Frozen broccoli to room temp - salvageable?

[Do_Not_Taunt]

Say I left frozen broccoli out and it reached room temperature. Is it salvageable at all, or straight to the trash?

[Colibri]

If it wasn’t sitting around too long, just cook it ASAP. Being thawed for a short time shouldn’t hurt it.

[Motorgirl]

don’t refreeze. you’ll have broccoli mush. If it’s only been out a couple of hours, cook it and eat immediately or refrigerate after cooking.

[Do_Not_Taunt]

@Motorgirl

don’t refreeze. you’ll have broccoli mush. If it’s only been out a couple of hours, cook it and eat immediately or refrigerate after cooking.

Thanks - sounds like the way to go. I don’t want to eat it immediately, so it’ll probably go into the fridge post-cooking for a day or so.

[bordelond]

Assuming it was a product like this, in a plastic bag … it should keep for some time after being thawed and brought to room temperature, shouldn’t it? Like for several days, at least?

I’d be surprised if I had thawed a bag of frozen broccoli on Sunday, say, left the bag out on the kitchen counter until Friday, and then opened it to find some kind of bateria-ridden mess. I’d expect the broccoli to be totally safe for consumption, even after several days sitting out at room temperature so long as it remained bagged. Am I placing too much faith in the airtight (?) bag?

Now, those veggies frozen in cardboard boxes? I can see how those would spoil quickly.

[Do_Not_Taunt]

@bordelond

Assuming it was a product like this, in a plastic bag … it should keep for some time after being thawed and brought to room temperature, shouldn’t it? Like for several days, at least?

That is exactly the product I have.

[JKilez]

@Motorgirl

don’t refreeze. you’ll have broccoli mush. If it’s only been out a couple of hours, cook it and eat immediately or refrigerate after cooking.

Is broccoli flash-frozen or parboiled and then frozen? It appears to be already cooked when defrosted.

[Motorgirl]

@JKilez

Is broccoli flash-frozen or parboiled and then frozen? It appears to be already cooked when defrosted.

Usually just blanched and then flash frozen. Not fully cooked. The blanching greens it up and then freezing softens it a bit.

[SeaDragonTattoo]

@bordelond

Assuming it was a product like this, in a plastic bag … it should keep for some time after being thawed and brought to room temperature, shouldn’t it? Like for several days, at least?

I’d be surprised if I had thawed a bag of frozen broccoli on Sunday, say, left the bag out on the kitchen counter until Friday, and then opened it to find some kind of bateria-ridden mess. I’d expect the broccoli to be totally safe for consumption, even after several days sitting out at room temperature so long as it remained bagged. Am I placing too much faith in the airtight (?) bag?

Now, those veggies frozen in cardboard boxes? I can see how those would spoil quickly.

Those bags are not airtight. Take out in the morning, leave out all day to defrost and sit on the counter at room temp for a few hours, then cook that evening, totally fine IMO. A few days on the counter will end up with a gross mess of rotting veg and mold.

[Chronos]

Simple test for situations like this: Does it smell gross? If yes, throw it out. If no, go ahead and eat it. Your nose does its job better than you think.

[jtur88]

You dopn’t even need to cook it. Put a little Mayo on it and eat it cold, or just warm it up by putting it in hot water for a half a minute. The cellular structure has already done what cooking would have done, so just eat it at whatever temperature you want. It will be like overcooked, with no fresh crispness at all. Make a cheese soup with it.