Can you freeze cabbage?

[Dissie]

I have like 15 heads in my fridge in the basement. Other than giving them away...what can I do with them? We are eating, eating, eating. I didn't mention I have 2 1/2 in the fridge upstairs. We are coleslawed out. We have had cabbage stew. I have made cabbage casserole (My recipe). I haven't made cabbage rolls, but the casserole of mine is similar. Sort of like lazy girls cabbage rolls. I went to my moms farm today and there are like 30 plus heads out there still on the plants. Kim shared a great looking recipe for sauerkraut. Might use some for that. We talked about it, and mom has a crock, so will probably do that too, but that won't use up all this cabbage! I have made sweet and sour red cabbage. Will that freeze well? Already cooked. I love that recipe. Will have to post that recipe, delicious.

If I prepare it, can I freeze it? Does it fair well in the freezer? I have never froze cabbage before, so have no idea.

[QueenBea]

You sure can Dissie.... I freeze them whole for cabbage rolls and shred some and freeze it for soups...

[Dissie]

Do you blanch them first or just freeze whole?

[QueenBea]

I don't blanch them Dissie, just pop them right into the freezer. I f you are freezing them whole for cabbage rolls, you don't even have to boil them. They are just soft enough to fold up and roll around the meat.

[KittenCal]

me to Dissie I freeze the heads for cabbage rolls, you can slice the head in half and freeze it if you do not want to use the whole head of cabbage ;)

[Dissie]

Awesome! So happy to hear this! These are going straight into the freezer.

[Kchurchill5]

I have shredded, blanched for a minute, shocked, drained and dried; then froze.
I have froze, 1/2 head and quarters too withOUT blanching.
Both seem to work.

Perfect for soups and casseroles.
Use a good seal bag for the freezer.

[Sue]

There is a reason for blanching vegetables before freezing. There are enzymes which cause the vegetables to decay that can survive the freezer and continue to do it while the veggies are frozen.
To stop the enzymes, all you have to do is boil about one minute.
Just cut the heads in half, then submerge them in the boiling water. Cut them- to make sure the boiling water gets inside.
Afterwards, dunk them in a sink full of ice water and drain them on a dish rack. Do that to make sure you get the water out- it can form ice and harm the cabbage.
Other than that, everything is fine.
You can freeze cabbage overnight to make cabbage rolls, but in general, the longer an unblanched cabbage stays in the freezer, the less quality it has. If you have a lot of cabbage and are storing it for a few months, blanching is definitely the way to go. And it really is not difficult to do at all. Considering how much better the cabbage will taste, it pays to do this.

[natsgarden123]

I have frozen entire heads of cabbage, w/out blanching. I have used these after 3 months for making stuffed cabbage ( I posted a recipe) and I think the cabbage tastes just fine. One note- the cabbage head will take a long time to thaw and if you put the whole thing in boiling water- you have to peel off one leaf at a time as soon as it thaws , otherwise you will have a mushy mess.

[Dissie]

I did freeze it whole without blanching and have been using it all fall and winter with no problems!