3 cornered leeks are not the easiest food to find. In fact, you’ll need to forage for it most of the time. If you’ve managed to harvest a good supply, do you know the best way to store it?
Can You Freeze 3 Cornered Leeks?
Yes, you can freeze 3 cornered leeks for up to 1 month. The best way to do this is to place the plant’s flowers into ice cube trays and then fill the trays with water. Once the trays are filled, transfer them to the freezer.
Do Do 3 Cornered Leeks freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze 3 Cornered Leeks? Yes
How to Freeze 3 Cornered Leeks
Freezing 3 cornered leeks isnāt quite as simple as throwing the whole plant into the freezer, especially when you consider that the flower is the most desirable part of the plant.
Follow our steps to ensure you freeze them well:
How to Freeze 3 Cornered Leek Flowers
The flowers are a delicate yet pungent part of the plant which is why it’s a good idea to freeze them separately:
- Remove the Flowers: The flowers of 3 cornered leeks are by far the most desirable part of the plant. For this method, we’re going to focus on the flowers so remove them from the stems.
- Fill an Ice Cube Tray: Place one or two of the flowers into each slot of an ice cube tray. Try not to crush them into the ice cube holes, but they can be pressed a little to fit more in.
- Top Up With Water: To each slot in the ice cube tray, add enough water so that the top of the water level comes to the top of the slot. This will ensure that the flowers themselves are wrapped in ice.
- Freeze: Finally, pop the ice cube tray into the freezer where the cubes of flowers can be kept for around a month.
How to Freeze 3 Cornered Leek Stems
Of course, the bulk of the plant is the stem. The flavour is a little milder in the stem but that’s no excuse to throw them out:
- Clean: As you’ll have likely foraged the 3 cornered leeks, give them a good wash to remove any dirt and bugs.
- Blanch: In boiling water, blanch the stems for 20 seconds just to soften them lightly before dunking them into ice-cold water.
- Dry: Drain thoroughly, then squeeze in a clean kitchen towel to remove any excess water.
- Pack Into Ice Cube Tray: Take the blanched stems and pack them tightly into the slots of an ice cube tray.
- Freeze: Pop the tray into the freezer for 2 to 3 hours to allow the stems to freeze into hard cubes.
- Bag Up: Remove the cubes from the ice cube tray, pop them into a resealable bag and then return the bag to the freezer for around a month.
3 Tips for Freezing 3 Cornered Leeks
Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing 3 cornered leeks to have the best results:
Avoid Too Much Stem
Slicing too much of the stem from the plant and freezing that with the rest of the flower can lead to a grassy, unpleasant flavour that ruins the flavour of the flower head. This is why we freeze them individually.
Submerge the Flowers
Ensuring that the flowers are submerged is a great way to ensure they wonāt lose any flavour during the freezing process. This is because, while submerged, no air can get to them to evaporate any of the aromatic, flavorful compounds.
Combine With Other Herbs
If youāre looking to make powerfully aromatic herb bundles, you could freeze several different fresh herbs together in the ice cube moulds. Try combining 3 cornered leeks with wild garlic, basil or coriander.
How Long Can You Freeze 3 Cornered Leeks?
You can freeze 3 cornered leeks for around 1 month before they start to degrade.
The reason that this is the upper limit for them is the delicate nature of the flowers. The flowers contain a lot of water, and are also very thin and delicate. During freezing, the water can expand and damage them.
You can keep 3 cornered leeks in the fridge for 2 to 3 days after picking. Unfortunately, the leaves will quickly wilt once harvested.
How Do You Defrost 3 Cornered Leeks?
The best way to defrost 3 cornered leeks when stored in ice cubes is simply to throw them into the pan that youāre cooking with. The ice will melt very rapidly, leaving you with aromatic herbs that are simmering away in the pan.
Donāt throw ice cubes directly into a pan with oil – the ice will immediately boil to steam, launching small amounts of hot oil everywhere. This is very dangerous!
Can You Refreeze 3 Cornered Leeks?
Yes, if you follow the instructions above, you should be able to refreeze 3 cornered leeks with no trouble at all.
Repeated freezing, though, might lead to the texture of the leeks being damaged, so itās best to avoid it. If you must do it, though, it certainly can be done!
Do 3 Cornered Leeks Freeze Well?
Yes, 3 cornered leeks do freeze well!
The reason for this is that since weāre freezing them within a small block of ice, theyāre well-supported in the freezer, leading to a relative lack of textural degradation.
A great way to ensure that they freeze well is to make sure that theyāre totally submerged in the water before freezing – that truly makes a lot of difference!
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing 3 cornered leeks or 3 cornered leeks in general, then these may help:
Although they are both alliums, 3 cornered leeks and wild garlic are not the same plants. 3 cornered leeks have a subtle onion flavour whereas wild garlic has a more intense garlic flavour.
