processing broccoli to freeze

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freezing broccoli processing

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Your frozen broccoli will be tastier, even thawed from frozen, than anything you can buy in the wintertime in the grocery store—even the “fresh” stuff. Just think, if you freeze the vegetables in late summer or fall, they will still be locally-grown when you thaw them out in February!! I buy 20-pound cases of broccoli from the farmers at our market in the early fall, and spend an afternoon processing. It saves me lots of time in the winter, when all I have to do is grab a bag out of the freezer! My family eats through three cases in the winter, but I have lots of space in my chest freezer to store it all, so buy your broccoli accordingly.

a case of broccoli

1. Cut about a ¼” off the stem end of each head of broccoli, and peel most of the skin from the bottoms of the stalks of broccoli, using a paring knife and starting from the bottom of the stem. The thick skin will peel away easily from the outside of the stalk.
2. Slice the stalks into coins about ¼” thick and put them all into a bowl. Cut the florets into bite-sized pieces and put them in a separate bowl from the stems.
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 countertop.
4. Dump a batch of broccoli into the boiling water (either stalks or florets, but not both at once). Cook for 3-4 minutes, or maybe 5 for the stalks, until just tender-crisp. Test with a sharp paring knife.
5. Scoop the broccoli out, shake the extra water off, and spread it out on the towels in a single layer. If you can, have a couple of windows open to help the broccoli cool and dry. Spreading the broccoli on towels like this stops it cooking immediately, and dries it nicely by evaporation.
6. When completely cool, put the broccoli in freezer ziploc bags, in whatever portions you like to cook at once. Keep the florets and stalks in separate bags. I like to freeze the sliced stalks separately, since they work so well for roasting, later.
7. Repeat with the rest of the florets and stalks until you’ve worked your way through the whole case. Then freeze the bags!
8. When you want to eat broccoli, just thaw out a bag and proceed with whatever recipe you want. I have several great broccoli 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!