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• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Short-term storage of broccoli
• Method 2 of 3: Freeze and store broccoli for the long term
• Method 3 of 3: Choosing the best broccoli

Broccoli is a delicious and nutritious vegetable, but it is not easy to keep broccoli fresh for long. If broccoli is stored incorrectly, a crunchy and fresh stump can become limp and tough within two days. But if you do it properly, broccoli will stay tasty for up to seven days (and even longer if you freeze it). Quickly skip to step 1 to learn how broccoli likes to be treated; from now on you will never have to throw limp broccoli in the trash again!

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Method 1 of 3: Short-term storage of broccoli

1. Make a bouquet of broccoli. An unconventional but surprisingly effective way to keep broccoli fresh is one you probably only know about keeping your flowers beautiful. Simply place the stalk of broccoli stem down in a bowl with about an inch of water on the bottom. The florets must stand up, so outside the shell. Place the bowl of broccoli in the refrigerator. This way, broccoli stays fresh for five to seven days.
   • The broccoli will stay even better if you place a plastic bag loosely over the florets, with some holes so that the air can pass through. Change the water every day.
2. Wrap the broccoli in a damp paper towel. Another option for keeping broccoli fresh is a variation on those automatic foggers you sometimes see in stores. Fill a clean empty spray bottle (a spray bottle that has not previously contained bleach or other chemical cleaning products) with cold water, set the spray bottle on the spray setting and moisten the florets of the broccoli. Loosely wrap some kitchen paper around the florets so that it absorbs some moisture. Keep the broccoli in the refrigerator. The broccoli will stay fresh this way for three days.
   • Do not wrap the broccoli too tightly with kitchen paper and never store broccoli in a sealed container. Broccoli needs air circulation to stay fresh.
3. Keep your broccoli in a ventilated bag. Don't worry if you don't have the time or patience for the above methods; you can also keep broccoli fairly fresh with the help of a plastic bag. Put the broccoli in the bag, poke many holes at the florets of the broccoli to ensure good air circulation. Keep the bag of broccoli in the refrigerator. This method will keep the broccoli fresh for a few days.
4. Wash broccoli from your own garden, but not store broccoli. A little moisture can help keep broccoli fresh, but too much moisture is bad. Moisture can cause mold, and the broccoli can be ruined and inedible within a few days. For this reason, you should not wash store bought broccoli, the broccoli is already washed and clean anyway. But broccoli from your own garden must well be washed to remove tiny insects and dirt. Dry the broccoli well after washing to prevent mold.
   • You can wash your own garden broccoli with some warm water (not hot) and a few teaspoons of white vinegar in a large bowl. Soak the broccoli for about 15 minutes to kill small insects and to remove any dirt and soil hidden in the packed florets. Then remove it from the bowl, rinse with cold water and dry thoroughly before putting the broccoli in the fridge.
5. Place the broccoli in the refrigerator as soon as possible. It doesn't matter which method you use, broccoli should always be put in the refrigerator as soon as possible. Some sources recommend putting broccoli in the refrigerator within 30 minutes of purchasing it. The sooner the broccoli gets into the refrigerator, the less likely it is that the broccoli will lose its firm, crunchy texture and the longer it will take for the broccoli to go bad.

Method 2 of 3: Freeze and store broccoli for the long term

1. Blanch the broccoli. The methods outlined above work really well if you want to keep broccoli fresh in the short term, but if you have so much broccoli that you can never finish it until it's gone, you better freeze it. You can keep frozen broccoli for a year, so you have plenty of time to process the broccoli in a dish before it is no longer good. But it's not as simple as simply throwing the broccoli in the freezer and thinking about it - the broccoli must be blanched first. To start, bring water to a boil in a large saucepan and prepare a large saucepan or bowl of ice water.
2. Cut the broccoli into small pieces. While you wait for the water to boil, you can cut or trim the broccoli into florets with kitchen scissors. The florets should be about 2 to 3 cm in circumference and the stems no longer than 2 to 3 cm. It is important to chop the broccoli - otherwise the broccoli will not be blanched evenly, the outside will be blanched, but the inside will remain unaffected.
   • You can also break off the florets with your hands if you want. Grab a rose and peel it off the stump. Repeat this until you have all florets and a stump. If the florets are larger than 4 cm (diameter), break them in half again.
3. Cook the broccoli for three minutes. When you have separated all the florets from the stump, put them in the boiling water to blanch them. They don't have to cook for a long time - about three minutes is enough. Stir occasionally to make sure the broccoli is evenly blanched.
   • The purpose of blanching is to better preserve the broccoli when it is frozen. All vegetables contain enzymes and bacteria that can affect the color, texture and taste of the vegetable when frozen. Blanching the vegetable kills the bacteria and deactivates the enzymes, so the broccoli retains its delicious properties better when frozen.
4. Place the broccoli in ice water for three minutes. After the broccoli has boiled for three minutes, put it in a colander. When the hot water is gone and you can no longer burn yourself, immediately put the broccoli in the ice water. Let it cool in the ice-cold water for three minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure all the florets are in contact with the water.
   • You cool it in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. you cooked the broccoli to blanch it, not to cook it - if you don't stop the cooking process, the broccoli will become soft and unpalatable. If you put the boiling hot broccoli florets directly in the freezer, the broccoli will cool less quickly than in ice water, so always use ice water to stop the cooking process.
5. Drain and dry. After the broccoli has cooled in the ice water for 3 minutes (the broccoli should feel about as cold as the water), toss the broccoli, water and all, through a colander. Now let it drain in the colander. Shake the colander from time to time to loosen excess water from the broccoli. After a minute or two, pat the broccoli dry with a clean cloth or paper towel to remove the last of the water.
6. Keep it in a sealed bag in the freezer. Place the broccoli florets in an airtight plastic bag and write the current date on the bag. Squeeze the excess air out of the bag, then close the bag completely, and put the bag in the freezer. Now you are done! Broccoli can be kept in the freezer for a year.
   • You can keep broccoli longest in a three or four star freezer (-18ºC or colder). A freezer with an automatic defrost function is less suitable, because the temperature will occasionally rise to melt the ice. Then you can keep the broccoli less long.
   • Devices with which you can vacuum food are very useful for freezing vegetables. By sucking all the air out of the bag or container, the broccoli can be kept in the freezer even longer, and the broccoli will taste better after thawing. However, these types of devices are relatively expensive.
   • For many dishes (especially oven dishes) you do not have to defrost vegetables before using them, because then moisture will enter the dish. However, if a recipe specifically calls for thawed broccoli, you can soak the florets in room temperature water for a few minutes.

Method 3 of 3: Choosing the best broccoli

1. Look for broccoli with florets that have a dark green color. If you want to be able to store fresh and crunchy broccoli, you must first buy the tastiest broccoli you can find. It is very useful to be able to recognize a fresh, healthy plant, whether you buy the broccoli at the supermarket or grow it yourself in your vegetable garden. To start, look at the small buds on the florets, which are the flower buds of the broccoli plant. These buds should have a deep, dark green color.
   • Do not choose broccoli with yellow flower buds or yellow pieces; the broccoli is already less tasty and ready to start making flowers, the plant then becomes tougher and more woody.
2. Choose a broccoli with flower buds about the size of the head of a match. The size of the flower buds is also important when assessing broccoli. Are they very small and difficult to distinguish from each other or are they large and full? Ideally, the buds are slightly smaller than the head of a match, so you can tell that the plant is fully grown, but not too far off.
   • You don't have to pass up broccoli with smaller buds. There is nothing wrong with these plants, if you buy frozen broccoli at the supermarket, the buds are usually also relatively small.
3. Feel if the broccoli is firm to the touch. The texture of broccoli is crucial, a nice crunchy broccoli rose on a hot day can be wonderfully refreshing, but a soft or chewy broccoli is often a disappointing experience. Use your hands when selecting broccoli. Pinch the plant or try to turn the plant a bit. The broccoli is perfect when it feels firm, but gives a little bit.
4. Harvest broccoli in the morning and then immediately put the broccoli in the refrigerator. If you buy broccoli in the supermarket you have nothing to say about the way the broccoli is harvested, but if you have a vegetable garden with broccoli in it you can decide for yourself how and when you harvest the broccoli. The best time to harvest broccoli is on a colder part of the day (morning is best). Cut the whole broccoli off the stalk and put it in the fridge right away to preserve freshness.
   • This prevents the broccoli from having time to heat up, the colder the broccoli stays, the better the original taste and texture will be preserved.