How to freeze spinach for the winter - benefits all winter long

Fresh spinach does not last long; it will last in the refrigerator for a maximum of 14 days. To keep the summer harvest rich in vitamins and tasty, use the freezer.

How to freeze spinach for the winter at home so that it retains its vitamins and rich color? The options are varied: bunches, sliced, pureed, blanched greens and a mixture with butter.

Freezing whole leaves

How to freeze spinach in a household freezer:

1. Select only healthy greens. The leaves should be evenly colored, without rot or other damage. Give preference to young, medium-sized leaves collected before the first flowering - they will not have a bitter taste. If you buy spinach at the market, then avoid the unnaturally shiny greens covered with wax.
2. Before any type of freezing, spinach must be thoroughly washed. Even if it is your garden plant, dust still accumulates on it.
3. Inspect the leaves; if there are rough stems, it is better to cut them off.
4. Place the washed spinach on a towel and let dry. Blot the leaves with napkins to speed up drying. This is a necessary step because the water will turn into an ice crust and ruin the shape of the spinach and its taste.
5. Divide the leaves into plastic bags, containers or trays. Make manageable portions so you can use them gradually. One package - one dish.
6. To prevent damage to the greens, stack them in piles or roll several pieces into a roll.
7. Try to keep as little air as possible in the container.
8. If you freeze it as a roll, pay attention to the cling film. Wrap it around the spinach several times. Such portions will not take up much space in the freezer.
9. Hide the preparation in the freezer.

The shelf life of fresh leaves in the freezer reaches 1 year if the device constantly maintains a temperature of -18 degrees. But the most delicious and healthy spinach is the one that has been in the cold for no longer than 3-4 months.

Chopped spinach

Thawed leaves are more difficult to cut than fresh ones. Take care of this in advance: let the fragrant cuts wait in the freezer for their time.

How to cook:

1. Collect the spinach and rinse thoroughly, changing the water several times.
2. Dry the leaves.
3. Take a pack of leaves, roll them into a tube and cut into strips up to 1 cm wide.
4. Prepare convenient storage containers, distribute the chopped spinach among them, close tightly and store.

Advice
The magazine purity-en.htgetrid.com draws the attention of its readers to the fact that shock freezing allows you to preserve the shape, taste and color of spinach. When removed from the chamber it will look very similar to fresh.

Puree cubes

Freezing is not only a way to preserve food, but also a convenient way to reduce cooking time. Winter supplies are an unwritten collection of recipes. The housewife will not have to rack her brains and run to the supermarket for missing products: everything is already at hand in semi-finished form.

Spinach puree is a good base for soup, baked goods toppings, nutritious green smoothies, vegetable cutlets, etc.

How to make and freeze puree, recipe:

1. To make spinach puree, prepare the leaves in the standard way.When they are dry, place everything in a blender and grind to the desired degree.
2. Some housewives make a more liquid mass by adding water to the leaves.
3. Spoon the pureed greens into ice cube trays. You can take containers for sweets and cookies; silicone connectors also work well. Kids will love these cute puree pieces.
4. When the whole mass has hardened, remove it from its molds and transfer it into portioned bags. Use the containers for the next batch of puree.

Advice
If the pieces of puree are very frozen to the trays, then let them thaw a little.

The puree is suitable for dietary and baby food. To prepare larger portions, take plastic cups, containers with lids, packages of cottage cheese, milk or yogurt.

Blanching

The fundamental difference in preparing spinach this way is that it takes up less space and retains its rich color. Brief boiling also removes oxalates from the composition. Blanched spinach cooks faster. The only negative is the loss of some vitamins under the influence of boiling water.

How to properly prepare spinach for the winter by blanching:

1. Selection and purification - as described above.
2. It is not necessary to grind the product; both whole leaves and sliced ​​leaves are blanched.
3. Prepare a convenient colander.
4. Boil water in a saucepan.
5. Place spinach greens in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.
6. Now remove the colander and place it in a bowl of ice water. Spinach needs to be cooled as quickly as possible.
7. An alternative to blanching is to pour boiling water over the leaves rather than boil them.
8. Next, you need to let the water drain and dry the leaves a little.
9. Blanched leaves are rolled into bunches, balls or sausages.Distribute the portions in an even layer on a flat dish and freeze.
10. After a couple of hours, when the spinach has hardened, pack it into bags or storage containers.

Advice
Defrosting spinach is done gradually. If the dish is boiled, stewed or baked, then it is not necessary to wait for thawing. Add iced spinach to cold smoothies and thawed spinach to salads and toppings.

Spinach is known for pairing well with a variety of foods. It is almost tasteless, but it improves various dishes. It is better to store spinach, as well as other vegetables and herbs, in a separate compartment. If you place the product next to fish or meat, it will absorb their smell.

Spinach in oil

A very tasty addition to cereals and vegetables is spinach pieces in butter. Recipe:

1. Chop the greens with a knife or blender.
2. Soften the butter to room temperature.
3. Mix butter and spinach.
4. Divide into small molds and freeze.

Use spinach to make green soups, vitamin-rich salads, vegetable mixtures for stewing, pie fillings and flavorful cocktails. The more different frosts, the more varied the winter menu.