How To Freeze Dry Apple Pie Filling
Jul 6, 2023
Love broccoli but don’t have room in the fridge after a big produce sale or harvest? Here’s how to freeze dry broccoli, so you don’t have to worry about spoilage and wasting food.
You can freeze-dry any kind of broccoli. You can use fresh broccoli from your garden, farm, or local farmer’s market. If you got fresh or frozen broccoli, you could also use them too.
Make sure you choose broccoli that’s firm, deep forest, or emerald green in color. Don’t use a vegetable that’s browning, yellowing, or doesn’t have a uniform green color. Check the stems also for firmness. The stem should have a slight give to it. Choose a different one if you notice a soggy stem.
You don’t have to do anything to frozen broccoli because it’s already washed and prepped for you.
For fresh broccoli, you can prepare it the same way you do when you’re about to cook it. First, remove the outer leaves and cut out an inch or two of the thick stem to remove the tough part. Then with a knife, carefully remove the florets and cut them down to your preferred size. Wash the florets carefully as some itsy bitsy creatures might be lurking between the small stems.
Take out the moisture by using a salad spinner, then dump the florets on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.
For us, we usually keep the rest of the thick stem. Then, we wash it, peel out the thick skin, and julienne or slice it into strips.
When it comes to crispy vegetables like this, blanching can go a long way. After rinsing the vegetable, dunk the cut vegetable in boiling water. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes or until it deepens in color.
Take the blanched vegetable out, shake out the excess water, and pour the batch into an ice bath. Let it cool down for about 2-5 minutes, and dry on paper towels or kitchen towels.
Broccoli doesn’t have a lot of water in it, so pre-freezing is optional. However, it does help cut out significant freeze-drying time. If you got space in your deep freezer and/or got something going in the freeze dryer, then why not pre-freeze while waiting? Use the same trays you’ll be freeze-drying your broccoli in so you don’t shock your freeze-dryer.
Now that you got your vegetable ready, we can begin freeze-drying.
Freeze-drying broccoli should take about 20-40 hours, depending on how many vegetables you got. It could take longer if you got other food items that freeze dry longer than your broccoli. Or if the weather is a bit hot or humid.
Freeze-dried broccoli should have a light, airy, crunchy texture to it. Feel the trays, and there shouldn’t be any cold spots. If you feel them, put the trays back for 2-4 hours of extra dry time.
Unfortunately, this vegetable is one of the freeze-dried food like watermelon and bananas that don’t reconstitute well.
You can rehydrate it by putting it in a bowl and covering it with water. Let it sit for 5 minutes, or an hour in the fridge to see if it’s good for you.
We usually just use the freeze-dried broccoli as-is in soups and stews. They’re also great for snacking, but they’re really dry, so you’ll need water to rehydrate your mouth.
Freeze-dried broccoli can last for 25 years or more when stored properly in Mylar bags or mason jars. Before you seal your container, remember to throw in 1-2 of the 300cc oxygen absorber per gallon size of your container.
If you don’t have a freeze-dryer, but want to have freeze-dried broccoli as part of your food storage, here’s where you can buy them.
Augason Farms have cans of freeze-dried broccoli florets and stems. Yes, they’re in 7-oz cans because Augason Farms specializes in big containers of freeze-dried food. This is not for solo eating but for an entire family.
A can has about 28 servings or 14 cups (approx.) and can last for up to 30 years. If you want to use only a portion, you can open the can then re-pack the vegetable in smaller mason jars or Mylar bags.
Mother Earth Products offers several bag sizes of freeze-dried broccoli. You can choose from a 2-cup Mylar re-seal pouch or a 15-lb bulk bag that will cost you $739.25.
Some customers find that this rehydrates well. Just boil it in water, and it comes out tasting like fresh vegetable. Ideal for making your own lightweight camping/backpacking meal, and toddlers even love it.
This freeze-dried broccoli has zero additives or flavorings. It’s ideal for snacking to help you destress and get your much-needed vitamins and minerals.
It’s good to add to soup and rice dishes for a great, satisfying meal. It’s an excellent snack when you forget your fresh veggies because of that nice, crunchy texture.
How do you like your freeze-dried broccoli? Do you want to make them yourself, so you’ll know you’re getting pure, fresh vegetable? Or do you prefer buying them so you don’t have to bother freeze drying? Let us know in the comment section.
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