When summertime hits, we get bowled over by the number of vegetables and fruits at our disposal. That bounty can go bad quickly, though. When you have to deal with piles of produce, you might ask yourself, “Can you freeze cabbage for long-term storage?”
Having the answer to that question will help you stay well-fed throughout the winter months. Our guide helps you answer that question and many others along with it. In this article, you’ll learn how to freeze cabbage without harming it or losing flavor.
We show you some tricks to make your next experience freezing cabbage easy and productive. And, you’ll get some tips and our favorite recipe with frozen cabbage. With our help, your plates will be full throughout the seasons.
Can Cabbage be Frozen?
When you first start your food preservation journey, you need to have a dependable process in mind when you ask yourself, “Can I freeze cabbage?”
You’ll be spending some effort and plenty of time in your quest to find out how to freeze cabbage, so you should make sure you have a method that works every time.
You can freeze asparagus in much the same way, as well. Can you freeze bell peppers? What about carrots or garlic? Luckily, freezing is an excellent way to preserve almost all vegetables and the preparation and methods are almost the same, too.
Getting your preparation, freezing, and thawing steps ready ahead of time will contribute to your project’s success. You can apply these freezing methods to other produce, too, like freezing fresh green beans to eat later.
What about Freezing Other Foods?
Although we are talking here about freezing cabbage, you may wonder if it is possible to freeze other foods, too. Can you put cheese in the freezer? What about milk?
There are many different types of food products that can be preserved by freezing and they all come out tasting great, although the texture or flavor may be a little changed. Can you freeze peeled garlic? Of course. Freezing garlic is a great way to preserve it to add to your favorite dishes at a later time.
How to Freeze Cabbage
This section looks at every aspect of freezing cabbage from start to finish. We let you in on our method for preparing cabbages for freezing. You’ll also learn the best way to freeze cabbage for when you want to know how to store cabbage.
We show you how to thaw frozen cabbage without damaging it or impacting its flavor and health benefits, too. You’ll be ready to start freezing after you finish this section.
It’s important to realize that you can also preserve other fruits and veggies by freezing them. For example, freezing banana peppers is a great way to store these delightful vegetables for use later when it is more difficult to get fresh produce. Freezing beets is ideal to store this veggie, too.
Preparing Your Cabbage
Your frozen food’s shelf life depends on how fresh the product was when it went into the freezer. That’s the reason you should always make sure to select only the freshest specimens for freeze-cabbage tasks, as well as the best way to freeze zucchini so it is ready to eat later.
Pick cabbages from your garden if you can, and choose only the most recently picked head of cabbage if you buy it from the grocery store or farmer’s market.
Always try to freeze fresh veggies. Learn how to tell if cabbage is bad before you try to preserve it and you will enjoy the freshest cabbage when you’re ready to eat it.
Start by cleaning your cabbage heads thoroughly under cold running water. Clean off any dirt or other debris, and remove the coarse outer leaves and damaged or brown inner leaves. Place the rejected leaves in a plastic bag for later composting.
Slice up your cabbage leaves. You can opt for any of many different cuts, including wedges or shredded cabbage. Place the sliced cabbage leaves in a large bowl. Follow this procedure for how to keep celery fresh, as well as a variety of other vegetables you may prepare for the freezer.
Freezing and Thawing Cabbage
Now that you’ve got the cabbages ready to go, it’s time to freeze them. You’ll first need to kill any potential contaminants and get the raw cabbage prepared for the freezer. To do that, you have to blanch them.
Can you freeze cooked beets like you do cabbage? You certainly can. Blanching first offers better results with many different types of veggies like cabbage, beets, and tomatoes.
When you blanch cabbage, you make the cabbages freezer safe without harming them or impacting their flavor. Blanching is also a significant factor when answering the question, “Can you freeze corn on the cob?” and protects corn against freezing process issues.
Place your cabbage in boiling water. Shredded cabbage needs to stay in the water for about a minute and a half, while cabbage wedges should remain in the boiling water for about three minutes. After the cabbages’ required time in the water is over, remove them with tongs and drop them into the cold water.
Shake excess water from the cabbage, and place it in freezer containers. Too much air in the containers can lead to freezer burn, so try to remove as much air as you can. Put the containers on a cookie sheet, and put the cookie sheet in the freezer.
You should let your cabbage thaw slowly when you’re ready to use it. Bringing cabbage or other vegetables from freezing to room temperature too quickly can make them tough and flavorless, so be sure to make the process more gradual.
Place the frozen cabbage in the refrigerator about 24 hours before you intend to use it. This method lets it come to temperature at a gentle pace. It’s a good idea to follow this procedure for how to thaw frozen carrots, too, as well as how to thaw frozen rhubarb. Slow thawing keeps the veggies fresher longer.
Why Freezing Cabbage is a Winning Move
We’ve answered the question, “Can you freeze cabbage?” But, we haven’t yet determined why we should go to the trouble of freezing it. There are plenty of other vegetables out there for our enjoyment, so what makes cabbage unique?
If we’re going to put labor into freezing cabbage, we need to understand why. This section looks into the benefits of cabbage and makes a case for keeping it in our freezers all year long. We delve into the impressive health benefits that cabbage provides.
And, you’ll get to learn our favorite recipe for frozen cabbage. Once we finish, you’ll appreciate why freezing cabbage is such a healthy and wise choice.
Cabbage Health Benefits
When you eat cabbage, you get access to tons of nutrition. It’s full of fiber, and it contains plenty of vitamins, too. A single serving of cabbage gives you almost all of your required daily Vitamin K and over half your daily Vitamin C.
Cabbage also contains helpings of manganese, folate, and lots of magnesium and potassium. Cabbage is also famous for its anti-inflammatory properties. When you eat cabbage regularly, you protect yourself against chronic inflammation that can lead to heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
Even better? Cabbage aids digestion and is perfect for folks who suffer from diseases of the gut.
Unbelievable Flavor
Cabbage is not only healthy but has a distinctive flavor you can’t find anywhere else. Cabbage is the primary ingredient in coleslaw, cabbage rolls, stir-fry meals, and lots of other side dishes. We particularly love the way cabbage tastes and crunches in traditional dishes such as our favorite Southern Fried Cabbage recipe.
Add oil to a large pot placed over medium heat, and add the bacon. Add salt and pepper. Cook until the bacon crisps. Pour in the cabbage, sugar, and onion. Stir for five minutes or until the ingredients are tender.
We hope that you had a blast checking out our suggestions on how to freeze cabbage. Summertime brings a bounty of produce. We need to know how to preserve all of that goodness for the wintertime. Our guide shows you an excellent method for freezing cabbage and helps you start preserving your summer harvest for tasty year-round meals.
Thanks for reading our cabbage freezing guide. If you found our exploration of the question, “Can you freeze cabbage?” helpful, we’d appreciate it if you’d share these cabbage preservation tips with your friends and family on Pinterest and Facebook.