Yes, you can freeze cabbage to prolong its shelf life. Cabbage is a versatile vegetable when it comes to cooking meaning you can freeze it in wages, leaves or shreds depending on how you plan to use it in future.
However, you will need to blanch it first as it retains its quality better blanched, but that doesn’t mean you can not freeze raw cabbage especially when you are running out of time. If you have to freeze raw cabbage ensure it does not stay in the freezer for longer than two months.
Point to note: Frozen cabbage is best used in cooked dishes like soup, casserole and cabbage rolls just to mention but a few as it does not retain its texture (crunchiness) well during freezing due to the high water content in it.
How to freeze cabbage
Freezing cabbage in wages with the core still attached is best if you are not sure of how you would like to use it later.
Here is how to go about it:
- Remove the outer leaves
- Cut the cabbage into quarters
- Rinse under running water rubbing gently with your fingers to remove any stubborn dirt
- Put the cabbage in a pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes
- Transfer the cabbage in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process
- Put them in a colander to dry or use a paper towel to pat them dry. Leaving water on the cabbage will lead to freezer burns during the freezing process.
- Lay the wages on a baking tray making sure they don’t overlap
- Put them in the freezer for 10-12 hours depending on the size of the wages
- Put the frozen wages in ziploc bags
- Seal the bags making sure to remove any air inside
- Label the bag to avoid over freezing
- Put them in the freezer
Blanched cabbage will retain their best quality in the freezer for up to 9 months.
To use cabbage, if you are using it for soup thawing is not required just add it to the soup as it is. For recipes like cabbage rolls you will need to thaw it in the fridge overnight to make it ready for shredding.
How to freeze shredded cabbage
Freezing cabbage in shreds has always been the ideal method for me. One, it saves on space in the freezer and two, it saves on time when preparing your dishes.
Here’s how to freeze shredded cabbage:
- Remove the outer leaves
- Cut the cabbage into quarters
- Rinse them under running water
- Remove the core and thinly slice
- Put the shreds in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute
- Transfer them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process
- Put them in colander to dry
- Portion them in freezer bags
- Seal the bags making sure to remove all air inside for quality purposes
- Label the bags to prevent over freezing
- Put them in the freezer lieing flat so you can stuck the bags over each other to save on space
Shredded cabbage will retain their best quality in the freezer for up to 8-9 months.
To use frozen shredded cabbage, thaw first in the refrigerator overnight before using in your intended recipe.
See also: How to store shredded lettuce
Can you freeze cabbage without blanching?
Yes, you can freeze raw cabbage to use later in your recipes. Simply remove the outer leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters. Rinse under running water paying attention in between the leaves. Dry it completely using a paper towel as Freezing a wet cabbage will lead to ugly freezer burns.
If freezing your cabbage in wages or leaves its best to flash freeze first so that they don’t freeze together once you package them. After flash freezing put them in ziploc bags and seal making sure to remove any air inside then put in the freezer.
For shredded cabbage, portion them in freezer bags depending on the quantity suitable for your recipe so that you don’t end up defrosting more than you need.
IF stored this way, raw cabbage will retain its best quality in the freezer for a maximum of two months.