Cabbage is a health-beneficial veggie that is widely used in many national cuisines all over the world. You can eat it boiled, fried, blanched or steamed in many different ways and even uncooked!
How to freeze cabbage so that it saves all the useful elements and vitamins it has? Keep on reading to know the answer!
Briefly:
How to Freeze Cabbage. Useful and Easy Prompts
Cabbage, no matter which sort of it, is extremely healthy! If you want to strengthen your immune system, cabbage is an irreplaceable plant on your table.
This veggie has lots of vitamins including nutriments C, K, B6 and A. In addition, it is filled with minerals and microelements such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and riboflavin. It is full of fiber and antioxidants and includes very few calories, too.
No wonder that people often want to preserve cabbage for further use at home!
But how do you freeze cabbage at all? Actually, even despite the opinion that cabbage (or some sorts of it) is hard to freeze and store, this plant is pretty easy to keep fresh and eatable. What is even better about this is that it is not going to require you any super efforts and much time!
- Take cabbage and a bowl, a box or any other container you will place the veggie in afterward and don’t forget about a cutting board!
- If the cabbage comes from your own garden or it was purchased directly from a farmer, rinse it thoroughly before starting to prepare for freezing. Just take off its outside leaves and immerse the whole thing into cold water.
Like that, you will get rid of the warms and grit if there are any on the plant or between its leaves.
- After 30 min, take it out, shake to remove the remaining liquid and desiccate.
- If your cabbage comes from a store, rinsing it will be enough.
- Cut your cabbage and blanch in boiling water for two minutes to destroy any harmful bacteria.
- After blanching, remove it to the cold water immediately. Then shake it harshly to delete the water and flash freeze the green (use a cooking sheet for this purpose).
- When the cabbage is frozen enough, lay it in the box or another container you chose and leave in the freezer.
It is essential to ensure that you squeezed all the possible air out of the containers so that the cabbage couldn’t get a freezing burn.
When following such an instruction, people may often wonder: how to blanch cabbage for freezing? In fact, there is nothing complicated about it at all. Just immerse the cabbage cut in pieces into the boiling water and let it stay there for two minutes. No longer boiling is needed, otherwise, the veggie will turn too soft.
Can You Freeze Fresh Cabbage?
Shortly speaking, yes, you can freeze it. Cabbage is a very versatile veggie not only in terms of using it in many dishes but also regarding preservation.
It adapts to the freezing procedure surprisingly easily, this is why people who grow it always count on this leafy miracle for year-round nutrition it is able to provide by being incorporated into all kinds of seasonal meals.
Moreover, we will only benefit from preserving this veggie since cabbage is filled with vitamins, fiber, and minerals being very low in calories at the same time. Exposing it to frost and saving for future use will allow enjoying all of its benefits far beyond the growing season that allows us to harvest it only once a year.
To pick up the best leafy foodstuff for freezing, remember to seek for the following characteristics:
- heads must be dense and solid, weighty for their size
- stick to the good color in the leaves
- leaves must be fresh, and green, with no spots, yellowish hue, or dinginess
- when harvesting it from your own garden, pick the heads closer to frost, and better do it in the morning while it is still warm
Like this, you can be sure that the veggie that is going to be preserved will be of the highest quality.
How to Freeze Cabbage After Blanching It?
Blanching is an approved method of extending the foodstuff’s lifespan when frosted. If done correctly, it can make cabbage stay edible for up to three months instead of several weeks.
To blanch this leafy veggie, place the leaves or the shreds into rolling water for 1.5 minutes (wedges will need more time, three minutes approximately).
Right after that, transfer it into the icy water to stop the boiling process. By now, all bacteria are already killed and the leaves are ready for preservation. And then, the simplest part begins:
- The second the leaves are cooled, pull them out and dry. Shake them or tap with the paper towels, it doesn’t matter much. It is the result that is important: the veggie must be dry.
- Place the leaves on the cooking tray and flash-freeze them. When it is done, fill the frost-resistant packet with them, remove the air, seal, and return them back to the frosting camera.
We would not recommend using the firm tanks for that since it is difficult to delete the air from there. Of course, unless they are hermetic.
How to Freeze Cabbage Without Blanching It
To get the cabbage ready for the frosting camera, several simple steps must be completed:
- Wash the heads. It will remove all the loopers and other unwanted “hosts” that are often found between the leaves of the garden veggie. The best that can be done is to soak the heads in a salty solution (one to three spoonfuls of salt per gallon of water) for half an hour. Or simply soak them in plain water for several hours if you have time or you don’t want the cabbage to be a bit salty.
- Rinse thoroughly. After the “bathing stage” is over, rinse the heads to remove any salt leftovers and to wash off all the dirt that can stick to the leaves.
- Peel it. No, you don’t have to take off all the leaves, but the old and/or yellow ones must be removed.
Now it is time to decide how it is going to be preserved. Feel free to divide it into separate leaves, cut in quarters, or wedges, or shred. It will mostly hang upon what it will be used for: most of the dishes will need finely chopped or shredded veggie, but some of them, for instance, rolls, require using the whole leaves. Think of that prior to proceeding: perhaps, you might want to freeze it in several ways.
When all is decided, it can be frozen as it is, in a tightly sealed hermetic freezer-safe packet, but remember that in this case, the veggie must be utilized within four to eight weeks.
Can you chill fresh veggie?
One more thing that may bother you is whether freezing cabbage without blanching is possible.
In fact, it’s absolutely possible to freeze a fresh green if you need it or if you want to. Only rinse it if your cabbage was bought at the farm market and delete the excess moisture properly. After that, you can place it in the airtight bag or box and send it to the freezer.
The only thing you have to remember is that, after being frozen natural, your cabbage must be used within the next four to eight weeks.
Whole Or Cut? How to Freeze Cabbage
Another issue that sometimes confuses people is whether it is allowed to freeze cut or whole cabbage. Well, why not figure this out once and for all!
Can you freeze chopped cabbage?
- Take off the external leaves
- Cleanse the vegetable
- Let it float in the water for half an hour to delete worms and grit
- Air it thoroughly and cut it as fine as you need
- If it needs to wither more, let it do so, and afterward lay the green to the container and leave to freeze
If you deal with a cabbage bought in a store, just rinse it, wither, then chop and send it to freeze!
Can you freeze a head of cabbage?
- Take off its external leaves
- Barely lave the cabbage and let it dry thoroughly
- Ensure there is no dirt or worms on it left
- Lay the cabbage head to the plastic bag, squeeze out the air and freez
Is it ok freezing cabbage leaves?
Freezing cabbage leaves is possible, too. All you need to do is:
- to take off its external leaves
- take apart its leaves and wash them thoroughly
- dry the leaves with a paper towel
- blanch them or, if you don’t want to, just put the cabbage leaves in a box or another container and freeze
Freezing Different Sorts of Cabbage. Detailed Instruction for Newbies
There are many different sorts of cabbage, that’s why we may often ask ourselves how to preserve the particular sort of cabbage using the freezer.
Let’s try to clarify this issue.
To begin with, the methods described above work well for the white cabbage. Can you freeze red cabbage the same way, for example? Yes, it is possible. The procedure remains the same as for the white cabbage.
Can you freeze napa cabbage? Yes again! And again, just follow the steps described above to freeze it right.
Nevertheless, the main thing you must consider is that any cabbage has a lot of water in it and, after being unfrozen, it will become soft and mushy. That is why defrosted cabbage is better to be used in cooked recipes.
These cabbage-freezing tips will allow you to preserve the vegetable for use when cooking many delicious dishes with it!
Cooking Food With Cabbage. Simple And Quick Recipes For Everyone
What do we know about cooking foods with such a veggie as a cabbage? Not much, let’s confess. We usually fry it or boil it, eat raw in salads and cold dishes, but that’s all, whereas this green can be prepared in many ways!
Would you like to learn more information about the food recipes that make use of this great green?
To save the situation and prevent the numerous questions about how to prepare cooked cabbage at home, we decided to collect the recipes of the dishes that won’t take you much time and have only simple ingredients everyone has in the kitchen.
Meet our top cabbage foods for everyday meals!
- Minced meat-stuffed cabbage rolls
- Cabbage soup with rich flavor and simple components. Add any veggies you like and the best quick meal is ready!
- Cabbage casserole, good for any occasion. You won’t even notice how you eat the whole pot!
- Cabbage enchiladas, a cool substitute for ordinary cabbage rolls that are always ready to eat.
- Whole roasted large cabbage head. Place it on top of any veggie dish and you’ll get a cool cooked cabbage.
- Hash browns shredded cabbage, a good replacement for cabbage rolls when you need a quick breakfast. Add favorite spices to enrich the taste of the food, and enjoy this simplest cooked cabbage.
- Want to experiment on cabbage rolls? Try dippers, a related dish made of cooked cabbage wrapped in bacon slices.
- Kale chips. Why not?! Cooked cabbage has never been easier to prepare!
- Cheesy gratin, a perfect choice for cheese and kale fans with rich cheesy flavor and extremely light texture due to the shredded cabbage. And the super-easy cooking process! Any fresh cabbage will do for this food.
- Cabbage lasagna. Add kale or any fresh cabbage to it for the lighter version of the well-known dish.
All of these foods are easy to learn to cook even if you never held a kitchen knife before! Save this list for the future to surprise your family with a new great delicious meal!
How to Make Pickled Cabbage. Step By Step Guide For Self-Taught Food Makers
Cabbage is a great food since it is very simple regarding its storage. In addition, it is healthy and nutritious.
Of course, people often ask questions on how else to prepare it except for cooking. Well, if you’re a great fan of pickled food, then we can suggest you make the best-pickled kale ever! It’s extremely easy to make so the process won’t take you much time and in addition, it will add one more yummy to the list of your culinary skills.
You will need:
- ½ head red cabbage cut into small parts (it’s ok to use shredded cabbage if you like it more)
- 200 ml apple cider acetum
- 200 ml ice water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- lime slices
- seasoning
The process is simple and requires several steps.
- Take a pot (not large), place seasonings, fill it with all the liquid components, add salt, and sugar there, and place it over the fire to boil.
- Let the blend boil for 2 min
- Now place the cut or shredded cabbage in the pot, let everything roll for 2 min more
- Now remove everything from heat, and pour into a large mason jar. It must have enough place to hold everything! Make sure the kale is covered with the acetum blend.
- Swirl the mix.
- Now it’s best to leave it cool to room temperature, and then seal the tank and stock for at least three days in the refrigerator. Like this, the kale will be more pickled and its taste will be the best of all possible!
As for the storage, such pickled cabbage is best to be kept chilled. Seal it tightly and it can stay refrigerated for weeks and it will still taste awesome.
It’s ok to use either shredded or cut vegetable, it doesn’t matter much, only shredded one will be juicier.
This is the best and the quickest recipe of this kind so feel free to make use of it whenever you want something sour and crisp!
How Long Does Cabbage Last In the Fridge?
The overall lifespan of the refrigerated veggie varies from three or five days for the cooked foodstuff to one or two months if it is raw.
To be more precise, we need to take into account where exactly we stock the veggie. Depending on this, the storage duration will vary compared to the frozen or the fresh veggie.
| Counter | Fridge |
Frosting camera |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cabbage whole |
1-2 days |
4-5 weeks |
9-12 months (blanched) |
|
Cabbage cut |
2-3 hours |
7-10 days |
9-12 months (blanched) |
|
Cabbage cooked |
- |
3-5 days |
12 months |
Keep it unwashed and in a plastic packet, but the last advice is not mandatory.
Where to Stock Cabbage And How to Do It Right. Handy Information
Food storage is always a bother and we often have lots of questions about it. As for the cabbage, it’s all the same. So we decided to take a step forward and prepare a list of useful info related to this issue: in what tanks and how is it better to keep cabbage?
- As for the tank, people often can’t choose between plastic bags since there are so many of them! To make it clear once and for all, if you’re going to leave it in the fridge crisper, go for the plastic zip-bags.
The best place for this veggie is your refrigerator. In there, it will stay crisp and delicious, preserving the texture, and all the precious nutrients it is so valued for. The only thing that must be remembered is that cabbage must not be washed prior to refrigeration, otherwise, that liquid will speed-up the spoilage!
Better place it in a hydrator drawer, or simply leave on the shelf, but remember to cover the head with the plastic packet to retain moisture.
Also, try to avoid damaging it: any bruising will make it degrade faster as well. The same goes for the cut leftovers: wrap them tightly in a cling film and store refrigerated.
When doing everything right, we can safely stock it for up to a month if the head is whole, and for nearly two weeks if it was already cut in pieces.
In case the vegetable will be chilled for several months, make use of frost-resistant bags (they can be airtight freezer bags) that can stand the frosting camera.
- Never stock cabbage in paper bags in your fridge since it will rot faster in them!
- Avoid putting cabbage in the same bags where other veggies dwell – it can lead to spoilage of all of them.
- Select separate bags for each type of the greens before putting them to the fridge.
- To save your time when cooking, shred cabbage in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for a few days.
- To prolong this veggie lifespan to several months, freeze it.
- Always check the cabbage head before keeping it. If you spot any dark dots on the outer leaves, peel them and discard them.
- Before cooking, always wash cabbage thoroughly from its outer leaves to the center.
- Don’t stock rinsed cabbage in the fridge, otherwise, it will rot fast.
- After you thaw cabbage, it’s ok to put it back to the freezer but only once (use the same freezer bags for it).
- It is allowed to put both cooked and raw cabbage to the freezer to preserve if it’s stuffed in freezer bags.
- When we need to thaw frozen cabbage, we need to remove it to the fridge to let the ice melt. This method works if the veggie will be used for rolls or salads. If not, just add frozen cabbage directly to the cooking dish right after you take it out from the freezer.
In general, whether it’s a frozen cabbage, a cooked, or a raw veggie, it can be safely preserved in the freezer, only make sure it won’t get damaged by forming the excess ice on its outer leaves. For this purpose, use high-quality freezer bags and never put moistured cabbage to the frosting camera.
What Are Some Health Benefits Of Cabbage
What makes people be so obsessed with preserving this leafy veggie? It is not that super delicious, and quite a few of us enjoy eating it raw, so what is the reason? The answer is simple: because of its health benefits.
- It contains lots of vitamins including A, C, K, and B6
- It is an excellent source of protein
- Cabbage holds inflammation back
- It improves digestion
- Red cabbage is a super-remedy for making our hearts stronger
- It lowers the blood pressure and tames cholesterol
And of course, it is very easy to incorporate into any diet. Try to consume it raw, however, since, in this state, this leafy goodie is at the highest power.
How Can You Tell If Cabbage Is Bad?
Just like any other fresh foodstuff, cabbage spoils. It mostly happens because of improper storage or careless transportation, but the only thing that matters is how to define that the leafy green head went bad. Well, simply look for these signals:
- bad odor that reminds ammonia or the smell of dacey
- shrinked and shriveled outer leaves
- greyish color along the edges of the chopped veggie
- wilted top layers
- slimy, soft to the touch
- mold
When noticing any of those, discard the foodstuff since spoiled cabbage can lead to severe food poisoning and even to death in the worst cases!
