Freezing Cabbage How To

Ingredients
1 med Round White Cabbage - 1.1 - 1.3Kg
Prep
Wash the cabbage, then remove (only if necessary) any outer leaves than are looking and feeling a bit drab and/or soft.
You have the option to either quarter the cabbage and freeze it in segments or to shred the cabbage and freeze as loose leaf.
Too quarter the cabbage, set the cabbage on its flat cut off root stem and half straight down. Now set each half on the newly exposed flat central surface and half again, cutting from tip to root. Set aside until required.
If shredding, follow the procedure as if quartering the cabbage. Then take each quarter and lay it on its back so that the two exposed flat sides face up like the edge of triangle. Cut along the sharp edge towards the root of the cabbage, but don’t go all the way through the root.
Set a cabbage quarter on one of the flat edges and with a sharp knife, staring at the tip, cut at 90˚ to the root and slice to create the shredding’s around 1cm wide.
Set aside aside and then repeat for each quarter keeping the shredding’s from each quarter separate.
Prepare several silicone lined baking trays that fit inside your freezer and set aside.
Fill a basin with very cold water, use ice if necessary to cool the water.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
Method
Once at the boil you can add the cabbage. Remember blanching is about killing harmful microorganisms and stopping enzyme production that may spoil the cabbage, its not about cooking it.
If freezing quarters you add them to the water two at a time. Keep the water at the boil and blanch for 3 mins. No shorter, no longer. As soon as the 3 mins are up, using a spider strainer remove each quarter and plunge them into the cold water. They need to remain in the cold water for at least the same time they were in the boiling water, so 3 mins. I however prefer to leave them for at least 5 minutes.
If freezing shredding’s, do them one quarters worth at a time. Its harder to remove shredded cabbage from the water than cabbage wedges, so make sure the spider strainer has small enough gaps to capture them. Blanch shredding’s for 1min 30 secs. No shorter, no longer. Plunge in the cold water and leave to cool just like the wedges.
Shake excess water off of the cooled cabbage then dry on kitchen roll/towel.
Add the cabbage to the silicone lined baking trays and place in the freezer for 1 hour.
Remove from the freezer and bag up, before placing back in the freezer until required.