How to freeze cauliflower

Cauliflower is excellent for health, since its nutritional profile is very complete and it provides very few calories (barely 25 calories per 100 grams of product). When it comes to its culinary value, its versatility is remarkable, since it is used to prepare a wide variety of recipes: stews, salads, sauces, soups, creams and other foods. In addition, this vegetable provides few carbohydrates and a low glycemic index, for this reason, it serves as a substitute for pasta, rice and flour, perfect if you are on a diet or like to vary your food!

So, if you love cauliflower, want to eat healthier or want to try many recipes that contain this cruciferous, you will surely be interested in knowing how to freeze cauliflower, so you always have enough on hand. For this reason, we have prepared this article with very interesting information on this topic: the different ways to freeze cauliflower, how to thaw it and many other tricks about this preservation method. How to freeze curd or cooked cauliflower? We explain it to you!

How to freeze raw cauliflower?

Can cauliflower be frozen unbalanced or uncooked? Yes, although it is always better to apply a pre-treatment to freeze the cauliflower, you can also keep it directly raw. Of course, you should always consider that when you defrost a food without blanching or blanching, it will undergo an accelerated aging process, thus losing its sensory characteristics: smell, texture, color, flavor, etc. For this reason, cauliflower should be consumed almost immediately after thawing. That said, if you prefer to freeze fresh cauliflower, follow these easy steps:

1. Select a fresh cauliflower in good condition. If you want to freeze food successfully, you must purchase a good, quality product. In the case of this vegetable, it must have the following characteristics: the head must be firm and white, without brown spots or flaccid parts, etc. Avoid getting big heads.
2. Wash your hands very well. Wash them with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
3. Carefully clean the work surface and the utensils that you will use. For example, the table, the knife, the board, the colander, etc. Keep in mind that you must have an exclusive table to chop vegetables, this way you avoid cross contamination.
4. Before cutting the cauliflower, rinse it slightly. You only need to remove a little of the remains of dirt and dirt, since then you will disinfect it and rinse it properly.
5. Separate the head corsages. Divide the bouquets until you have several manageable pieces to wash. You can do it with a knife or with your own hands.
6. Remove the core and leaves. Remove the center or trunk of the vegetable, as well as all the leaves.
7. Submerge the bouquets in a large bowl filled with water and some food antiseptic. Stir them in the water and leave them there for 15-20 minutes. They must not float, or they will not sanitize properly. To solve this problem, put one or two sheets of absorbent paper over the water and the bouquets (cover them completely), the idea is that the paper is soaked, leaving the bouquets under the water. After the necessary time has passed, you will see how the remains of dirt come to the surface when you remove the paper. As for the disinfectant you can use, we recommend vinegar, lemon or baking soda. See How to Sanitize Vegetables for more options.
8. Discard the water and rinse the pieces very well under a stream of cold water. Let plenty of water run for a couple of minutes.
9. Drain and dry. Pass the pieces through a strainer and dry them with kitchen paper. They must be very dry or water crystals will form when frozen.
10. If the bouquets are very large, cut them into smaller pieces. It all depends on the recipes you want to prepare once the cauliflower is defrosted. If you plan to use the cauliflower for a soup or puree, you don’t need to cut it into even pieces. Instead, if you plan to prepare a side dish, cut it into balanced pieces to achieve a good presentation. Remember that if the pieces are very large, they will not freeze well, a good size for the florets would be 3 cm.
11. Store the pieces in containers designed for high temperatures. Thus, you isolate the cauliflower pieces from the cold of the freezer and from any smell. You can use plastic containers or bags, but we recommend the latter because they allow you to make a kind of homemade vacuum (although in the long run, they are not very ecological).
12. Distribute the portions in several containers. Thus, you only defrost what you will consume immediately.
13. If you use a bag, get all the air out. An interesting trick you can try is to use a straw to get the air out. The procedure is simple, place the bag on the work table and insert the straw through one corner. Fill the bag with the vegetables, close the zipper to where the straw is, and push the air out through the straw by squashing the empty parts of the bag. Once ready, remove it and close.
14. Label the container or bag. Write the name of the vegetable and the packaging date.
15. Distribute the bags in the freezer leaving space between them.

The shelf life of frozen raw cauliflower is 1 to 2 months.

How to freeze cooked cauliflower?

Without a doubt, one of the best ways to freeze cauliflower at home is this. When we refer to how to freeze cooked cauliflower, we are talking about pre-cooked cauliflower or cauliflower treated with a previous process known as blanching (they can also be blanched). This culinary technique consists of cooking food for very short minutes in boiling or steamed water. Its purpose is to stop the enzymatic activity, which causes the degradation or aging of the food (those that change its color, flavor, texture and its nutrients). Freezing boiled cauliflower is very simple and can be summarized in a few steps:

1. Choose a good quality cauliflower.
2. Keep everything very clean. Wash your hands very well, clean the work surface and the utensils that you will use.
3. Wash the cauliflower under running water to remove some of the dirt. A couple of minutes will suffice.
4. Cut the cauliflower into florets. There will be manageable pieces that will be comfortable to wash and disinfect well. To do it, help yourself with a knife or with your own hands. If you find the florets too large, chop them into smaller pieces.
5. Take out the heart and the leaves. Discard the center or trunk of the vegetable, as well as all the leaves. If you don’t want to waste them, you can use them to make vegetable stock .
6. Disinfect the cauliflower by placing the florets in a bowl with water and disinfectant.  Leave them there for 15-20 minutes. Don’t let them float. Remember that the most appropriate disinfectants are lemon juice, vinegar and baking soda.
7. Rinse the cauliflower pieces under running water.
8. Drain the florets, passing them through a strainer.
9. Blanch the cauliflower. To do this, fill a saucepan with water occupying 2/3 of its capacity and bring it to a boil. During the boiling process, add the pieces and cook them for 3 minutes, without covering the pot.
10. Give the cauliflower a cold bath or to stop the blanching process. As soon as the required time is up, you should quickly drain the cauliflower florets, then place them in a bowl with lots of ice and plenty of cold water. Leave them there for 3 minutes. Another method would be a reverse or inverted water bath.
11. Drain the florets and dry them very well. First put them in the colander and, once drained very well, dry them with absorbent paper. Not a single drop of water should remain.
12. Pack the cauliflower pieces. Store them in plastic containers or special bags for freezing.
13. If you freeze in bags, take the air out of them(make a homemade vacuum). Before we have taught you a way to make the vacuum and now we show you another. Once you have the pieces of vegetables inside the bag, pass your hand through the closure but do not reach the end, leave a small open space. Submerge the bag in a bowl of warm water, little by little and very carefully, until almost all of it is in the water, except for the zipper. Help yourself with your fingers to put the bag into the water. It is important that at no time does liquid enter inside, not even a drop. Once the vacuum has been made, close hermetically, dry it on the outside and freeze the boiled cauliflower.
14. Identifies the container or bag. Put the name of the vegetable and the date of freezing.
15. Sort the bags in the freezer separate from each other.

With this method, you can keep cooked cauliflower for 8 months to 1 year. As you can see, in this way the life of the food is considerably extended.

Tip: Some recommend using a double bag to freeze cooked cauliflower in order to prevent water, odors, etc. from penetrating.

Can you freeze cauliflower with béchamel?

If you keep cooked cauliflower alone, when it thaws, its essential characteristics do not change much. On the other hand, the béchamel sauce, when you keep it alone, does change when it thaws, acquiring a slightly watery consistency. This happens because sauces that contain starch or flour belong to the group of foods that should never be frozen (i.e. dairy, fruits and vegetables with high water content) due to their characteristics.

However, when the béchamel is part of a dish (croquettes, lasagna, etc.), it freezes quite well. For this reason, cauliflower with béchamel can be frozen with good results. But to freeze cooked dishes properly, the methods to use are a little different than those used to freeze fresh food, so you need to follow the following recommendations:

• Store the cauliflower with béchamel in a plastic container (with a lid) that is suitable for freezing.
• If you prepared a large quantity, distribute it in several similar containers.
• Close them very well.
• Wrap them in plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate first before freezing. Thus, keep the containers in the fridge for 30 minutes and then freeze them.

The maximum conservation time of frozen cauliflower with béchamel is one week.

Can you freeze steamed cauliflower?

Of course! In fact, the blanching process can be done with boiling water or steam. Thus, you can follow the steps indicated in the section on how to freeze cooked cauliflower, but using the steam cooking technique instead of directly in boiling water. To freeze, even steamed, a shorter time than that used to cook and eat immediately is also recommended.

However, and despite the above, if you have prepared steamed cauliflower for lunch and have leftovers, you should know that you can also freeze it like this. Of course, if you plan to make more quantities to eat and freeze, we advise you to steam the cauliflower little by little and over low heat, both to keep its properties as intact as possible and to benefit from subsequent freezing. Check out the Steamed Cauliflower Recipe and enjoy a healthy dish.

The shelf life of frozen steamed cauliflower is 8 months to 1 year.

How to Thaw Cauliflower?

If we improperly thaw a food, we will most likely lose all the work done to preserve it, as its sensory characteristics and nutrients will quickly vanish. For this reason, it is just as important to freeze cauliflower correctly as it is to thaw it in the same way. Thinking about this, below you can review all the tips on how to defrost cauliflower:

• Put the containers or bags with the frozen cauliflower in the fridge, so the pieces will thaw slowly and without losing their qualities. Do it in advance, as it takes a couple of hours for the vegetables to begin to adapt to the new temperature.
• Never try to thaw cauliflower with hot water or leaving it at room temperature. That sudden change in temperature will not favor the food.
• If you are in a hurry, defrost with cold water. Fill a container with cold water and ice and place the bag or container inside. This will melt the ice in a controlled way.
• You can cook cauliflower without thawing it in certain preparations. Adding it directly to sautés, broths, stews and creams.
• Once the cauliflower is thawed, do not freeze it again. Not only does this vegetable lose its sensory and nutritional characteristics in this process, it could also give you food poisoning.
• If you notice a drastic change in the cauliflower when you thaw it, discard it. Bad smell or deteriorated appearance will be your point of reference. Such a food will no longer provide you with nutrients, it will not be pleasant to the palate and can even intoxicate you.

How to keep cooked cauliflower in the fridge?

During the freezing process, many people wonder how to store cooked cauliflower in the fridge after it has thawed. The truth is that it is best to keep it in the same freezer container until consumption. Since it has already undergone a freezing process, it is not recommended to wait more than 24 hours after defrosting.