If you can pick up fresh kohlrabi from your local farmer’s market while it’s in season, you can enjoy its unique taste. But as it’s not widely available all year round, it’s a good idea to buy it when it’s in season. But, how do you store it for the long term?
Can You Freeze Kohlrabi?
Yes, you can freeze kohlrabi for up to 8 months. To freeze kohlrabi while retaining the flavour, we recommend you blanch your kohlrabi first before portioning it into freezer-safe bags.
Does Kohlrabi Freeze Well? Yes
Can You Refreeze Kohlrabi? No
How to Freeze Kohlrabi
If you want to enjoy kohlrabi while it’s still packed with nutrients and incredibly tasty, we’d recommend blanching it first. That’s because the process destroys the enzymes that are responsible for the decay in foods.
If you don’t want to blanch it, you don’t need to. Simply skip step one if you want to freeze your kohlrabi as it is:
- Dice and Blanch: For best results, blanch your kohlrabi before you freeze it. Slice it into small chunks and blanch it for around one minute in boiling water. You should then submerge it into iced cold water for another minute before draining and drying.Â
- Split Into Portions: As soon as your kohlrabi is blanched, you should split it into portion sizes that are suitable for your desired use.Â
- Place in Freezer-Safe Bags: Fill freezer-safe bags no more than 2/3 of the way up. Press out as much air as possible and then seal the bags.Â
- Label and Freeze: Write today’s date on the front of your individual bags of kohlrabi, as well as the use-by date. Remember, you can freeze kohlrabi for around eight months. When labelled, place the sealed bags in the freezer.Â
3 Tips for Freezing Kohlrabi
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing kohlrabi to have the best results:
Blanch In Plenty of Water
When you’re blanching your kohlrabi, make sure you use as much water as possible. This will ensure you’re able to regulate the temperature of the heating and cooling process and will adequately remove the enzymes.
Freeze Whole If Needs Be
You can store kohlrabi in the freezer without peeling, dicing, or blanching it if you desire. However, if you do this, we wouldn’t recommend keeping it for much longer than one week, as it can go bad if left for too long.
Dry Thoroughly
When you’re draining your kohlrabi, you will need to make sure it’s as dry as possible before you bag it up. You don’t want any excess water in the freezer bag, as this can affect the freezing process and alter the texture of your kohlrabi when you come to defrost it.
How Long Can You Freeze Kohlrabi?
You can freeze kohlrabi for around eight months.
It turns out that kohlrabi is an extremely tough vegetable and can be preserved for a long time in the freezer.
Given the fact that it’s nutrient-dense and packed with goodness, freezing kohlrabi is an excellent way of ensuring you can enjoy this superfood all year round.
Fortunately, you might not even need to worry about freezing it as kohlrabi will keep in the fridge for a 2 weeks before going off. It’s one of the longest-lasting vegetables.
How Do You Defrost Kohlrabi?
When you’re ready to enjoy your frozen kohlrabi, you should transfer it from the freezer to the fridge a few hours before you plan to prepare it.
If you’re heating your kohlrabi in the microwave, it’s possible to heat it from frozen; you will just need to do so on low heat first before heating it through thoroughly.
Can You Refreeze Kohlrabi?
You need to be careful refreezing vegetables like kohlrabi, as doing so too many times can ruin their overall texture.
Providing you have defrosted your kohlrabi in the fridge, it won’t do you any harm if you decide to refreeze it; you just might notice a slight deterioration in taste and flavour.
It’s much better to plan in advance and freeze your kohlrabi in suitable portion sizes. This means you only need to take out what you need at any given time, and you don’t need to worry about wastage.
Does Kohlrabi Freeze Well?
Kohlrabi freezes pretty well, and you should have no issues when it comes to preparing it as part of a delicious meal.
That being said, you might notice a slight discolouration after defrosting it, which is nothing to worry about. This is just due to the increased water content, and it shouldn’t affect the taste of your kohlrabi a great deal.
So, if you’re looking for nutritious and delicious greens to freeze, kohlrabi is a great choice.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing kohlrabi or kohlrabi in general, then these may help:
Unfortunately, although it is likely to be safe to freeze kohlrabi without blanching, it is not something we would advise. Blanching kohlrabi will lock in the flavour and texture before freezing it. It might take some extra effort, but it’s well worth it!
To freeze kohlrabi noodles, portion them out into bundles on a lined baking tray and freeze. Once solid, you can pop the bundles into a large freezer bag, seal and return them to the freezer.
I have a very large – 15 plus pounds Kolrabi. First time growing this vegetable and this one outpaced the other 3 that were planted in another garden. Took photos.
I plan to blanch the Kohlrabi and freeze it. cutting to the smaller size pieces as noted in the literature Noted in this article. Thank you for the information. By the way I cut off and cleaned one of the knobs and it tastes great. I also steamed some and after it cooled I combined it with apples and some spices and made a little salad. Tasted good.
Great to hear Chris. It’s such an underrated and underappreciated vegetable. Enjoy it!
What about if you don’t plan to cook it, just eat it raw? How does freezing work for that?
You could try grating it onto a baking tray and freezing it then, once frozen, place it into a freezer bag. You may find you lose some crunch once thawed, however.
When I first dealt with this veggie I didn’t know what it was so I froze it. And now that i know what it is can i thaw it blanch it and re freeze it so it may keep this is my first time I’m not sure how to use it for meals and advice
Kohlrabi is incredibly versatile. Use it how you would celeriac or turnip. So you can roast it in the oven, turn it into soup, peel then grate into coleslaw or thinly slice and layer with potatoes into a gratin.