Can You Freeze Asparagus?

We all love Asparagus beyond our imagination. It goes well with almost anything and I say this without a doubt. However, to our hard luck, Asparagus stays only for a short period giving us very little time to enjoy this heavenly vegetable. You may keep them in the fridge and think that you can preserve them but truth be told they’ll go bad very quickly. Can you freeze Asparagus? Let’s look into the answer to this question.

Things Needed to Freeze Asparagus

Before we start the process for freezing Asparagus, here’s a list of things that you’ll need throughout the time till tou freeze them;

1. Knifes
2. Pots
3. Ice cubes
4. Ice bowl
5. Plastic bags or zip lock bags
6. Vacuum packing
7. Plastic wraps

How to Freeze Asparagus?

Can you freeze Asparagus? This is one question that we’ve all been asking and waiting for a positive response. Of course, if you’re an Asparagus lover, then you’d look for ways to preserve the vegetable.

Well, yes, you can freeze Asparagus and bundles of it without worrying that they will go bad.

However, there is one thing that you need to keep in mind while freezing them. When buying Asparagus to freeze, make sure to choose thicker strands so that they don’t break apart in the freezer. If you choose thin Asparagus strands, there is a high chance that they might break in the freezer.

There are a few steps that I recommend you follow before bagging Asparagus and freezing it. These protocols ensure that Asparagus stays intact and doesn’t go bad. Let’s move onto the steps:

Washing the Asparagus

The first and foremost step that you need to do is to wash the Asparagus well. Lay down your Asparagus in a tray and filter out any strand that is soft or soggy. This ensures that these soggy Asparagus don’t go spoiling the others in the freezer. Once filtered, rinse all the other Asparagus strands with cold water and let them sit for a while.

Trim Off Excess

Nobody likes the stems of Asparagus. They can be a pain when they get stuck in your teeth. This is why we recommend trimming off the Asparagus. Trim off all the woody nubs of the Asparagus, or you can shave the skin with a vegetable peeler.

Now make another bag of nubs and freeze them separately. You can use these to make soup later.

Blanching

Blanching the Asparagus before freezing them is highly important. This will ensure that they will appear and taste as good as new after being frozen. First, boil them for some time in a big pot. While the Asparagus boils, prepare an ice-water bowl. Once the Asparagus is blanched, it’ll take about 4 minutes, add them into the ice water. Let them sit until they cool down. Drain and pat them dry. Now they’re ready to be frozen.

Freezing The Asparagus

Before freezing the Asparagus, cut them into 2 inches pieces, or you may keep them as is. It all depends on how you want to cook them later on. You may cut them diagonally if you want to be fancy.

For freezing, don’t put all the Asparagus sticks in one bag. Instead, place an appropriate amount of Asparagus in each bag and label them with dates.

Frozen Asparagus can last up to 8-12 months. Yay! Asparagus for a whole year.

Cooking With Frozen Asparagus

Though we try our best to keep it intact, some Asparagus sticks may lose their crispiness and crunch after staying in the freezer for so long. You may use frozen Asparagus in food items such as:

1. Soups
2. Pasta
3. Pies
4. Casseroles
5. Dips

You can either cook them straight out of the freezer, or you can take them out, let them thaw for some time and then add to your dish.

Health Benefits

Asparagus is one of the favorite vegetables all over the world. The commonly used color of Asparagus is Green. Asparagus is highly nutritious and very tasty as well. You can consume it in any diet you want. This is because it is very low in calories and is also considered a good source of essential vitamins and minerals. It helps provide several health benefits to your body when you start to consume it. Other than this, it’s inexpensive and easy to get. So what are you waiting for? Get your hands on Asparagus now.

Following are some of the health benefits it provides us;

1. It is a good source of anti-oxidants
2. Improves digestion
3. Supports a healthy pregnancy
4. Helps to lower blood pressure
5. Helps to lose weight

Mouth-Watering Recommendations

1. Easy lunch recipes: Asian Salmon Burger, Baked sweet n sour Salmon, Aip Salmon Recipe, Baked Salmon Belly
2. Yummy desserts: Vanilla Swiss Almond Icecream, Almond Tea Cake, Almond Custard, Almond Burfi

Try out these steps to freeze Asparagus, and let me know how it turned out for you.