Progress brought to our homes a great thing - a refrigerator. Yes, not just a refrigerator, but an aggregate with a full possibility of freezing. We no longer need to wait for the cold weather to freeze dumplings or slices. In summer, we can put our favorite fruits and vegetables into treasured boxes. How to freeze cauliflower and other garden delights, we will tell you further.
We know from childhood (thanks to school) that water crystallizes and expands during freezing. As a result, a small “explosion” can occur if the liquid was in an enclosed space, so we freeze the ice either in open containers or in plastic bags that can stretch. It is this nuance that affects so much the process of how to freeze cauliflower, mushrooms, berries or fruits, since they all consist mostly of water. Moreover, defrosting also depends on this.
For example, berries and greens are very watery. Naturally, crystallized juice will tear apart all cell walls. During defrosting, it will flow out, turning once beautiful fruits into an incomprehensible puddle. If you decide to use frozen products in the recipe, then add them to the dish unfrozen, then all the valuable will go into food.
So, the rules for freezing products depend on the laws of physics. Some of the vegetables will suit the usual, and some will need additional processing.
Accordingly, the question arises: is it possible to freeze cauliflower without additional processing? Practice shows that yes, but some housewives recommend lightly boiling the vegetable in boiling salt water (blanch). The only condition for any type of freezing: the product must be exceptionally dry!
How to freeze cauliflower and other vegetables
Disassemble a head of cabbage for inflorescences and rinse in running water. Let the vegetable dry well, and then send it to the freezer. It is advisable to arrange all the inflorescences in one row, then they will not stick to each other and not fall apart in the future. After the inflorescences are frozen, they can be transferred to a plastic container or plastic bag, and stored in the freezer until the right time.
We know how to freeze cauliflower, so let's try to process sweet bell peppers, tomatoes, peas and mushrooms in this way. All vegetables are peeled, washed, cut into portions and dried thoroughly. Only after that they are sent to freeze, and then laid out in containers.
Potatoes, eggplant and beans perfectly retain their qualities after freezing, only if they have been pre-processed before. Vegetables can be slightly blanched in boiling water or vegetable oil.
Besides the question of how to freeze cauliflower, the following is no less interesting: how many vegetables are stored in this form? Properly processed foods can be held in your freezer for up to six months, with the exception of those that were cooked with added oil. As practice shows, after three months, vegetables significantly lose their taste, although the quality and benefits remain the same. Experts recommend using unfrozen vegetables when cooking, because in this case all the juices and nutrients will remain in the finished dish.