Contributed By: Adventures in Freeze Drying
One bunch, plus one extra bunch of stems filled 1 medium tray and 6 - ¼ C pucks of stalks*
Directions:
- Wash your broccoli, I used lukewarm water, a squirt of dawn, and a little bit of vinegar in my sink, and rinsed 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, place your florets into the steamer basket and 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 4 and 5 for your stalks.
- 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 C water to them and then placed them into silicone molds. Froze until solid, and removed from the molds.
- Remove lids and Freeze Dry
- Store Appropriately (See Tips and Tricks for storage help)
I powdered my broccoli stalk pucks to use in soups, smoothies, etc.
Cycle Time:
42.5 Hours, but the pucks were not fully freeze dried yet. The florets were good.
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.
* Large Tray = 8 Cups/tray Medium = 6 Cups/Tray Small = 4 Cups/Tray
Cycle times & rehydration for reference only. Your results may vary.
