The Best Way You Need to Know About Freezing Asparagus
I have come to conclude that the best way to freeze asparagus is a method that I like to call “the fire and ice method” although there are more ways of freezing fresh asparagus.
Freezing Asparagus – The Fire and Ice Method
- Cut the asparagus into pieces of the size you prefer and dip them in boiling hot water. Leave them in there for 2-4 minutes.
- Keep ice cold water ready and transfer the asparagus into it.
- Drain the water off by using a colander and keep them on a sheet of baking paper in the freezer for an hour.
- You can now put them in a freezer bag and store for up to 6 months.
This method prevents discoloration of this veggie and keeps it almost as fresh as when you bought it. Do note that it is preferable to buy thicker stems if you wish to store them for a long time.
- Must Read – Why You Should Eat Asparagus More Often
Freeze Asparagus – The Whole Spear Way
Can you freeze asparagus without chopping it? Yes! This other way of freezing asparagus raw, talks about just that. Just wash the spears with cool water and pat dry on a towel before you freeze it in an airtight jar. Though this way your spears may not last as long as 6 months but it will definitely be good for up to 2 months.
Pickled Asparagus
This is not only a great way of preserving asparagus but also makes for a pretty garnishing.
- If you have about 30 spears, cut the asparagus into 3-inch pieces and place in a large pot with 1/3 cup of salt and water. Keep it for 2 hours before you rinse it off and dry it on a paper towel.
- Boil 2/3 cup of distilled white vinegar with same amount of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt with same amount of mustard and dill seed along with white onion rings.
- Now take sterilized jars and place the spears loosely, tips facing up in a way that the jar is half empty from the top.
- Keep them in the company of one dill spring and ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes per jar.
- Pour the boiled mixture on top of the spears and seal the jars well.
- Give it a 10-minute boiling water bath and then leave it to cool down to room temperature.
Your asparagus pickle is now ready!
More Tit Bits About Asparagus
- Any of these methods or market bought canned asparagus is going to give you lesser of a crunch. Hence it is best used in frozen asparagus recipes like asparagus quiche or pickled asparagus.
- Letting the asparagus stay in hot water for too long, you will get soggy spears with lesser nutritional value.
- The ends of the spears can be used to prepare a variety of soups so no need to discard them off.
- You can use the asparagus crowns to grow your own asparagus plant.
- Talking about gardening – you could grow a variety of asparagus like purple asparagus, atlas, Apollo, etc. If you are too keen, you can get specific asparagus crowns for sale to do so.
- Since we’ve discussed this at length, let’s not forget the asparagus pot which a lot of us own but aren’t entirely sure of how to use it. It lets you steam and blanch not only asparagus but a variety of other foods as well.
- Asparagus is a versatile plant as you can use its crown, root, fern and stem. There are also asparagus extract products available in the market as diet supplements.
So, go ahead and use all of this freezing asparagus information to take one more step towards a healthy lifestyle!
