Contributed By: Adventures in Freeze Drying
One bunch of florets filled one medium tray + 1.5 cups stalk puree
Directions:
- Wash your broccoli. I used lukewarm water, a drop of dawn, and a little bit of vinegar in my sink. Be sure to rinse thoroughly.
- Cut your broccoli down to small florets, keeping the stalk if you wish to freeze dry the stalks.
- In a vegetable steamer, bring your water to boiling and place your florets into the steamer basket. Steam for 5 minutes.
- Immediately remove the florets and place in an ice water bath. Let sit for several minutes until cooled clear through. Remove from the ice water bath and place in a strainer to drip extra water off.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 for your stalks.
- Line your trays with parchment or silicone.
- Spread the florets evenly across the tray, cover with a lid and freeze until solid.
- I put the stalks into my food processor, added about ½ cup water to them and puree to a paste. Then place them into silicone molds. Freeze until solid, and remove from the molds.
- Remove lids and freeze dry (my cycle time was 42.5 hours)
- The pucks of stalks can now be powdered to store as a pantry item for future recipes.
Rehydration:
Broccoli Florets: It is best to add broccoli directly to a recipe while cooking, and add a little extra water if needed to finish rehydrating.
Broccoli Powder: should be added directly to smoothie or soup etc.
Notes:
When you check the food for dryness, be sure to check the pucks of stalks as these will be the slowest to dry.
Nutritional Value Per ½ cup of broccoli
Calories: 15 Protein: 1g Fat: 0g Carbohydrates: 3g Sugar: 1 g Fiber: 1 g
Cycle times & rehydration for reference only. Your results may vary.