Blanching spinach for freezing

To successfully freeze spinach and preserve as much of its nutrients and texture as possible blanch your greens prior to freezing and wrap them well to ensure that they dont develop freezer burn. Before the water boils rinse the spinach leaves to remove traces of dirt.

We would avoid freezing creamed spinach.

Blanching spinach for freezing. How to Blanch Spinach for Freezing and Closer Look at the Weight of Fresh VS Blanched - YouTube. How to Blanch Spinach for Freezing and Closer Look. Just add all of the spinach to a blender and add just enough water to get the blender going.

Freeze the puree in Ziploc freezer bags again squeeze the air out ice cube trays or baby food containers. In either case you DO NOT need to blanch the spinach if you plan to use your freezer spinach within six months. It is advisable to blanch spinach before freezing.

Blanching is the process of heat-treating the vegetables to stop the naturally occurring ripening enzymatic activity that eventually leads to decay. Although the enzymatic activity slows down the enzymes continue to function when frozen. Can You Freeze Spinach Without Blanching.

You can However we would advise against it. By blanching you help the spinach to retain its goodness colour and flavour. If you choose not to blanch the spinach then try to consume it from the freezer in the first couple of months.

Can You Freeze Creamed Spinach. We would avoid freezing creamed spinach. Freezing Spinach to Cook with Later.

For spinach that I plan on adding to soups stews and skillets I first blanch the baby spinach leaves then freeze them in ice cube trays so spinach can easily be added to recipes on a whim. One pound of spinach will wilt down to about 1 cup when blanched. I use these spinach cubes a lot.

Theyre super handy to have stashed in the freezer. Freezing Spinach Without Blanching. You can also freeze spinach without blanching.

It just has a shorter shelf life about 3 months. Go through these steps. Rinse the spinach in a colander under the tap and remove dirt and sand.

Then pat the spinach dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper. Tear the large leaves in half and place the spinach in a freezer bag. Remove as much air as.

If youre cooking blanching and freezing for one person maybe this method isnt necessary but if you want to store a lot of food safely and indefinitely you may want to blanch it first to help sterilize and remove enzymes that cause an excessive amount of texture and flavor loss over time. Heres how its done. Whether the spinach comes from your home garden or was.

It is advisable to blanch spinach before freezing as it helps stop the enzymatic process that leads to decaying of the leaves even in the freezer. Take a large pot pour some water and bring it to a boil. Before the water boils rinse the spinach leaves to remove traces of dirt.

Blanching spinach before freezing helps preserve the colour and taste for longer as it delays the enzymatic process that leads to decay however its not so good at retaining the nutrients. Blanching spinach before freezing also means that it will last a lot longer in the freezer for up to a year. To successfully freeze spinach and preserve as much of its nutrients and texture as possible blanch your greens prior to freezing and wrap them well to ensure that they dont develop freezer burn.

Use frozen spinach as you would fresh spinach in everything but fresh salads and in. It depends on how you want to use it. You cannot freeze spinach and expect to use it in a salad or for other recipes where it needs to be fresh and whole.

There is some loss of nutrients with blanching but freezing spinach at the peak of freshness is still healthier than eating out of season spinach trucked in from 1500 miles away. Blanching is not strictly necessary for freezing spinach but it does help it wilt down and pack easier into the muffin tins and in my experience it does help it keep longer. I have frozen spinach both with and without blanching and they are both great methods.

If you are mostly going to use the spinach in smoothies I wouldnt bother blanching it. To blanch the spinach bring a large pot of. Blanching spinach helps to stop the enzyme activity that causes it to eventually lose its flavor and crisp texture.

A mandatory step prior to freezing blanching also helps to clean the spinach and brighten the color. Sort through the spinach to be blanched removing any. Importance Of Blanching Vegetable Before Freezing.

Blanching is a must for most vegetables because of the clear benefits. Blanching helps preserve the flavor color and texture of the fresh vegetable. It also helps in retaining most of the vitamins that are lost due to the natural process of changes that a vegetable undergoes.

Lastly blanching aids in cleansing the surface from dirt and. Leafy greens such as spinach kale and chard need to be briefly cooked before they are frozen. Skip this step and youll end up with black goo when you defrost your greens yuck.

The brief cooking halts an enzymatic process that would otherwise make the leaves continue to decay even in the freezer. Blanching is one of the simplest brief cooking methods and ensures your greens will emerge.