Is there a substantial difference in using fresh vs frozen broccoli when making Broccoli Cheese Soup? And if I do make the substitution, should I thaw it first or put it in frozen?
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Please read the tag wiki for [ingredient-selection] before using that tag again. – Aaronut Feb 01 '12 at 23:08
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I can't imagine there would be a great difference as it's a soup and if you're worried about them becoming mushy then in broccoli cheese soup it should not make much of a difference as they're going to be blitzed anyway. If you were using them though you can keep them from going mushy and keep them green by adding them frozen to a hot pan with just a little water in, stirring often, more here.
Hope this helps!
Sebiddychef
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1Just because it's a soup doesn't mean you won't notice a difference with superior produce. – mfg Feb 01 '12 at 21:52
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@mfg The produce will be of equal quality just it may be mushy from being frozen. – Sebiddychef Feb 03 '12 at 21:15
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I would disagree for the same reason that it is better to use fresh, rather than almost rotten ingredients; [" This is a very bad idea, unless you like to start your soups and sauces with a watery, bitter, insipid, poorly balanced liquid"](http://herbivoracious.com/2011/09/umami-packed-vegetarian-broth-recipe-also-vegan.html) – mfg Feb 06 '12 at 14:17
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If you use frozen you will not have the option of having a thick cheese soup with more crisp broccoli; i.e. if you were considering adding the broccoli toward the end after blanching it for a more toothsome floret, this would only be fruitful with fresh.
I am unsure about the blogspot link in Sebiddy's post, but my experience with frozen broccoli is that it gets the job done but not very well. As a point of logistics, using frozen without first thawing will net you a hearty release of water from the broccoli if you don't thaw first and may cause your mornay some heart-ache if timed poorly.
mfg
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