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Cauliflower is a representative of an edible angiosperm plant of the type Cabbage. This is quite tasty and healthy vegetable, which is most often consumed after cooking. Unfortunately, like any plant, cauliflower has its own ripening and storage terms. Because the peak of its sales falls on a certain time of year. When is it better to buy cauliflower and how to store it for a long time?
Why use cauliflower
As a rule, cauliflower is more expensive than regular white cabbage, because many people neglect to eat it. In fact, this representative of the species is much more useful than many of its relatives. Cauliflower has a high content of ascorbic acid, vitamin K, niacin, pantothenic acid,thiamine and other vitamins. In addition, it contains trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron.
There are more proteins in cauliflower than in white cabbage, and there is less fiber. That is why it can be used as a complementary food for babies and dieters.
Useful properties of this plant:
- Strengthens the walls of blood vessels;
- Lowers blood cholesterol;
- It has anti-inflammatory properties;
- Positive effect on the nervous system;
- It has a wound-healing effect, helps gastrointestinal ulcers heal;
- Helps control blood glucose levels;
- It helps to reduce weight.
In order to get the maximum benefit from the plant, it is necessary to be able to choose and properly store.
How to choose and where to store cauliflower
Cauliflower ripens several times a year, depending on the variety. Early representatives are gathered in July, later in October-November. Store the plant in a dark place where it gradually matures. Home cauliflower can be stored in the refrigerator, but there it will lose its beneficial properties. You can eat only a product that has been in the refrigerator for no more than 10 days.
The only way to prolong the life of the cabbage is to freeze it. In order for a cauliflower in the process of freezing to not lose its beneficial properties and taste, it is necessary to observe a number of special rules.
Preparing cauliflower for freezing
First you need to choose the heading, which will subsequently be frozen. It should be a young, bright, dense and heavy head, surrounded by green succulent leaves. Cauliflower, covered with spots or one whose leaves are yellow or sluggish, is not suitable for freezing. Next is to consistently perform the following steps:
Rinse the head with cold running water.
Separate the head from the leaves. They are not suitable for human consumption, but they can be used as a mask for the face or as a folk remedy for wound healing.
Disassemble the head into inflorescences.Remember that they should be approximately the same shape and size. If you need cauliflower for different purposes, you can alternately freeze packets with inflorescences of different sizes.
Dip the cabbage in salted water. Water can be collected in a deep bowl, pour salt in the same place. About 1 tablespoon per liter. This stage is necessary for the cabbage to be left by those insects that may have been hiding in the inflorescences.
Wash the cabbage from salt under running water.
The most important process in all cooking is the destruction of unnecessary enzymes. These are substances that reduce the shelf life of cabbage and contribute to its darkening. To eliminate them, you must put the cabbage in boiling water. Just take the already washed inflorescences and a pot of freshly boiled water, place the inflorescences in water for three minutes. Hold longer should not, otherwise the cabbage simply cooked before freezing.
Further, it is very important to cool the cabbage as quickly as possible. If this is not done, it will remain soft and will not retain its taste. For cooling, you need to put ice cubes in a bowl and immediately transfer the inflorescences to these cubes immediately after boiling water.The process of rapid heating and the same rapid cooling in cooking is called balanshirovkoy.
Thoroughly dry the cabbage. Do not freeze the product containing water on the surface. To dry the inflorescences, place them on a clean towel. Additional exposure to hot air or sunlight should be excluded.
Pack the cabbage in small sealed bags. Such packages can be purchased at the store, they are specifically designed to freeze food. It is important to let all the air out of the bag before putting it in the fridge.
Mark each serving, necessarily indicating the exact date of freezing. Cauliflower, like any product, has its own shelf life, it should be counted exactly from the date of freezing.
How long to store and how to cook frozen cauliflower
The inflorescences in the freezer can only be thawed once. They should be stored no more than 9 months after the start of freezing at a temperature not higher than -18 ° C. It is important to maintain the same temperature during the whole period of freezing,otherwise cabbage will lose its taste.
Inflorescences before use, you can pre-defrost, and you can start to cook immediately frozen. For frying, baking and eating raw it is better to use the first option. To defrost the cabbage, steam it in steam or put in boiling water for one and a half minutes. You should not defrost vegetables in the microwave, they will become soft, dull and tasteless.
If you are going to boil cauliflower, for example, by preparing soup from it, then you can immediately put frozen inflorescences in the water, they will thaw in the process of cooking.
It can be concluded that cauliflower is not only tasty, but also a useful product that is stored for the longest time in the freezer. Before freezing it is important to properly prepare, disinfect, defer and pack inflorescences. Then the cabbage can be used unchanged for a long time.
Video: cauliflower harvesting for the winter
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