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I really enjoy the convenience of frozen broccoli: it's always there and ready to use in the freezer for a quick 'n' easy curry or bake.
The trouble I've found is that often the broccoli are too big for the purpose I have in mind; the finished dish often has large, unwieldy florets in it doing Titanic iceberg impressions.
So I need to cut these badboys down to size. You might suggest thawing and then chopping, but I always chuck the frozen broccoli straight into the dish. Thawing would remove the convenience.
Thus I wish to cut the broccoli whilst it's still frozen and continue to store it in the freezer. I intend to use a saw for this purpose.
The broccoli will no doubt warm up and commence the dreaded thawing whilst being sawn so to avoid this I wonder if you fine folk have any words of wisdom to impart concerning:
- Saw type: would a hand saw or an electric saw be best?
- Blade type: regular steel or one of those fancy diamond ones?
- Teeth density: 30 tpi or woodsaw...?
Thanks for your help.
p.s. I really quite like broccoli.
W.T.F.
Thread of the goddamn year. FACT.
Nobby Nics...
Throw it in a food processor
Lasers!
😆
Fortnums do a good broccoli saw
Water Knife I think
Do you have a jigsaw handy?
yeah, do the jigsaw whilst waiting for the broccoli to thaw
Remember to keep the saw in the freezer too.
Food processor: nice idea but the bits come out too small.
Lasers: would that warm it up too much? Similarly for water knife...?
Nobby Nics: shouldn't really be your first choice of ice tyre...
Back in reality, I can't really afford Fortnum's, but will enquire after their broccoli saw nonetheless.
A jigsaw could work, but isn't the blade a little wide? Might just make a bit of a mush of it.
Thanks for all your help so far.
mcmoonter has a log splitter that may be strong enough
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Mini Stihl and pretend you're a tree surgeon?
not broccoli, but mince
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ultimately, the answer is to cut it up before putting it in the freezer
For heavens sake people, everyone knows you just get a broccoli cutting disc for the angle grinder !
To whoever suggested a jigsaw, bad idea!
[img] http://cherryhillcottage.typepad.com/cherryhill_cottage/images/2008/02/12/add_chopped_frozen_broccoli [/img]
PS. How do we get pictures up?
Cordless reciprocating saw.
Lump hammer then sweep the bits up?
Band saw obviously
Small one
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Thanks again for your replies; they're all much appreciated, even the ones typed with tongues-in-cheeks.
Not much of a consensus approached yet, but hopefully it will come.
Any idea which type of blade would be best for the task?
I'll dig it out the Land Rover in the morning, but can't confirm it's vegetable performance. May want something with less off-set and less coarse.
Cook til soft, mush about til in bits.
Cook til soft, mush about til in bits.
no no no no - who are you my mum ? the ability to turn any vegetable grey mush by over cooking ...
veg needs crunch
Why arent you floretting* your broccoli before freezing? Ideally you could wrap each florette in it's own little bag to.
* real word. No need to check.
veg needs crunch
I hate crunchy veg.
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?ts=634292789052[/img]STEP AWAY FROM THE POWERTOOLS
I'd use a junior hacksaw I reckon with the finest toothed blade I could get my hands on.
Stick it in the freezer as well and chop on a slab of frozen carbon dioxide to stop it thawing.
Broccoli & finger curry ...lurverly
electric carving knife ?
*runs away for verging too close to common sense*
scissors after it's cooked? too sensible for this thread maybe 🙂
Standing further away will make the broccoli smaller.
I think a very stern letter to Sainsburys is in order. Possible copy in WatchDog, and maybe your local MP.
if you freeze it to a low enough temperature then the bits just shatter when you hit them with a hammer.
I googled "Brocoli Saw" and got this thread!
I didn't want to click the link in case i break the internets
Big knife maybe - if a cleaver goes through bone it should be able to chop frozen veg
Hello again, and thank you for the continuing ideas.
Why arent you floretting your broccoli before freezing?
I buy the broccoli frozen and have no say in the floretting process though this:
I think a very stern letter to Sainsburys is in order. Possible copy in WatchDog, and maybe your local MP.
is an excellent idea. I shall get on it.
I suppose defrosting it, then cutting to the required size, before putting in your freezer would be too easy?
As above, use something similar to a Cleaver, no teeth, just a sharp edge and a lot of power.
Use a cutting implement of your choice to create the perfect sized floret (an axe is the most fun), and then dip the friction heated end of the floret you wish to put back in the freezer into the pot of nitrogen any good cook has nowadays.
Essentially you've undertaken a surprise defrost/freeze cycle - as it should only take a few seconds, nasty microbes and wotnots shouldn't have time to do whatever it is they do, as they would have been napping.
This is why I love this place 
one more use for quantum torpedoes
oh, and I was once told there is minimal heating from lasers since the photons take any extra energy away with them.
defrosting it, then cutting to the required size, before putting in your freezer
I was sure the current thinking was that thawing food and then refreezing was unwise, as thebunk alluded to above. Does this apply to vegetables, specifically broccoli, or just to cooked foods and pieces of animal?
I quite enjoy the thought of the surgical 'precision' of using a cleaver and then flash-freezing the thawed cut in liquid nitrogen.
so as a broccytree lover your problem is the amount you're getting... and you want to reduce that amount?!
sir, you're not well.
moving on from my internet diagnosis, have you never heard the phrase "like a hot chainsaw through frozen brocolli florettes" before?
thawing isnt a problem, its the re-freezing with green vegetables... unless you've got a super cold section of your freezer that 'fast-freezes' the water inside the cells will expand slowly and burst.. thus making your veg floppy and rubbish.
Can you not just hack the small floret ends off the stalk with a big knife?
I don't think thawing-refreezing is that bad for the broccoli in a bacterial sense, but it'll ruin the individual cells and leave you with a kind of cold broccoli puree. It brings to mind the problem facing the Larkins in "The Darling Buds Of May", Series 2, Episode 1 - "Oh! To Be In England". All attempts to freeze the Larkin's strawberries result in a delicious but soggy mess, due to the action of the slowly expanding water within the strawberry cells, as alluded to by philconsequence above. Charley solves this with deft use of liquid nitrogen, effectively freezing the strawberries double-quick and not giving the water inside chance to expand. Therein lies your solution. Defrost to cut, then refreeze with liquid nitrogen.
Surely what you need is a Broccolli Spear!
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Couldn't find a broccoli spear unfortunately, but I have found a broccoli catapult.
Doesn't help with the immediate cutting issue but once you have found a way to cut it and grade it into suitable size parts then this gadget will be ideal.
I might regret this, but... Breadknife. We've got a massive Ikea one and it cuts frozen veg like a knife through very hard butter.
Though really the answer I want to give is
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