How To Tell If Broccoli Is Bad? (Full Nurture Guide)

Over the years, broccoli has achieved a reputation as a superfood. It’s low in calories, delicious, and packed with nutrients and antioxidants beneficial for our bodies. However, even superfoods won’t last forever and will expire eventually. That being said, what does bad broccoli look like.

You can tell if broccoli has gone bad if you can see fuzzy white mold on the florets or black sports on the trunk. A soft trunk isn’t a good sign either, as fresh broccoli has a strong trunk. Other signs that your broccoli is starting to spoil are yellow florets and an unusual odor.

Fresh broccoli should be bright green without slimy yellow areas or suspicious furry white sports. When it comes to vegetables, broccoli is one of the easiest to examine for spoilage. The fresh overall look of new broccoli is clear, and if it has something unusual, you’ll notice.

Just in case, let’s look at the proper steps for examining broccoli for spoilage.

• Take out the broccoli: Naturally, the first step is to take out your broccoli. Ensure that you’re in a well-lit area so you don’t miss any bad signs.
• Understand what to look for: Before examining the broccoli, you need to know what to look for. You should be looking for white fuzzy mold, excessive yellow or brown areas, soft and slimy areas, and unusual odors.
• Examine the broccoli: Take a deep sniff of the broccoli and see if it smells weird. Continue to the stems and stalk and press them to see if it’s soft or slimy. If not, look at the florets and head for yellow and brown spots or fuzzy white or black mold.

If your broccoli is free from those things, it’s fresh to prepare and eat!

Can You Eat Brown Broccoli?

Just the other day, when I was in a hurry and a grocery store, I picked my usual vegetables, including broccoli. When I got home, I noticed some brown on the broccoli. As a chef myself, I didn’t have any further thoughts about it, but I immediately started to think about people who aren’t chefs or strongly educated about food and ingredients. So, can you eat broccoli if it’s a little brown?

You can eat broccoli if it has tiny brown spots on the florets, or you can cut them off easily. However, excessive brown and yellow areas indicate that the decay process has begun; hence, you shouldn’t eat it.

Let’s take things back to the broccoli that I bought. After I got home, I noticed small brown dots on the florets that almost looked more like dirt than anything else (it wasn’t). That broccoli was fine to eat.

However, if you see brown and yellowish areas that look soft and unusual, the broccoli has gone over the line to the bad side and shouldn’t be eaten. It probably wouldn’t do much harm other than taste bad if you were to eat it. Still, there’s a possibility of a stomach ache or a negative reaction from your body so that I wouldn’t eat it.

How Long Does Broccoli Last In the Fridge?

By looking at broccoli, you know it isn’t the first to spoil out of vegetables and fruits. However, that certainly doesen’t mean that you can abandon broccoli in your fridge for six months. It’s important to know how long broccoli lasts in the fridge, so let’s take a closer look at the fresh and cooked individual.

Fresh

Fresh broccoli can last up to two weeks in the fridge, assuming that it was fresh when you bought it and properly stored. Even with improper storage, fresh broccoli can stay fresh for over a week in the fridge.

I was stunned when I read that fresh broccoli lasts only three days in the fridge because that isn’t simply true. Broccoli has a long lifespan, and fresh broccoli won’t become bad in under a week, that’s for sure.

To prolong fresh broccoli’s life, you should keep it within the wrappings, inside a plastic bag, or in a container with a lid on. Assuming that you have chopped raw broccoli, it will last a shorter time because it has been removed from its stem, yet it will easily last more than five days.

Cooked

Cooked broccoli means boiled, roasted, fried, steamed, and even grilled. This means that the broccoli has become very hot, making it softer and, well, cooking it. So, how long will cooked broccoli last?

Cooked broccoli can last up to a week. However, it’s recommended to be consumed within 2 to 3 days after cooking before it starts to lose its nutritional value, taste, and texture. The longer you keep cooked broccoli in the fridge, the less delicious and nutritious it will be.

Eating cooked broccoli over seven days long won’t be fresh anymore and can cause digestive issues and even food poisoning. This is true with all cooked food, although the time most other foods last in the fridge is far lesser.

How To Store Broccoli?

It’s always good to know they do tell and whys about food that has gone bad. However, what’s even better is knowing how to eliminate or minimize food spoilage at the source. Considering today’s topic, broccoli, how to store it properly?

The best way to store fresh broccoli is to cover it with a plastic bag because it still needs airflow. If your broccoli is cooked, store it in an airtight container with a lid or wrap it in foil to maintain the freshness for as long as possible.

Broccoli is one of the easiest vegetables to store as it’s so firm and long-lasting. However, you still should follow the right steps to ensure its freshness. Now, let’s take step-by-step instructions on the four best methods to store broccoli.

• Plastic bag: The most effortless way to store your fresh broccoli is to place it in a plastic bag. To do this, loosely cover the broccoli with a plastic bag, poke holes in it with a fork for air circulation, and store it in a fridge. Easy!
• Broccoli bouquet: The most effective way to store fresh broccoli is to fill a container with cold water and place the broccoli stem first in the bowl. The water should reach half-inch on the stem, and the broccoli head should be pointing up from the content, similar to a flower in a vase. Don’t forget to cover the head with a plastic wrap and poke tiny holes in it. Change the water each day, and you will maximize the lifespan of the broccoli.
• Damp paper towel: Another easy way to keep broccoli rejuvenated is to spray it with water and wrap it with paper towels to be moist. This keeps the broccoli fresh in the fridge.
• Container: An airtight container is best to keep cooked broccoli fresh. Do this with a container and a lid or, even better, a plastic wrap.

With these methods, your broccoli will be fresh as long as you need it to be, within limits, of course.

Can You Freeze Broccoli?

Freezing is often used as a last resort to store food for long periods of time. I’m talking about months or close to a year, not weeks or days. That said, can you freeze broccoli?

You can freeze cooked broccoli for up to 12 months with high quality. After that, the quality starts to fade, yet it will be safe to consume beyond that time. You shouldn’t freeze fresh broccoli because the broccoli will be bitter and shriveled when it’s defrosted.

If you know that you won’t use your broccoli and want to freeze it, it’s important to cook it first. The best cooking method for the best-defrosted outcome is to blanch the broccoli for 2 to 3 minutes.

Do this by processing the broccoli into florets, bringing water to a boil, salting the water, and submerging the broccoli for 2-3minutes. Afterward, remove the broccoli from the water, let it sit for a while to dry, and then you can package it up and place it in the freezer.