Freshly harvested broccoli is delicious and a real vitamin bomb. If you preserve or store broccoli properly, you can extend its shelf life and eat it at a later date as well.
Basically, broccoli is one of the vegetables that are best processed and consumed fresh. If you shop regionally during this time, you will get fresh broccoli that will keep for a while. If you grow it yourself in the garden, you should harvest the broccoli if you really want it on the table. But there is not always time to cook the prepared vegetables. In this case, broccoli can be stored for a few days, depending on the method. We reveal how you can store the vegetables correctly and preserve them gently.
In short: How to store broccoli properly
Fresh broccoli is best kept wrapped in a damp cloth in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. Broccoli can also be stored in the refrigerator for several days if wrapped in cling film or placed in a freezer bag with air holes. Broccoli keeps best when blanched and frozen. If the broccoli is already dried out, crumbly, yellow or brown in color, or even moldy, it should no longer be eaten.
How do you properly store broccoli?
Once harvested, broccoli cannot be stored for a particularly long time. It should be kept in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. If you also wrap the broccoli in a damp kitchen towel, the florets will not dry out as quickly. Cling film with a few air holes pierced is also suitable for wrapping. Another option is to place the broccoli in an open-topped plastic bag in the refrigerator. Since broccoli is not sensitive to cold, it can easily be deposited in the zero-degree compartment. Broccoli does not ripen during storage, but it does dry out. Therefore the storage time should be kept as short as possible.
Tip: Cut the stalk of broccoli and arrange it like a bouquet in a bowl of water in the fridge. The water should be changed every day.
How long can you store broccoli?
In the refrigerator, broccoli stays fresh for about three to a maximum of five days – in the zero-degree compartment a few days longer. The vegetables will keep for several months in the freezer. Broccoli should not be left uncooled in the air for more than a day. Keep the vegetables away from post-ripening fruits and vegetables, especially apples, bananas, and tomatoes. They exhale the ripening gas ethylene and thus ensure that the broccoli spoils more quickly. Broccoli is rich in vitamins and minerals. The longer the vegetables are stored, the more these valuable ingredients evaporate. The aroma of the cabbage also becomes significantly worse the longer it is stored – the vegetables take on an increasingly “cabbage” taste.
Can you freeze fresh broccoli?
Broccoli can be frozen without any problems. But you have to blanch it first. Wash the head thoroughly and break it up into larger florets. Then put them in boiling salted water for two to three minutes. Drain the broccoli and shock in ice water. Then drain the vegetables well and pat the florets dry with a kitchen towel. Packed in an airy freezer bag, the broccoli can now be frozen.
Tip: If you have space in the freezer, freeze the broccoli florets next to each other on a plate or a small tray, spaced slightly apart. Only when the florets are frozen are they placed in freezer bags. This keeps them from sticking together and makes them look less battered after defrosting. Then, to prepare the broccoli, simply add the frozen vegetables directly to boiling water.
Attention: Blanching reduces the cooking time of frozen broccoli!
Is Yellow Broccoli Bad?
Fresh broccoli is dark green, sometimes purplish in color. The flowers should still be closed and the stalk should feel firm. If the stalk is already rubbery and the cut surface has dried up significantly, the broccoli is old. If the flowers open and the broccoli begins to crumble, this is a sign that it was harvested too late or stored too long. A yellow tint indicates the broccoli is beginning to spoil. A few yellow florets can still be eaten. However, the taste is no longer comparable to fresh broccoli. If there are brown spots or even mold on the vegetables, they should no longer be eaten (even when cooked).