Broccoli cabbage is an extremely healthy vegetable, rich in vitamins, fiber, valuable microelements. Broccoli is used to prepare soups, salads, side dishes, vegetable stews and many other healthy dishes. During the picking season, cabbage can be frozen - this way it will not lose its beneficial properties and will be well preserved for several months.
Broccoli: features and benefits
Nutritionists are unanimous - all varieties and types of cabbage are very healthy. They contain a minimum of calories and a large amount of valuable fiber, improve digestion, and can be used fresh, boiled, stewed, baked or fried.
The leader in the cruciferous family is undoubtedly broccoli. This vegetable is rich in vitamins B, C, E, it helps to remove toxins and heavy metals from the body. Doctors have found components in broccoli that counteract the formation and development of cancerous tumors. Cabbage is also useful for cardiovascular diseases. Broccoli is recommended by nutritionists - with a low calorie content, the product has a high nutritional value, contains vegetable proteins, and saturates well. Broccoli can be used to make healthy and tasty side dishes for meat, poultry, fish, but dense dark green inflorescences are good on their own. A classic and very simple recipe - boiled or steamed cobs with a light white sauce.
Harvesting cabbage for the winter: step by step instructions
After ripening, a significant portion of the broccoli crop is frozen. In stores, you can buy vegetable mixes in bags or by weight. Nutritionists note that when properly frozen, cabbage does not lose its beneficial properties. Those who grow this healthy vegetable or have the opportunity to buy cabbage in season should master the simple art of freezing on their own. This will save significant money, moreover, with homemade cooking, you can completely control the process and be confident in the quality of the final product.
For freezing, you need to select fully ripe heads of cabbage without rot and visible damage. Cabbage grown without the use of pesticides is much healthier and tastier. It is better to do harvesting in the middle of summer, at the end of June and July broccoli has time to accumulate all the nutrients and is completely ready for cutting.
Selected cabbage must be thoroughly rinsed in several waters. This will remove not only dust and dirt, but also traces of chemicals that have been sprayed on the seedlings. Soaking the heads of cabbage in salted water will help get rid of insect pests. Cabbage is kept in brine for 30-40 minutes, and then thoroughly rinsed with running water.
After drying from the cabbage, you need to cut off the upper leaves and tough parts of the stem. The head of cabbage is sorted into separate inflorescences. They shouldn't be too large. To freeze the cabbage evenly, it is better to divide it into equal parts.
It is convenient to store broccoli in plastic bags with tight fasteners. If there is no such container, you can use ordinary plastic bags, which are used to package breakfasts. Another option is flat plastic containers. The only drawback of such containers is their bulkiness. But cabbage is very convenient to take out of containers, and they look neat in the freezer.
After packing, the bags or containers are placed in the freezer. It is better to set the temperature to a minimum, the ideal option is a chamber with a shock freeze function. For the finished product to be stored for a long time, a temperature of about -20 degrees is required. An important condition is that the inflorescences must be dry before freezing, otherwise a lot of ice will form in the containers.
Some options for freezing broccoli: step-by-step cooking
A delicious homemade side dish - broccoli combined with cauliflower. It is easy to make, the cauliflower is disassembled into small coals, washed, soaked and dried in the same way. When packing in bags, make sure that the amount of cauliflower and broccoli is approximately the same. Other vegetables can be added to the mixture: carrot slices, green bean pods, sweet peas.
The inflorescences can be blanched before freezing. This will speed up the preparation of the side dish - the cabbage can be immediately put in a pan or placed in a slow cooker. This is the method recommended when preparing vegetables for baby food.
Making blanched cabbage is easy, but you need to follow the instructions carefully. First, the prepared cats are placed in a saucepan with boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Then they are taken out with a slotted spoon and immediately dipped in ice water, in which the juice of half a lemon is dissolved. This procedure will preserve the elasticity and beautiful dark green color of the inflorescences.
After blanching and soaking in cold water, the cabbage is laid out on a towel to dry. The next stage is filling in bags and freezing. You can blanch cabbage in a double boiler, spreading medium-sized inflorescences on a wire rack for 3-4 minutes. The broccoli is then removed, towel-dried and frozen.
Storing frozen cabbage
In order for broccoli to retain its beautiful appearance and nutritional value, even partial defrosting should not be allowed during storage. It is important to maintain a consistently low temperature in the freezer. It is advisable not to place vegetables next to meat and other strong-smelling foods.
Correctly packaged and frozen cabbage can be stored for up to 9 months. After packaging, date labels are attached to the bags. It is advisable to pack broccoli in small containers for 1 or 2 servings. It is not necessary to defrost the cabbage before cooking, the coals covered with hoarfrost can be immediately thrown into boiling water, placed in a double boiler, oven or microwave.
