Freezing cauliflower and storing it in the refrigerator

Have you ever grabbed a little too much from the vegetable aisle during cauliflower season because you were craving a cauliflower soup or oven-roasted florets? Not a problem. It’s easy to freeze extra cauliflower in your Liebherr freezer. If prepared properly, it can last up to 12 months when stored this way.

Before freezing your cauliflower, wash it in lukewarm water. Divide the cauliflower into smaller florets using a knife or your hands so the cauliflower does not take up too much space in the freezer. This also makes it easier to portion the frozen cauliflower depending on your recipe.

To retain the taste and color of the cauliflower after it has been defrosted, the blanching method should be used. All you need for this quick and easy process is a pot filled with water. As soon as the water boils, you can add the small cauliflower florets with a ladle. Do not blanch the cauliflower for more than two to three minutes. This ensures that the healthy nutrients are retained. After their short dunk, place the cauliflower in a bowl with ice cubes to stop them from cooking any further. This way, it keeps its delicious taste for use in a wide variety of recipes.

If you don’t have time to blanch your cauliflower, you can of course also freeze it raw. After washing, make sure that the cauliflower is completely dry to prevent ice crystals from forming on the florets during freezing. Fully cooked cauliflower can also be frozen in your chest freezer. For example, you can easily freeze leftovers from a cauliflower casserole.

In any case, you should store the cauliflower – whether raw, blanched or cooked – in an airtight container in the freezer. Once defrosted, the cauliflower should only be eaten once cooked. The consistency can also change once thawed if you do not blanch the cauliflower beforehand.

Cauliflower stays fresh for longer at a temperature of just over 0 degrees and at a high humidity. For this reason, the following storage times apply when stored in the refrigerator:

• In the refrigerator compartment at about 7 degrees with dry air, cauliflower remains fresh for up to 10 days.
• In the EasyFresh safe from Liebherr at around 7 degrees with low humidity, cauliflower will stay fresh for around 12 days thanks to the airtight closure and its own moisture.
• In the BioFresh Fruit & Vegetable safe at about 0 degrees with high humidity, cauliflower remains fresh for up to 21 days.

This is why we recommend storing your cauliflower in the BioFresh safe of your Liebherr refrigerator. This provides the right temperature and adequate humidity to keep your cauliflower fresh for longer. It is recommended that you wash the cauliflower thoroughly before eating to remove any dirt particles or similar in the food.

Cooked cauliflower can be stored for up to three days in the refrigerator.

Cauliflower stored at room temperature will stay fresh for a maximum of four days. Another way to store cauliflower is to marinate the florets in a spiced oil – this can extend the shelf life to about two to four weeks.

Boiled in vinegar or saltwater and placed in sterilized jars, you can even store the delicate florets with the liquid in a cupboard for up to a year.

If you store your home-grown cauliflower in a cellar, it will last between two weeks and a month. However, this simple method is best suited to cauliflower you have grown yourself. This is because the cauliflower should be harvested along with its roots and hung upside down by a string.

When buying cauliflower, look for crisp and green leaves, a lush stalk and a white to cream head. To benefit from the healthy nutrients in cauliflower, you should cook or prepare it for storage while it is as fresh as possible.

Cauliflower is super versatile. This vegetable can be quickly processed into an elegant-sounding dish: Crème Dubarry. This classic remains a popular choice on restaurant menus today in the form of a cauliflower soup. Cauliflower can also be eaten raw. Your grater offers another quick and easy way to prepare it. Grate the cauliflower into small pieces and place them in a salad with a sweet-and-sour mustard dressing.

Brown, grey and speckled patches on the cauliflower indicate spoilage. Yellow leaves or a dry stalk can also be indicators of a lack of freshness. If you spot small, black dots, this indicates the presence of fungi – in this case, you unfortunately need to throw the cauliflower out.