Freezing prickly-seeded spinach is quick and easy . In this post , I ’ll take the air you through everything step by step ( with or without blanching ) , so you could enjoy the fresh flavor all twelvemonth long .
If you have an surfeit of prickly-seeded spinach in your garden , or if you just care to keep it on hand for healthy meals , freezing it is a bang-up alternative .
It ’s easy to do , and you could use it in all kinds of dishes . It is great in thing like soup , dips , casseroles , and smoothies .
Raw packing spinach for freezing
Below I ’ll show you how to immobilise spinach with a few easy steps so you ’ll always have it on hand whenever you need it .
Table of Contents
Preparing Spinach For Freezing
Whichever method acting you prefer to freeze your spinach , it all starts with a estimable water rinsing .
You do not need to chop the leaf or remove the stems . However , if you lie with you will require smaller pieces in your recipe , it ’s okay to chop it first .
Optionally you could puree it for use in smoothies and fall . plainly put it into a liquidizer , and contribute just enough water to make it nice and smooth .
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Can You Freeze Spinach Without Blanching?
The great news about freezing spinach is that blanching is not required . But youmaywant to blanch it for two main intellect :
How To Blanch Spinach To Freeze
After you have washed the leaves , put them into a pot of boiling body of water for 1 - 2 minutes .
Remove it with a easy lay orlarge pair of tongs , and let it enfeeble a bite before transferring it into a trough of ice water for 2 minutes to end the preparation outgrowth .
Then enfeeble the water using acolander , and hit the overindulgence by either patting the Spinacia oleracea between paper towels or using asalad spinnerbefore freezing it .
Can You Freeze Cooked Spinach?
Yes , you could freeze cooked spinach . I care to saute it first to make it passing easy to use in next recipe . you may even tot up flavouring , onion , or Allium sativum for an extra - pleasant-tasting addition .
just hot up a small-scale amount of oil in a pan , and saute the leaves just until they start to wilt and reduce in size . Remove from heat and cool down completely before freeze .
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Methods For Freezing Spinach
There are a few method to take from . you may either freeze spinach crude , or blanch use trays to make pre - portioned cubes .
Freezing Whole Leaves
The quickest method acting to practice is immobilize the leaves raw , which you may just put direct into azipper baggie .
However , if you do n’t plan to pre - portion it , be certain to pat or spin them ironic , or you ’ll end up with one solid block , which will be difficult to use later on .
Freezing In Cubes
A dandy way to freeze out blanched , prepare , or pureed spinach is to use amuffin tin(with or withoutcup liner ) or anice cube tray . Simply fill them up , then wink - halt until altogether solid .
This allows for easy individual function of pre - portioned servings . One ice cube is about 2 Tablespoons , and an average gem - sized mould is about ¼ cupful .
Tools & Supplies Needed
Below is a listing of the tools and supplies necessary for both of these methods . But you might not need everything , depend on the process you choose to use .
How To Store Spinach In The Freezer
A convenient way to hive away quick-frozen spinach is to put it intofreezer bag . you’re able to even pre - measure it to provide for easy individual purpose .
To make it last even longer , use avacuum sealerto ignition lock in the freshness and supply further auspices from freezer burn .
How Long Can You Freeze Spinach?
If you freeze naked as a jaybird prickly-seeded spinach , you should expend it up within 3 to 6 month . When blanched or saute , it can last up to one year .
It ’s helpful to use apermanent markerto label the baggies with the escort so that you know when they will expire .
FAQs
There are often a few questions hoi polloi have when freeze spinach for the first metre . I hope to do as many as I can in the details below .
Can you freeze fresh / raw spinach?
Yes , you’re able to freeze down fresh , in the buff spinach . Make certain to cleanse and then dry out it well first so it does n’t stick together .
Do you have to blanch spinach before freezing?
No , you do not have to blanch spinach before freeze it . But doing so can facilitate to increase the amount of time it will last .
How long do you blanch spinach for freezing?
You should parboil spinach for only 2 moment before freezing , then chill it right aside in a bowl of methamphetamine piss to stop the preparation operation .
What happens if you don’t blanch spinach before freezing?
If you choose not to parboil your spinach plant before freeze it will have a unforesightful shelf lifespan . Blanching also kills any bacterium .
Does frozen spinach need to be cooked?
No , you do not need to cook glacial spinach . you may use it in plunge , smoothies , or other recipe right out of the bag .
Does freezing spinach make it soggy?
Yes , suspend spinach makes it sloughy , whether or not you blanch it first . Unfortunately there ’s no fashion to keep this , since the freezing process breaks down the cells , so it will always end up wilt and watery .
So there you have it , a few wanton ways to freeze spinach . Which method will you select depends on the time you have , and how you will practice it later on .
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More About Food Preservation
Step By Step Instructions
How To Freeze Spinach
In this tutorial you will hear the dim-witted steps it takes to freeze Spinacia oleracea . It is great to add to casseroles , soup , smoothies and more !
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
