Broccoli Florets and Stalks

Ingredients

1 large bunch of broccoli

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Broccoli Florets and Stalks

Jan 09, 2023Brenda Brink
Contributed By: Adventures in Freeze Drying

One bunch of florets filled one medium tray + 1.5 cups stalk puree

Directions:

  1. 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. 
  2. Cut your broccoli down to small florets, keeping the stalk if you wish to freeze dry the stalks. 
  3. In a vegetable steamer, bring your water to boiling and place your florets into the steamer basket. Steam for 5 minutes. 
  4. 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. 
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for your stalks.
  6. Line your trays with parchment or silicone.
  7. Spread the florets evenly across the tray, cover with a lid and freeze until solid. 
  8. 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. 
  9. Remove lids and freeze dry (my cycle time was 42.5 hours)
  10. 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.

 

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