Can you freeze bean sprouts?

In this article, we will answer the question “Can you freeze bean sprouts?” and discuss how to freeze bean sprouts?

Can you freeze bean sprouts?

Yes, you can freeze bean sprouts. Frozen bean sprouts may last up to ten months. Before freezing, they must be blanched. If you’d want to freeze bean sprouts, blanch them, put them in a freezer bag, and remove as much air as possible. 

Cold storage, including refrigeration and freezing, is an excellent way to preserve fresh vegetables to retain valuable sensory attributes and nutritive properties. However, it only slows rather than stops enzymatic and microbial degradation that causes the development of off-odors, off-flavors, changes in color and texture, and nutrient loss during long-term storage. Blanching is a process in which vegetables are briefly exposed to boiling water prior to low temperature storage and serves as a necessary step to maintain vegetable quality and extend shelf life. Blanching not only inactivates enzymes and reduces the microbial load but also improves color and protein stability of the vegetables (2).

Bean sprouts are a delicious and healthy side dish. The crunchy texture and mild flavor make them a standard component in many Asian recipes, and they give a fresh depth to any meal.

Antimicrobials may be used to inhibit the growth of microorganisms in the cultivation of mung bean sprouts. A screening of antimicrobial residues in thick-bud and rootless mung bean sprouts, made in a study, from local markets showed that the positive ratios of chloramphenicol, enrofloxacin, and furazolidone were 2.78%, 22.22%, and 13.89%, respectively (1).

Bean Sprouts may be frozen in a variety of ways.

Keeping bean sprouts crisp when freezing them isn’t as easy as it seems, but if you follow the techniques indicated here, you’ll be OK. We strongly suggest blanching your bean sprouts before freezing them using the technique described below. In the long term, this will be a boon to your health and assist the bean sprouts to preserve their texture.

Bean Sprouts should be washed before eating.

Bean sprouts should be well washed and allowed to drain before serving.

Toss Them

Get a dish of iced water and a pot of boiling water. You may either put some ice cubes in water or put the water in your refrigerator for an hour or two before you begin. Pop the bean sprouts into a metal colander and keep the basin of chilly water nearby. 

Blanch the vegetables by lowering the colander into the boiling water for three minutes. Remove the beansprouts from the colander and plunge them into the cold water as soon as you can. Drain the water from them after they’ve been in there for another three minutes.

In a study, bean sprouts were blanched at 100°C for 1 min. The blanched or non-blanched soybean sprouts were immersed in sugar solution as cryoprotectant, and continuously, the samples were frozen at -18°C for 24 h. Their physicochemical properties such as drip loss, hardness, color and cellular tissue were analyzed after thawing in running water. Results showed that the drip loss of the blanched sample without sugar was 43%, and comparatively, the blanched one with sugar was 20%, which indicates that the sugar solution applied to bean sprouts after blanching prior freezing may improve the vegetable´s properties after its thawing (3). 

Freeze the Bean Sprouts

Get a freezer bag and label it with your name and the date you plan to eat the bean sprouts. In order to preserve their freshness while they are frozen, place the bag in the freezer. When freezing bean sprouts, you run the danger of a clump, so just freeze what you need at a time and thaw it quickly.

Bean Sprouts can be frozen for how long?

Bean sprouts may be frozen for up to 10 months if done properly, giving you plenty of time to include them in your favorite meals. Usually, most vegetables have a shelf life of 12 to 18 months in the freezer, when previously blanched. Longer storage will not make food unfit for use, but may impair quality (4). Resealable bags are convenient since you can take out a few items whenever you need them and store the rest in the bag until you need them again. Bean sprouts may be kept frozen for up to ten months in the freezer.

Frozen Bean Sprouts: How to Thaw?

Defrosting bean sprouts is far simpler than freezing them, as you’ll discover. They may be used immediately out of the freezer. When preparing food, just use what you need at a time and toss it into the pan. 

This technique is suitable for both boiling and frying, so you can use it with any recipe. Defrosting bean sprouts before to use is as simple as grabbing what you need from the freezer and placing it in a dish in the refrigerator. Within a few of hours, they should be completely defrosted.

Can Bean Sprouts Be Refrozen?

Bean sprouts, like the majority of other foods, should not be thawed and re-frozen. Foods that have defrosted have no remaining ice crystals. If defrosted foods have warmed above refrigerator temperature (40°F) they should not be refrozen, except for very high acid foods, such as fruits. Many thawed foods, i.e. those still containing many ice crystals or a firm-to-hard core of ice in the center, may be safely refrozen (5).

Bean sprouts lose more of their texture with each freezing, thawing, and refreezing cycle. You don’t want to lose the crunch and texture that bean sprouts provide to a dish by refreezing them.

Is it possible to freeze bean sprouts?

If not blanched and frozen correctly, bean sprouts aren’t the simplest meal to store in the freezer. They may also become mushy and difficult to use. Bean sprouts do not freeze well, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you should be able to keep the crisp texture they are renowned for by freezing them in an airtight container. 

Is Stir Fry Safe to Freeze?

Using the same method as for freezing bean sprouts, you may store prepared stir-fry veggies in the freezer. Prior to freezing in parts, blanch each of the veggies. Once frozen, the pre-portioned veggies are ready to use right away. However, fried foods, except french-fried potatoes and onion rings, lose crispness and become soggy (5).

The pinnacle of food planning. We strongly suggest freezing ginger, lemongrass, and coriander cubes to make flavor cubes that can be added to your stir fry at the last minute to give it that genuinely Asian flavor.

Can Bean Sprouts Be Freeze-Dried Without Blanching First?

It is safe to do so, but it is not recommended. A mushy texture is the last thing you want from your bean sprouts, so make sure you blanch them first. Instead of blanching them for a long period of time, you should spend only a few minutes doing so. A bit more time is required up front, but the payoff is substantial.

On the other hand, sprouts as fresh food are characterized by short shelf life due to high water activity. Drying is one of the best methods of food preservation. It allows for a longer period of storage and minimizes the requirements of packing, transport, handling, and distribution. The quality of dried sprouts is determined based on drying conditions and methods. In particular, conditions of sprouts drying must be chosen to preserve bioactive compounds and their nutritive value (6).

To learn more about freezing bean sprouts click here

Other FAQs about Bean sprouts that you may be interested in.

Can you eat sprouted beans?

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Are wild about sprouts safe to eat?

Conclusion

In this article, we answered the question “Can you freeze bean sprouts?” and we discussed how to freeze bean sprouts?

Reference

1. Cao, Jing, et al. Effects of typical antimicrobials on growth performance, morphology and antimicrobial residues of mung bean sprouts. Antibiotics, 2022, 11, 807.
2. Xu, Yixiang, et al. Textural and microbiological qualities of vegetable soybean (edamame) affected by blanching and storage conditions. J Food Process Technol, 2012, 3, 1-6.
3. Seo, Jae-Hee, et al. The Effect of Sugar as a Cryoprotectant on the Physicochemical Properties of Frozen Soybean Sprouts. 2016 년도 추계 학술대회 및 심포지엄 자료집. 2016.
4. Kendall, Pat. Freezing vegetables. Service in action, 1989, 9. Colorado State University.
5. Garden-Robinson, Julie. Food Freezing Basics: Packaging, Loading the Freezer and Refreezing. 2005. North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science.
6. Dziki, Dariusz, et al. Drying kinetics, grinding characteristics, and physicochemical properties of broccoli sprouts. Processes, 2020, 8, 97.