The abundance of leafy greens in warm weather makes them easy to consume but winter is when they are out of season and harder to come by. Get all the FAQS about my meal prep secret, how to freeze spinach and other greens.
What Are Greens And Why Are They Important?
Greens are leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, chard, collard greens, broccoli rabe (rapini) and dandelion. Locally grown Ontario greens are available from late spring into early fall. They are powerhouses of nutrients and medical professionals highly recommend consuming them daily. The variety of vitamins and minerals they provide are nothing but beneficial to your health.
How Do You Store Your Greens?
Greens do not last longer than a week in the fridge. Preserving them is a money saver tip and one of my top meal prep secrets. I like to buy them, a few bunches at a time, when they are in season and/or on sale. While still fresh, I clean them, blanche them, then portion and freeze. The available time I use to prep them saves me time on busy nights. It’s great to pull out and add to any meal when I’m tight for time; just defrost in a warm water bath for about 15-20 minutes depending on the portion size. This method also allows me to store away leafy greens for use in the winter months.
How Long Can You Store Frozen Greens For?
Typically, homemade frozen veg should be consumed within a year for best quality.
What Is The Best Way To Freeze Greens?
Let’s address the debate on whether to blanch or not blanch before freezing. There really is no best way but how to freeze spinach and other greens best for your application depends on several factors.
- How much prep time do you have?
- How long will it be before you use the prepped veg?
- Once thawed will the veg be cooked in a recipe or served as a stand-alone side?
Blanching greens stops of veg from losing it’s colour, texture and flavour. Even though there is a bit more prep time required, blanching before freezing will preserve the veg for a much longer time. Once thawed and re-heated, it can be served as a stand-alone side in addition to being a recipe add-in.
Can You Freeze Fresh Greens?
Freezing fresh greens without blanching is perfectly fine when using them in soups, stews and other recipes that call for cooking the thawed prep. This is because the freezing and thawing process compromise the texture of leafy greens and other veg. Freshly frozen greens must also be used up in a shorter amount of time. The aging process of veg does not stop in freezing temperatures thereby diminishing the quality of the frozen veg as time elapses.
How Do You Freeze Greens?
Follow these easy steps on how to freeze spinach and other greens:
- Remove the stems from each leaf leaves that are wilting into mush should be discarded.
- Take the leaves and give them a thorough rinse under cold running water. You can choose to leave the leaves whole or give them a rough chop.
- In boiling water, submerge the bunch of washed leaves. Let cook for just over a minute.
- Remove from the water and place in a colander to drain.
- Once cooled, portion in usable amounts and squeeze out extra moisture.
- Store in freezer using freezer bags or small airtight containers and pull out when needed.
FUN FACT:
Classical cooking skills will advise the following in regards to the blanching process. Remove the veg from the boiling water and directly submerge into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. This method is to prevent overcooking the item and keeping its crunch and bright colour in tact.
However, eliminating the ice bath helps with minimizing nutrient loss. To accommodate my modification I simply shorten the amount of time the greens are in the boiling water. For example, blanching Swiss chard requires a cook time of 2-3 minutes. I usually cook it for just over a minute. This way, they avoid leaking more nutrients in the ice bath water (than the amount lost in the boiling water). They keep a firm texture for storage and can withstand a little extra cooking time when incorporating it into a recipe.