While green asparagus is the most common type of this delicious veggie, white asparagus is seen as more of a delicacy and isn’t as widely available. With this in mind, what’s the best way to preserve it?
Can You Freeze White Asparagus?
Yes, you can freeze white asparagus for up to 6 months. You will need to blanch it first to ensure it doesn’t discolour during the freezing process before bagging it up and placing it in the freezer.
Do Does White Asparagus freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze White Asparagus? No
How to Freeze White Asparagus
Freezing white asparagus is nice and straightforward, but you need to take the crucial step of blanching it first, as this ensures it retains its nutrients and doesn’t discolour throughout its time in the freezer.
Other than that, freezing white asparagus couldn’t be easier, as we explain below:
- Blanch: Take your white asparagus and remove the ends. Then, prepare a pan of boiling water and drop the white asparagus into the water, leaving them for around 60 seconds then transfer the white asparagus to an ice bath, leaving them for 2-3 minutes submerged in water.
- Dry: After blanching your white asparagus, remove the veggies from the ice bath and dry them thoroughly with a paper towel. This is important, as you don’t want to put wet asparagus in the freezer, as it will affect its consistency.
- Bag Up: Place your white asparagus shoots in a suitably sized freezer-safe bag before pressing as much air as possible before sealing.
- Label and Freeze: Write today’s date and the use-by date on the front of the freezer-safe bag and place your white asparagus in the freezer. Remember, you can freeze white asparagus for around six months.
3 Tips for Freezing White Asparagus
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing white asparagus to have the best results:
Always Blanch It
While you can get away with freezing some vegetables without blanching them first, you need always to blanch white asparagus.
It will discolour and lose some of its nutrient value if you don’t do this, so it’s really important not to skip this step when you’re hoping to preserve white asparagus long into the future.
Freeze Green Asparagus Too!
Although we’ve dealt with freezing white asparagus in this article, you can also freeze green asparagus by following the same steps as detailed above. Green asparagus is much more widely available and is just as delicious as its white counterpart, and you can freeze it just as easily.
Cook From Frozen
Another good thing about freezing white asparagus is that you can freeze it from frozen. This means you don’t have to worry about defrosting it ahead of time, saving you some time and effort in the kitchen!
That being said, you can defrost white asparagus if you want or need to, and we explain how to go about it in one of the following sections.
How Long Can You Freeze White Asparagus?
You can freeze white asparagus for around 6 months. Some people freeze vegetables for much longer than this, but we’d recommend using asparagus within this time frame to enjoy its delicious taste and nutrient value.
Leaving vegetables in the freezer for too long can cause them to lose some of their flavour and texture, so it’s best to use white asparagus within six months if you want to guarantee its taste when you come to enjoy it.
White asparagus will last for between 3 and 5 days in the fridge. After this, it will begin to turn limp and the flavour will become bitter.
How Do You Defrost White Asparagus?
As mentioned, you don’t need to defrost white asparagus as you can cook it directly from frozen.
However, if you want to thaw it for use in a particular recipe, you can thaw it by transferring it from the freezer to the fridge. It’s best to do this the day before you plan on using it, as this will give the white asparagus sufficient time to thaw.
You shouldn’t defrost white asparagus in the microwave, as it will negatively affect its consistency.
Can You Refreeze White Asparagus?
We only recommend freezing white asparagus once. This is because the ice crystals that form during the freezing process can affect the taste and texture of white asparagus.
In other words, the more you freeze and refreeze it, the more likely it is to deteriorate in quality.
If you’re concerned about wasting your supply of white asparagus, consider freezing it in smaller portion sizes, so you can easily remove what you need from the freezer at any given time.
Does White Asparagus Freeze Well?
Just like many other vegetables, white asparagus freezes really well. Make sure you blanch it and bag it up, and you can store it in the freezer for at least six months.
Given how well it freezes, you can rely on a supply of this delicious and nutritious veggie throughout the year, even when you can’t find it in the supermarket.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing white asparagus or asparagus in general, then these may help:
Although it would be safe to do so, you’ll ruin the texture and flavour so there’s no point in skipping the blanching process.
