[Exbattmad]

Evening all
I have a glut of purple sprouting broccoli, theres only me and my son and i would like to freeze some up in portions.
Will i need to blanche it first or can i just rinse, dry and freeze?
I will be using it up within the next 4-6 weeks from the freezer, so whats the best thing to do?
thanks
Lucy

[Yorkie]

The advice is always to blanch (though I often ignore the advice  ).  Don' t know how well broccoli would freeze but I'm always of the view it's better to try rather than discard.

[Exbattmad]

Thanks yorkie, maybe i will just have broccoli everyday for the next 2 weeks if its not good to freeze? lol

[Stripey_cat]

Calabrese freezes nicely (and I never bother to blanch it or anything else - they are more likely to go floppy and horrible if they're cooked twice, in my experience).  I've never had enough PSB left over to test!

[Val H]

It will freeze and it is as well to blanch. The texture, however, is not as good afterwards. This article may be of some use to you. http://www.allotment-garden.org/allotment_foods/Storing_the_Surplus_Freezing.php

[Exbattmad]

Thankyou everyone for your great advise, i was looking for a blanching table on the site but i couldnt find it! thanks again

[MoreWhisky]

Blanch for 1 to 3 mins depending on the stem thickness. Broccoli heads can often lock together when they freeze, so its a good candidate for open-freezing first (after cooling) . To cook from frozen boil for about 5 min.

[Exbattmad]

Thats what i was thinking more whisky. I will freeze on a tray and then bag them up thanks.