Freezing fresh Broccoli -?!
Freezing fresh Broccoli -?
what's the best method to do it?
Answers:
Yes blanch them for about 4 minutes in boiling water and then rapidly cool them down in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and then you can freeze them. Oh make sure you pat them dry. Also make sure you peel down the hard stems.
Remove leaves and woody portions. Separate heads into convenient-size sections and immerse in brine (4 teaspoons salt to 1 gallon water) for 30 minutes to remove insects. Split lengthwise so flowerets are no more than 1 1/2 inches across.
Water blanch 3 minutes in boiling water or steam blanch 5 minutes.
Cool promptly, drain and package, leaving no headspace. Seal and freeze.
Cut it into flourets (bite size bits) and spread them out into one layer on a cookie sheet. Place the whole sheet in the freezer and allow them to freeze solid. After they are frozen solid, you can put them in a freezer safe bag and take them out as you need them. Be sure and write the date you froze them on the bag so you don't forget.
If you don't freeze them first on the cookie sheet, they will freeze into one big block and you'll never be able to cook them or defrost them evenly.
The other thing you could do BEFORE freezing, if you'd like them to reheat quickly is to steam them for maybe 60seconds max and then pop them in a bowl of icey water. Then dry them in a salad spinner and put them out on the cookie sheet in the freezer. That way, they'll be cooked and when you want to eat them, all you have to do is a quick defrost!
You need to blanche it lightly. Boil a pot of water, cut up the broccoli and wash it. Put it in the boiling water for only 3-5 minutes. It turns bright green pretty quick. Pour it through a colander to drain off the water.
Let it cool and then freeze it in a ziploc. Or if you want the pieces to not clump together when freezing them, you need to spread them out on a pan and freeze them, then bag them up in a freezer ziploc.