The best recipes for how to properly freeze cauliflower at home for the winter

The human body constantly needs vitamins and minerals. If in the summer there are no problems with this, in the winter the situation changes dramatically. The way out of this situation is to freeze foods that are healthy for the body and add them to food in winter. One of these products is cauliflower - a dietary product containing a large amount of useful substances. Let's figure out how to freeze cauliflower for the winter at home, and learn all the nuances of its preservation.

Is it possible to freeze cauliflower for the winter?

Every housewife who wants to stockpile supplies for the winter wants to know how to do this with maximum benefit, and what methods are best not to use. Speaking about cauliflower, I would like to advise you not to store it in the cellar. The vegetable will quickly spoil, and you will not be able to eat it all winter.

The best way to preserve cauliflower is to freeze it in the freezer. This option will not harm the product and will retain all its beneficial properties in full. To do this, you must adhere to the general rules, and you will be able to eat cabbage not only in winter, but also in spring.

Features of freezing cauliflower

Freezing cauliflower has its own nuances, which, first of all, depend on what dishes you are going to use it in. For example:

1. The cabbage that you will later use to make soup can be frozen whole.
2. It is better to divide the product used for frying and stewing into equal parts in advance and send them to the freezer in this form.

Another feature on which the further appearance of the product will depend is freezing raw or after heat treatment:

1. Boiled cabbage will retain its original color and texture well, but will lose some of its nutrients.
2. When frozen, the raw product will become less dense and its color will become darker. The advantage of this method is that all the nutrients are retained in the vegetable in full.

Note! The standard is considered to be cutting cauliflower into individual inflorescences, the diameter of which is 3 centimeters.

How to choose and prepare correctly

Housewives who did not grow the product themselves, but purchased it in a store, should pay attention to its quality and appearance. You can choose a good vegetable based on the following rules:

1. The vegetable must be clean and there should be no signs of rotting on its surface.
2. A good product will be white in color, with slight yellowish tints.
3. It is better to leave cabbage, the inflorescences of which are not adjacent to each other, on the counter and choose another, more dense-looking vegetable.
4. Take the product in your hands and feel its heaviness. Too light weight, which does not correspond to the size, indicates that growth accelerators were used during cultivation. You shouldn’t expect any special juiciness from such a vegetable.
5. Occurs cauliflower variety, the inflorescences of which are green. This is normal, and you should not be afraid of such a vegetable.

Place store-bought vegetables in salt water for a few minutes. This way you will get rid of insects that may be hiding on the stems and between the inflorescences.

Preparing the refrigerator

At freezing vegetables Pay attention to the following nuances that will allow you to preserve the product for a long period of time without losing its beneficial properties:

1. Make sure you have enough free space in your freezer. It is advisable that there be at least 8 liters of free space per 2 kilograms of vegetables. When stored under such conditions, the vegetable will not be damaged, which will have a positive effect on the shelf life and its benefits during defrosting.
2. The temperature maintained in the freezer should not fall below - 19.This will allow the cabbage to retain its beneficial properties from six months to 9 months, depending on the quality of the product.

Best Ways to Freeze Cauliflower

Preparing vegetables for the winter season can be done in several different ways. The most optimal are:

• frozen fresh, without blanching;
• freezing a product that has previously undergone a blanching process.

For storage it is best to use:

• plastic bags;
• special plastic containers.

Other methods are not suitable for long-term storage of cauliflower, and it is better to refrain from using them.

Quick freezing without blanching

In order to freeze fresh vegetables, you must:

1. Wash the product. This must be done carefully so that dirt and other debris do not get into your food.
2. Remove leaves and damaged areas.
3. Place the vegetable in salted water. This way you will get rid of insects that may be hiding in inflorescences and other hard-to-reach places.
4. Separate the florets from the thick stem if you wish to freeze it in sections.
5. Before packaging, all vegetable mass must be thoroughly dried. It is advisable to use a towel for this purpose.
6. Pack the product in portions in special boxes or plastic bags.

This method is used to preserve maximum vitamins. If you are not looking for the benefits of the product and it is important to you that the cabbage does not darken during freezing, blanch it.

In bags or barrels

Preparing the vegetables is half the battle. In addition to the preparation process, they must be packaged correctly. The best way to do this is to package the mass in plastic bags or barrels.They reliably preserve the product while we freeze it and prevent the penetration of unpleasant odors and other unnecessary substances. Experts advise pumping out the air from the bags. This will prevent excess ice from appearing in the container itself and in the freezer. In this regard, kegs are a more versatile means, and some are already equipped with vacuum lids.

Boil in salted water

Cabbage boiled in salted water is prepared as follows:

1. The head of cabbage is washed with plenty of clean water.
2. Leaves and damaged areas are removed.
3. The head of cabbage is cut into individual inflorescences. This allows the product to be processed more thoroughly.
4. It is necessary to boil the vegetable at the rate of 4 liters of liquid per 0.5 kilogram of product.
5. While your water is boiling, fill another container with water and add ice. If there is no ice and it cannot be prepared in the near future, put the container in the refrigerator.
6. Salt is added to the boiling liquid and the vegetables are sent out. Cook them for 3-5 minutes.
7. After cooking, the cabbage is immediately placed in cold water. This will preserve its texture and color.
8. Next, it needs to be dried and packaged in bags.

How and for how long is a frozen product stored?

Cauliflower can be stored:

1. In a refrigerator. The shelf life is no more than one month.
2. On the balcony, if it is sufficiently insulated - no more than 1 month.
3. In a basement or cellar, safety is ensured for three months.
4. The freezer will allow you to preserve the vegetable for 9 months. There are cases when it was possible to extend this period to 1 year.
5. Storage in other locations will depend on the ambient temperature and humidity being maintained.

Defrosting rules

You can defrost cabbage in the following ways:

• measure out the required portion and put it in the refrigerator. This approach will preserve the juiciness of the product and maximum vitamins;
• cook it without defrosting. This will preserve maximum nutrients.

Note! By defrosting vegetables at room temperature, you lose a lot of vitamins, which leave them along with the liquid.

Defrosting by immersing vegetables in water is not a good idea. You will lose a lot of vitamins and other nutrients. These tips are great not only for defrosting vegetables. In this way you can defrost berries, herbs and even fruits.