Tag: Freezing

processing broccoli to freeze

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!

processing collards (collard greens) to freeze

freezing greens collards collard greens winter greens

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Collards, kale and other winter greens are perfect for freezing, because I always parboil them in salted water before I cook them in a recipe, anyway. The parboiling makes the greens tender, and the salt in the water removes bitterness. The greens keep just fine in the freezer for a whole year, packed in zipper-top freezer bags. Cook them up as braised collard greens, or in beans-and-greens soups. Look for recipes in my Farmers’ Market Cookbook!

several bunches of collard greens

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, and salt it well.
2. Cut the leaves away from the long stems of 2 or 3 bunches of collards. Stack the leaves on top of each other, folded in half lengthwise, and slice the leaves into 1” wide ribbons.
3. Plunge the greens into the pot of boiling salted water, as many will fit at one time, and cook until tender. This could take as long as 8 or 10 minutes, but could be much shorter, depending on the age or toughness of the greens. Start tasting after 5 minutes.
4. Remove the greens to a colander, rinse with cold water and let drain for a bit. Squeeze gently to remove some of the water. Transfer to a freezer ziplock bag or a recycled yogurt container (label it first) and pop it in the freezer. 

processing kale to freeze

freezing kale winter greens

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several bunches of kale—red Russian, lacinata, or curly kale

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, and salt it well.
2. Separate the leaves from the stems. If you’re using curly kale, or lacinata or black kale, you can usually just grasp the bottom of the stem firmly with one hand, then strip the leaf off the stem by pulling your clenched fist along the stem with your other hand. If this doesn’t work, though, just use a knife to cut the stem from the leaves.
3. Plunge the greens into the pot of boiling salted water, as many will fit at one time, and cook until tender. This could take as long as 8 or 10 minutes, but could be much shorter, depending on the age or toughness of the greens. Start tasting after 5 minutes.
4. Remove the greens to a colander, rinse with cold water and let drain for a bit. Squeeze gently to remove some of the water, and chop them coarsely.
5. Transfer to a freezer ziplock bag or a recycled yogurt container (label it first) and pop it in the freezer.

processing peas to freeze

freezing peas

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I buy 10 pound bags of peas in the summer, boil them VERY briefly and then freeze them to eat all winter. They are so much sweeter and have such better texture than the peas you can get frozen at the grocery store! See the note in Step 2, though, about how NOT to overcook them when you thaw them.

large bag of fresh peas
sea salt or kosher salt

1. Plunge batches of peas into boiling, salted water for 45 seconds. Scoop the peas out into cold ice water, drain, put in ziploc freezer bags, and freeze.
2. When thawing them, it’s very important to remember that the peas have already been cooked, and at their peak of tenderness. So, if you’re taking them out of the freezer, don’t add them to a soup or stew until the last minute—they will overcook if you’re not careful. To cook them, I pop them, frozen solid in a brick, into a pot of boiling water, and fish them out as soon just as they are melted apart from each other. Just keep tasting them until they are done to your liking. It won’t take very long—just a few seconds! 

processing rhubarb to freeze

freezing rhubarb

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If you have a rhubarb plant that is producing prolifically and you can’t keep up with it, you can freeze some now for the winter! First of all, it’s very important to break off the flowering stalks as they come up in the middle of your plant. The reason? After the rhubarb flowers, the plant will put all its energy into the flowers and seeds, and the stalks become tough and stringy. If you keep breaking off the flower stalks as soon as you see them (try and be vigilant), the stalks will remain tender throughout the summer (although never quite as tender as first thing in the spring!). If you watch carefully, you can enjoy yummy rhubarb crisps, breads, cakes and pies even in late summer!

1. Pull the stalks from their base, away from the plant. They will come off fairly easily, and this is better for the plant than cutting them off.
2. Cut the leaves off and the bottom ends off of the stalks, wash them, and slice into 1” pieces. It helps to have a very large, very sharp knife for this process. Sharpen it before you start. When I’m doing a lot of rhubarb to freeze, I’ll sometimes get a blister on my knife hand!
3. Pile the pieces into gallon-sized ziplock freezer bags and toss into the freezer. Yes, they will freeze into blocks, but next winter, just bang the bag hard on your counter and the pieces will separate and you can measure them out, ready for whatever rhubarb recipe your heart desires. 

processing cauliflower to freeze

cauliflower freezing processing

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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!