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Leftover Brussels sprouts can be easily frozen: we will show you how to preserve the green winter vegetables for a long time and what you need to consider when freezing.

Brussels sprouts can be prepared in many ways – the winter vegetable is also very rich in vitamins and nutrients. If you have your own plant in the garden, you will quickly notice how productive it is: A single Brussels sprouts plant can produce up to 40 florets. If you can’t use up the entire harvest at once, it’s worth freezing Brussels sprouts – we’ll explain how to do that here.

Freezing Brussels sprouts: Clean and blanch

Before you freeze the Brussels sprouts, you should prepare them well:
First, the Brussels sprouts must be cleaned thoroughly. To do this, cut off the stalk and remove the withered and outer leaves.
Wash the Brussels sprouts in a large bowl of lukewarm water or rinse them under the faucet.
In the last preparatory step, you blanch the Brussels sprouts: Put them in a pot of boiling salted water for two minutes. Then scare him off with cold water.

Tip: This is how frozen Brussels sprouts don’t stick together

To prevent the florets from freezing together in the freezer, you should snap freeze them. This way you can always take as many florets out of the glass as you need later.

How it works:
Drain the Brussels sprouts or dry them with paper towels.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you don’t have a baking sheet at hand, you can also use a board or a large plate.
Arrange the florets on the tray so they don’t touch each other.
Now place the tray in the freezer or freezer for 1.5 to 2 hours. It is best to set your device to a particularly low temperature during this time.
When you take it out again, the Brussels sprouts are flash frozen. You can now freeze it as normal.

Freezing Brussels sprouts: Here’s how

How to freeze Brussels sprouts:
Store the Brussels sprouts in freezer-safe containers. If you haven’t flash frozen it, you should fill the Brussels sprouts in portion sizes – otherwise there will be some left over after defrosting.
Now place the filled containers in your freezer compartment.
The Brussels sprouts can now be kept for at least half a year. Later, thaw it directly in boiling water.

Freezing cherries is a good solution when you have too many left over to eat them all fresh. We’ll show you what you should consider when freezing the sweet fruits.

Freezing cherries – the preparation

Leftover cherries can be easily frozen and stored for more than ten months. Nothing can go wrong if you follow these five steps:

select cherries
In principle, cherries do not ripen after they have been harvested, so you should not choose cherries that are too light or overripe for freezing.

wash cherries
Wash the cherries in a bucket or sink, then drain and dry well.

remove stems
Once the cherries are dry, the stems should be removed. This step is mandatory, but you have the choice of whether or not you also pit the cherries. The fact that they can then be processed further speaks for freezing without a core. However, less juice is lost if you freeze them with stone. If you let them thaw briefly after you take them out of the freezer, the core can still be removed easily.

Freeze cherries: first of all, shock-freeze

shock freezing
Before you completely freeze the cherries, you should definitely do this intermediate step. The shock freezing ensures that the cherries do not later freeze into a large lump. This keeps them crunchy even after thawing. Shock freezing also preserves more vitamins, since the faster freezing forms smaller ice crystals, which are well distributed in the cherry. How it works:

Add the cherries one by one
Then put them in the freezer or in the freezer compartment of your fridge for two hours at the highest level.
Freeze
The last step follows: the actual freezing.
Now fill your cherries in containers and store them in your freezer.
In order to protect the environment, you should not use plastic utensils, especially not disposable plastic (such as freezer bags). Instead, try mason jars or stainless steel cans, for example. Cotton bags are also ideal.

Are your bananas too brown to eat again? Don’t throw them away, freeze the bananas. This way you avoid food waste and always have bananas ready when you need them.

How to freeze bananas

You don’t need much prior knowledge to freeze bananas. But they should not be unripe, because frozen they can no longer ripen. It’s even a good idea to freeze overripe bananas so you get the best use out of them.

You now have several options for freezing bananas:
slice
puree
freeze whole
Which variant you choose depends on how you want to process it after defrosting.

Step by step to freeze bananas:
peel bananas
Slice or mash bananas
To prevent the banana slices from sticking together, you can first freeze them spread out on a plate and then decant them.
Add a dash of lemon juice to the mashed bananas. then the puree will keep its color.
Pour bananas into a jar and freeze.

Freeze bananas and then?

Frozen bananas are versatile:
Use thawed mashed bananas as an egg substitute for baking
or for a banana bread (but beware: the banana bread will be moister than usual with frozen bananas).
Frozen banana makes itself super fast and super tasty as nice cream. Frozen banana slices are ideal here.
Half-thawed banana slices as a crunchy ingredient in muesli.
Whole bananas, puree or slices work well in smoothies.

Tips against cold and freezing in winter for protection outside and inside. When it gets really cold, a cold or flu often follows. Housewives know many tips against cold and freezing in winter. Such home remedies warm and strengthen the immune system at the same time.

1) Drinks as a warming home remedy

Healthy tips against cold and freezing in winter include foods that help the body maintain or increase its temperature. Quick home remedies with a high effect are e.g. B. Warming drinks such as fresh ginger tea. And most of the ingredients for hot tea with honey are in the household.

Cocoa or coffee with a “shot” is also an option. When it comes to rum, eggnog, mulled wine, and punch, however, the following applies: You have to pay attention to the amount, as alcohol causes the body to lose temperature over the long term.

2) Strengthen the immune system with honey ginger tea

A tea made from fresh ginger and honey works better against the cold and freezing in winter than alcohol. The tried-and-tested home remedy is quick to prepare and strengthens your own defenses:

  • Put on hot tea water for one cup (approx. 300 ml).
  • Slice a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger (about 3-5 pieces). Peeling is unnecessary.
  • Add 1 teaspoon of black tea to the ginger if desired.
  • Pour boiling tea water over it and let steep for 5-10 minutes.
  • Strain and sweeten with honey. Alternatively, use sugar or low-calorie stevia.
  • Adding lemon juice to the tea also strengthens, as housewives know. If you lose your temperature quickly, you should also try spices from private households.

3) Spices of warm food

You also have warming spices for the winter in your own household, such as ginger, chili, or pepper. They warm you from the inside and are suitable for both savory and sweet dishes. Try e.g. B. curries or spicy vegetable pans, also with marinated meat or poultry. The spiciness in the dishes heats up the metabolism so that the body releases heat.

Spiced desserts are popular tips for housewives against cold and freezing in winter. Try the following recipes with chocolate and chili:

Season a hot chocolate with chili powder as you like. DIY fans should try homemade dark chocolate with chili flakes. Chocolates and truffles with chili, ginger, or nutmeg offer new flavors.

With game dishes, a simple chocolate and chili sauce serves as an exotic change from the conventional roast sauce. Use dark chocolate if possible. The combinations of slightly tart chocolate and peppery chili are quick to make and taste fantastic. Positive side effects: They not only help against cold and freezing in winter. Due to the cocoa in the chocolate, the body releases more endorphins. It also lifts the spirits.

4) winter clothes

All housewives know that seasonal winter clothing is important. Without a hat and gloves, the body loses heat in these areas first. A hand-sized warming pad for your hands also helps to keep them from freezing when you are out and about. Another tip against rough, chapped winter hands is creamed with urea or panthenol.

5) Kidney Warmers

Kidney warming is actually used on motorcyclists. However, the effect is also possible for any clothing. Such a kidney warmer protects the entire abdomen from the cold. As a result, the whole body cools down less and the middle feels comfortably warm.

For many people, mushroom dishes are very tasty. During the mushroom season, mushroom lovers can’t get enough and often gather and eat lots of the edible varieties. If there are any leftovers, use our tips for freezing mushrooms and reheating mushrooms. Tips and instructions for freezing food help to ensure that nothing goes to waste.

If more mushrooms are picked than eaten during a trip to the woods, you need our tips on freezing mushrooms and reheating mushrooms. Of course, mushrooms can be dried well and then used for sauces and soups or simply as a flavor enhancer. But dried mushrooms still don’t taste as good as fresh ones. Only one thing helps: Freeze mushrooms fresh.

Freeze mushrooms

Mushrooms can be frozen raw, blanched, or cooked. Which method works better is primarily a matter of opinion and also a question of the available space in the freezer. Mushrooms that have already been prepared take up less space because they lose a lot of volumes when steamed by collapsing. Whichever method you choose, here are all the tips for preserving mushrooms.

Step by step guide

If the delicious finds are very sandy or dirty, clean them carefully with a soft mushroom brush. The mushrooms should be thoroughly cleaned and washed before freezing. You can slice the larger ones. Then it is best to freeze them in a freezer bag or a can. There is a simple trick to prevent the individual mushroom slices from sticking together too much when freezing: after preparation, lay the slices out on a tray or large chopping board and put them in the freezer for 24 hours. Only then do they go into freezer bags or freezer boxes. This has the advantage that you can later remove exactly the right amount individually if required. Also, note our tips for freezing beans.

Cooking with frozen mushrooms

If you want to make a mushroom dish from frozen mushrooms, do not thaw them. You can simply put them in the pan as they are, frozen, and cook with them. They are added to the dish at the end of the cooking time and thawed in the hot food, as well as being cooked briefly. Mushrooms have a cooking time of 15 minutes. In most cases, frozen mushrooms taste just like fresh mushrooms.

Special case chanterelles

Freezing mushrooms is a good way to make them last longer. However, a few types of mushrooms such as chanterelles (also called chanterelles in Austria) lose their flavor when frozen raw. It is better to blanch them slightly or prepare them completely before freezing, otherwise, they will become bitter. See also our tips for washing and cleaning chanterelles.

Freeze mushrooms how long

The frozen mushrooms can be kept for a year without losing their taste. The edible mushrooms can be frozen raw, frozen blanched, or frozen cooked for the same length of time. Chances are your stash will run out over the course of a year as there are so many delicious healthy dishes made with mushrooms. At the end of the season, you can then go busy collecting new mushrooms.

Warm-up mushrooms

But what happens if there are leftovers from a mushroom meal? Can they be reheated or is it harmful to eat reheated mushrooms? Grandmother always warned against reheating mushroom dishes, and she was right in her day. Mushrooms consist almost entirely of protein and water, and protein breaks down relatively quickly. This can result in toxic decomposition products. However, this does not happen or only very slowly if the mushrooms are stored in a cool place and not at room temperature. So if the rest of the mushroom dish goes straight into the fridge, it can be stored for a good 24 hours. If the mushroom dish is first stored in a cool place and then well heated, it can be enjoyed with an appetite and without any risk.

Useful for mushroom fans

If you enjoy preparing mushrooms and enjoy making mushroom dishes, then having the right tools is a great thing for you. A mushroom brush for cleaning mushrooms is very useful because they allow very gentle cleaning even without water. Incidentally, the brush can also be used to clean other delicate types of vegetables, such as peppers, tomatoes, or potatoes.