before food is frozen. Enzymes can destroy
the fresh flavor of vegetables and cause them to take on an off
color. You can stop enzyme activity by blanching vegetables before
freezing them.

3. Freezer burn affects foods that haven't been wrapped carefully
enough. If exposed surfaces on the food come in contact with the dry
air of the freezer, moisture is lost, and dry, tough surfaces
develop. You can control freezer burn by using moisture/vaporproof
packaging materials that are airtight when sealed.

4. Large ice crystals occur when food isn't frozen quickly enough.
Quick freezing means storing foods at zero degrees F or even sub zero
temperatures. If foods freeze too slowly, moisture from the cells in
the food fibers forms ice crystals between the fibers, and the
product loses liquid and may darken. Quick freezing at zero
temperatures locks the cells in the food fiber in their proper places.

5. Oxidation is a chemical change that occurs when frozen foods are
exposed to oxygen. The oxygen reacts chemically with other substances
in the foods to create changes that affect the quality of that food.
To prevent loss of quality due to oxidation, fill and seal your
freezer containers correctly and carefully.

Source: Vegetable Gardening Encyclopedia Typos by Dorothy Flatman 1995
Submitted By DOROTHY FLATMAN On 09-28-95

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