processing cauliflower to freeze

Your frozen cauliflower will be yummier (not to mention more economical) all winter than the heads you’ll see in the grocery store. Buy a big case of cauliflower from a farmer in the early fall, and spend an afternoon processing it! It saves lots of time in the winter, when it’s just like fast food--thaw it out and make any of the recipes on the website--or use your own favorite recipes!

a case of cauliflower

1. Using a stout paring knife, trim out the thick stem of the cauliflowers and discard.
2. Cut the heads into bite-sized florets.
3. Fill the biggest pot you have with water, bring it to a boil, and salt it well. Spread some large towels out on your counter top.
4. Dump a batch of cauliflower into the boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or maybe longer (it depends upon how much cauliflower you put in at once, and how hot your burner is) until just tender-crisp. Test with a sharp paring knife, and with your teeth.
5. Scoop the florets out, shake the extra water off, and spread them out on the towels in a single layer. If you can, have a couple of windows open to help the cauliflower cool and dry. Spreading the cauliflower on towels like this stops it cooking immediately, and dries it nicely by evaporation.
6. When completely cool, put the cauliflower in freezer ziploc bags, in whatever portions you like to cook at once.
7. Repeat with the rest of the florets until you’ve worked your way through the whole case. Then freeze the bags!
8. When you want to eat cauliflower, just thaw out a bag, drain off the water, and proceed with whatever recipe you want. I have several great cauliflower recipes in the South Anchorage Farmers’ Market Cookbook—any of them will work wonderfully with broccoli from the freezer. Or you can search for other broccoli recipes on this website--they will all work, too!