Alfalfa sprouts are a healthy thing that many people worldwide are adding to their diet for the purported superfood benefits. If youāre a big fan, then you’ll need to know how best to store them for the long term.
Can You Freeze Alfalfa Sprouts?
Yes, you can freeze Alfalfa Sprouts for up to 1 month. Itās generally recommended that you donāt do this as their quality will deteriorate, but the best way to freeze them is to place them into a sealed, pre-frozen glass jar.
Do Do Alfalfa Sprouts freeze well? No
Can you refreeze Alfalfa Sprouts? No
How to Freeze Alfalfa Sprouts
Freezing alfalfa sprouts isnāt as easy as simply throwing the container in the freezer. To that end, follow the steps below.
- Pre-Freeze a Jar: A great way to ensure that you freeze the alfalfa sprouts as quickly as possible (thereby retaining as many nutrients as possible) is to pre-freeze something to a very low temperature. A glass jar will get very, very cold, allowing for rapid freezing.
- Add the Sprouts: Add the sprouts to the jar reasonably gently. It would help if you didnāt press the sprouts down into the container at all to ensure that you can fit more in. This will damage the sprouts, ruining their texture.
- Seal: Screw the lid back onto the jar, ensuring it is securely fastened with sealed the whole way around.
- Freeze: Transferring the already-frozen jar directly to the centre of the freezer will ensure that the sprouts freeze exceptionally rapidly. This will mean they retain as much texture and flavour as possible.
3 Tips for Freezing Alfalfa Sprouts
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing alfalfa sprouts to have the best results:
Use a Clean Jar
Making sure that the jar is clean is vital, as a large portion of the sprouts themselves are made up of water. Any contaminants will find a place to dissolve in the sprouts, ruining the flavour entirely.
Keep Them Tightly Sealed
Making sure that the jar is sealed is essential as any additional water in the alfalfa sprouts will lead to ice beginning to form. Within a foodstuff as small and delicate as alfalfa sprouts, any level of freezer burn is too much for the food to recover from.
Don’t Bother!
This might sound odd coming from us, but not freezing the sprouts can be a good idea. The reason is that the sprouts can deteriorate quickly in the freezer, so simply keeping them in the fridge for a few more days might be a little wiser to ensure theyāre enjoyable.
How Long Can You Freeze Alfalfa Sprouts?
You can freeze alfalfa sprouts for an absolute maximum of a month. Freezing the sprouts for any longer than that can, and often does, impact the flavour and texture of the sprouts themselves.
To be sure that the sprouts are as good as possible, a month is the absolute maximum amount of time they can be frozen for.
When kept in an airtight, resealable bag, alfalfa sprouts will last for around 3 days in the fridge before they become limp and lifeless.
How Do You Defrost Alfalfa Sprouts?
The simplest way to defrost alfalfa sprouts is to remove them from the glass jar and allow them to thaw at room temperature.
If you can, place them on a windowsill, as that will allow the sprouts themselves to soak up some sunlight and warmth at the same time.
The sprouts getting some sun can revive them just a little, allowing them to be a bit more enjoyable when you eat them. Unfortunately, like most salad ingredients, they won’t be that enjoyable.
Can You Refreeze Alfalfa Sprouts?
No, you really cannot refreeze alfalfa sprouts.
While theyāll be perfectly safe after long-term and/or repeated freezing, their quality will have degraded to such an intense degree that theyāre no longer enjoyable.
Do Alfalfa Sprouts Freeze Well?
No, alfalfa sprouts do not freeze well.
The reason is that the sprouts are pretty weak in themselves, so they will rapidly succumb to freezer burn, wilting and becoming utterly inedible before long.
While the sprouts will still be safe to eat beyond the point theyāve become burned by the frost, they will be much less pleasant. To that end, we would generally suggest not freezing them.
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing alfalfa sprouts or alfalfa in general, then these may help:
Although it is possible to freeze broccoli sprouts, like other sprouts such as alfalfa, you will completely ruin the texture by freezing them. It is not advised to freeze them.
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