Broccoli, while delicious and nutritious, has earned a reputation for being a bit tricky to keep fresh. Improperly stored, cauliflower may take just a day or two to break free from being crunchy and refreshing. However, with smart storage technology, you can keep broccoli fresh for up to five to seven days (or longer if you're willing to freeze it). To make the most of broccoli and reduce kitchen waste.

Method 1, Short-Term Storage of Broccoli

1. Make a broccoli bouquet. An unconventional but surprisingly effective way to keep cauliflower fresh, similar to the way you keep the flowers in a bouquet bright and fresh. Simply set your head of broccoli down and pour it into a bowl with ? inch of water in the bottom. The "busy" part of the broccoli (the head) should be pointing into the bowl. Refrigerate. Broccoli stored this way should stay fresh for about five to seven days.

For optimal freshness, loosely cover the head of broccoli with a plastic bag with a few holes in it to allow air to pass through. Change the water daily.

2. Wrap the broccoli in a damp paper towel. Another way to keep broccoli fresh is to mimic the freshness effect of the automatic misters you see in the produce section of the grocery store. Fill a clean, empty spray bottle (not previously filled with bleach or other caustic cleaners) with cold water and spray the head of broccoli with a soft spray. Wrap the head loosely in a paper towel to allow the towel to absorb some of the moisture. Place the broccoli in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh for about three days.

Don't wrap the broccoli too tightly in paper towels or place it in an airtight container. Broccoli needs air movement to stay fresh.

3. Place the broccoli in a ventilated bag. If you don't have the time or patience to use the above method, rest assured-it's easy to keep broccoli fresh using a regular plastic bag. Simply seal the broccoli in the bag and poke many holes in the bag near the head of the broccoli to ensure good air circulation. Keep broccoli refrigerated. Broccoli should stay fresh for at least a few days using this method.

4. Wash homemade broccoli, but don't use store-bought broccoli. A little moisture can be a good thing when storing broccoli, but too much can be bad. Moisture can promote mold growth in just a few days, which can make broccoli inedible. For this reason, you will want to avoid washing fresh broccoli purchased from the store, which has already been washed and dried and therefore does not require additional cleaning. However, you will want to wash broccoli that you grew yourself removing small insects and debris from your garden. After washing your native broccoli, be sure to dry it thoroughly to prevent mold.

To wash native broccoli, mix warm (not hot) water and a couple teaspoons of white vinegar in a large bowl. Soak the broccoli for about 15 minutes to kill any small bugs and remove any debris that may be hiding in the plant's dense florets. Remove and rinse with cold water and dry thoroughly before refrigerating.

5. Place broccoli in the refrigerator as soon as possible. No matter how you choose to store your broccoli, one thing is always the same - you want to get it into the fridge as soon as possible. Some sources recommend that even freshly purchased broccoli should be placed in the refrigerator within 30 minutes of purchase. The faster the broccoli goes into the refrigerator, the less chance it has of starting to lose its firm, crunchy texture and the longer it lasts before going bad.

Method 2, Freezing Broccoli for Long-Term Storage

1. Prepare boiling and ice-cold water. The methods discussed above are great for keeping broccoli fresh for a short period of time, but if there's so much broccoli that you just don't think you'll be able to eat it all before it rots, or you simply don't plan to eat it right away, consider freezing it. Frozen broccoli will stay good for up to a year, so you'll have plenty of time to get it into a bowl before it goes bad. But freezing broccoli isn't as simple as throwing it in the freezer and forgetting about it-first, it must be prepared in a process called hot blanching. First, you'll need to prepare a large pot of boiling water and a similar large pot or bowl of ice water.

2. Cut the head of broccoli into small pieces. While waiting for the water to boil, take the opportunity to cut the broccoli head into small pieces with a knife or kitchen scissors. There should be no more than an inch or so on either side of the head and no more than an inch or so on the stem. It's important to cut the head of cauliflower into small pieces-if you don't, the boiling water may affect the outer edges of the cauliflower more than the protected interior, causing the cauliflower to scald unevenly.

You can even fold open the head of broccoli with your bare hands if desired. Simply grab a portion of the head and pull it off the main plant, leaving a cluster of florets (the "busy" part) and a short stem. If the florets are more than an inch and a half or so wide, separate the cluster again.

3. Boil the broccoli florets for three minutes. After you've cut all the cauliflower into small pieces, dump them into boiling water and scald them. They don't need to cook for very long - about three minutes is enough. Stir regularly to make sure the broccoli pieces whiten evenly.

The purpose of blanching is to help preserve the broccoli once it's frozen. All vegetables contain enzymes and bacteria that cause their color, texture, and flavor to become inedible during the freezing process. Bleaching kills the bacteria and disables the enzymes, which means broccoli will better retain its original flavorful properties after freezing.

4. Chill the broccoli flakes for three minutes. After boiling the broccoli flakes for about three minutes, drain them in a colander or strainer. Then, as soon as the excess hot water runs through the strainer and there's no danger of burning you, pour them into ice-cold water. Let them soak in the ice water for about three minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure all pieces are in contact with the cold water.

The purpose of the ice water is to immediately cool the broccoli down so that it doesn't continue to cook. Broccoli gets hot when it is boiled, not cooked - if it is allowed to continue cooking, the broccoli will eventually soften and become unappetizing. Placing hot broccoli flakes directly into the refrigerator will not cool steamed broccoli as quickly as direct contact with ice water, so for our purposes the latter is the better choice.

5. Drain. After submerging the broccoli in ice water for about three minutes (it should feel as cold as water to the touch), pour it into a colander or strainer and let it rest briefly. While resting, toss the broccoli from time to time to lose water. After a minute or two, pat with a clean rag or paper towel to remove excess water.

6. Store in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator. Cut the broccoli into small pieces, place in a ziplock plastic bag, and label with today's date. Squeeze any excess air out of the bag, seal it, and toss it in the fridge. At this point, you are done! Once frozen, broccoli should keep for up to a year.

To maximize the life of your frozen broccoli, use a low-temperature "deep freezer" instead of a zero-frost freezer, which will cycle to a higher-than-freezing state to melt the ice in the compartment, which will shorten the life of the freezer. Broccoli.

Special vacuum-sealed equipment, such as the FoodSaver, is great for freezing vegetables. By removing all the air from the bag or container in which the broccoli is stored, they can extend the freezer life of broccoli and keep it fresh compared to conventional freezing methods. However, these devices can cost up to $100.

For many recipes (especially baking recipes), you don't want to thaw the vegetables before cooking, as this can reduce the moisture content of the final dish. However, for recipes that call for thawing broccoli, all you need to do is soak the broccoli in room-temperature water for a few minutes to thaw.

Method 3: Choose fresh broccoli

1. Look for dark green florets. If you want fresh, crunchy, flavorful broccoli in your fridge, it helps to use the freshest veggies from scratch. Whether you're picking up broccoli at your local super market or taking it fresh from the garden, it's a smart idea to know the signs of a fresh, healthy plant so you can always choose the best broccoli. First, try checking for the tiny, bead-like buds that make up the head of the broccoli, called florets. The florets of the best broccoli plants should be a deep, somewhat dark green color.

Be on the lookout for yellow florets or florets-this is an indication that your broccoli is out of date and about to flower, which will make the plant hard and woody.

2. Look for florets about the size of a match head. Another thing to consider when picking broccoli is the size of the individual florets-they're so small they're almost indistinguishable from each other, or are they big and full? Ideally, you should see some florets that are smaller than a match head - this indicates that the broccoli plant is ripe, but not yet mature.

You don't have to avoid broccoli that contains only florets. These plants won't hurt you or taste bad-for example, most frozen broccoli you can buy from the frozen food aisle at the grocery store doesn't have large florets.

3. Want a firm, taut head. The texture of the broccoli plant is crucial-there's nothing better than the satisfyingly crunchy head of cauliflower on a hot summer day-but there's nothing heavier than broccoli that's become soft or chewy. When picking broccoli, don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Gently squeeze or twist each head. Ideally, the best heads of broccoli should be hard and firm, but they shouldn't be completely yielding.

4. For locally grown broccoli, harvest in the morning and cool immediately. When you buy broccoli at the store, the broccoli has already been selected for you, so the way it is harvested is out of your control. However, when you grow your own broccoli at home, you have complete control over how and when it is harvested, so make the most of these opportunities. Usually, to savor the freshest broccoli, it's best to harvest it during the coolest part of the day (usually morning). Cut the entire head of broccoli from the stem of the plant and transfer it immediately to the refrigerator to preserve its freshness.

This minimizes the amount of time the cauliflower spends preheating-keeping it cooler will better preserve its original flavor and texture.