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How to freeze cauliflower for the winter
The abundance of frozen vegetables on store shelves does not exclude the need for homemade preparations, including already prepared sets for soup or stews. However, it is more convenient to figure out how to freeze kale for the winter separately, like other vegetables, and use them as needed, creating mixtures for each dish.
How to freeze cabbage: what to choose for harvesting and how to prepare it?
Preference in the preparation of frozen vegetables should be given to those products that are not on sale in winter or are too expensive. Seasonal vegetables are chosen for freezing during the period of their maximum ripeness, except for those cases when “milk ripeness” is required – for example, for zucchini and squash.
Cauliflower in the freezer for the winter to prepare various dishes
Before freezing, vegetables are thoroughly washed, dried and cut into pieces that are convenient for cooking. So, cauliflower and broccoli are disassembled into inflorescences, Brussels sprouts are separated from the petiole, celery and lettuce stalks, leeks are cut into small pieces, greens are chopped finely or coarsely. For zucchini and eggplants, as well as squash, two cutting options are accepted – in circles and cubes, straws, depending on how they are planned to be used further.
Bell peppers can be chopped or prepared for stuffing whole, tomatoes are chopped or mashed for further use in sauces
Of all the varieties of cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and kohlrabi are the most convenient. It is not accepted to freeze white and red cabbage, Chinese cabbage: they change the taste and texture too much after freezing.
How to freeze cauliflower?
There are two possible preparation options here:
- raw – the vegetable is thoroughly washed, disassembled into inflorescences of about the same size, dried on a paper or regular towel and folded into a bag or other container for freezing. Optimal use of vacuum packaging;
- pre-boiled until half cooked – already boiled inflorescences are dried here, and when packing you should be extremely careful so that the vegetables do not turn into an unappetizing mess. For the same purpose, it is advisable to boil the product not to softness, but to preserve a light crunch.
Both cabbage varieties can be used in a wide variety of dishes, from stews and soups to batter buds.
How to freeze cabbage and how to cook it in winter
It should be noted the difference between cooking boiled and raw cauliflower. After removing it from the freezer, it is not necessary to defrost the raw one, you can immediately put it in the cooking dish. As the temperature of a soup or stew drops dramatically after adding frozen food, the cooking time must be adjusted accordingly.
For a dish such as cauliflower in batter, the prepared boiled and frozen inflorescences are thawed, since otherwise the batter will not be held on the surface of the vegetables during frying.
Also useful recipes: how to freeze bell peppers