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Hi - I have been looking up how to freeze various veggies that I have gluts of. Unfortunately there seems to be differences of opinion about whether things freeze well or not. So... I am sure someone will have had experience of freezing leeks, red cabbage, cauliflower....

Do these freeze ok or not really? Would you cook them in some recipe first then freeze or just go ahead?

Thanks

I'm a bit disenchanted with freezing after all these years.

Leeks, yes - we blanch & freeze as is. Cauli? Not keen, suppose lightly cooked Curry or Moussaka might work. But Broccoli yes. Cabbage? Can't visualise - really only best fresh? Not many dishes you could put it in? Would keep a fair while in the cool with the stem on?

Just thoughts - don't be put off!

Leeks - we tend to grow varieties that overwinter, so are picking them fresh during the winter.

Red cabbage - I like pickled red cabbage.  Also in her Christmas cookbook Delia does a recipe for traditional braised red cabbage with apples,which freezes well.  I think you should find it if you go to deliaonline.co.uk.

Cauliflower - I think I'd use it in piccallili.

valmarg

Thanks Tim and valmarg for the good advice - like the look of the delia recipe and will freeze some leeks. New empty freezer arriving Friday so will now have room to put stuff in (I still have lots of apples, plums, pears for processing besides the veg!)
Gwynneth

Gwyn. as you have a lot of apples, what we tend to do is cook them for apple sauce and bag them up in small bags for use with pork, duck etc and freeze the portions.

I promise I haven't got shares in the Delia empire, but with your plums her recipe for Old Dowerhouse Chutney takes some beating.  She also does a recipe for Pickled Pears.

I'm with Tim that some veg just do not freeze on their own - courgettes for example - would defrost soggy horrible things, but cook them in ratatouille or minestrone soup, and they are a good as the day you picked them.

valmarg

i have blanched and frozen cabbage successfully quick steam and bobs your aunty