Can You Freeze Bean Sprouts?
Bean sprouts are the best snack item for people of all age groups. Whether you are a kid, an adult, or suffering from any disease, you can always relish a bowl of bean sprouts from your freezer. In this article, we will describe a few steps that you can take to freeze bean sprouts.
Sprouts are an essential component of a balanced diet and if you are suffering from any gut disorders then you must definitely eat them. You can simply run your bean sprouts underwater and then eat them raw. Or, they can taste equally well when you cook or fry them.
Bean sprouts help to maintain cholesterol levels in the blood and help elevate your metabolism levels. Thus, if you are looking for a healthy dietary snack to incorporate into your diet routine, then we would surely recommend bean sprouts.
Freezing sprouts is an effective way to store them for future use and bean sprouts will perform exceptionally well in the freezer. Thus, do add this amazing food item to your shopping list for next week!
Steps for Freezing Bean Sprouts
You can freeze bean sprouts easily if you try to follow the blanching method for freezing. The time required to prepare for blanching is just a couple of minutes. Therefore, if you wish to retain the original crunchy texture of fresh bean sprouts then follow this process.
First, take a pan and fill it halfway with water. Turn on the flame and allow the water to boil; in the meantime, you can prepare another bowl of chilled water. Now, as the water is boiling, take a colander that you may you use to wash vegetables. Add the sprouts to this colander and place them in the boiling water pan.
The appropriate time for blanching the sprouts should be 3 minutes. After that immediately turn off the flame and remove your sprouts from the colander and shift them into the ice-cold water bowl. When you blanch the sprouts you are automatically eliminating any harmful dust particles on them.
Then, place the bean sprouts in cold water for another 3 minutes and then pat them dry by laying on a kitchen towel. Gently press the sprouts without breaking their texture and dry them nicely. At this stage, you can store bean sprouts in an airtight bag or container and pop them in the freezer. Now you know how to freeze bean sprouts and that the freezing process is actually easy.
Is it Okay to Freeze Bean Sprouts in the Freezer?
Yes, it is completely okay and advisable to freeze bean sprouts in the freezer. Freezing bean sprouts can help you retain their original texture even after several months. Therefore, whenever you have an extra portion of bean sprouts you can freeze them efficaciously.
No matter how long they freeze, if you know how to blanch them properly and freeze them, they will taste the same. In further sections, you will get to know more about freezing your sprouts.
What happens when you Freeze Bean Sprouts in the Freezer?
Bean sprouts are essentially associated with having a crunchy and crispy texture. Thus, whenever you opt for freezing sprouts it becomes an obvious question, of whether they retain their crunch. Fortunately, they do! When you pop your bean sprouts in the freezer after blanching them, they retain their original crunchiness. However, on the contrary, when you don’t blanch bean sprouts they will lose their flavor much faster. This is the reason why any method of freezing bean sprouts has the blanching step in it.
How to Freeze Mung Bean Sprouts?
There is no other fancy method or process to freeze mung bean sprouts. You can follow the exact same method given above and freeze mung beans effectively. Thus, wash your sprouts, blanch them, dry them and lastly freeze them in a clean bag.
How to Freeze Blanch Bean Sprouts?
Once you have blanched the bean sprouts, simply transfer them to chilled water. Then, pat the sprouts dry using any towel and flash freeze them for a couple of hours. After flash-freezing bean sprouts you can add them to a ziplock bag or airtight container. Finally, freeze bean sprouts in the freezer and thaw them as per your need.
Method to Thaw Frozen Bean Sprouts
If there’s one best food among all other vegetables that freeze well in the freezer, it’s going to be bean sprouts! You might be wondering why? Well, it is because bean sprouts are so good to retain their texture, taste, and flavor! You might be wondering whether they taste good after thawing and I will tell you they do.
Plus, if you are in a hurry, then there’s no need to defrost bean sprouts. You can directly use frozen beans sprouts in your recipes and they will taste good. However, if time is not a problem for you then you can thaw your bean sprouts in the fridge for some hours.
You see when you blanch bean sprouts you lock their original texture. Therefore, thawed bean sprouts will regain their crunch in the fridge. Scoop out the number of sprouts you will need for your recipe and place it in the fridge for an hour or two. Your sprouts will be perfectly thawed and ready for use.
Do Bean Sprouts Freeze for Long?
When I tell you bean sprouts freeze exceptionally long, they do freeze long! As a matter of fact, they can stay fresh in the freezer for as long as an entire year. Sounds too good to be true, right? But, yeah these sprouts do freeze well.
If you simply pop bean sprouts in the fridge without any proper freezing process then they will last in a fresh state for 2 weeks. However, after freezing them properly you can use them for as long as 10-12 months.
Tips for Freezing Bean Sprouts
Storage is not an issue for sprouts as you can store bean sprouts in an airtight box. However, there are certain tips that you should follow when using frozen bean sprouts.
- If freezing sprouts is essential then try to go along with the longer route. It means after you blanch and dry your sprouts, make sure you lay them on a sheet lined on the baking tray and flash freeze them.
- Frozen bean sprouts taste well when you use them directly instead of thawing them. I would recommend using frozen bean sprouts directly for better development of the flavor.
- Do not refreeze bean sprouts because they will gradually lose their texture over time and you must avoid doing so at all costs.
- You can also freeze canned bean sprouts leftovers. If the can is not opened then do not pop it in the freezer. It will stay better in the external environment instead of the freezer.
If you freeze your sprouts make sure you are washing them thoroughly to get rid of any weeds. You could freeze them for anywhere between a couple of months to a year. Frozen bean sprouts can be directly shifted to your recipe and yet you will get the same taste.