How to freeze spinach at home

How to freeze spinach at home? There are several ways, and each of them is good in its own way. We will talk about everyone, and you will choose the method that suits you personally.

Leaflet preparation

Anyone who has ever bought or grown spinach with their own hands is well aware: there is a lot of fine sand and dust on the leaves. Sometimes aphids squat. Therefore, the first thing to do is to carefully sort out the greens. Then, thoroughly rinse the spinach in several waters. Now you need to dry the blades and sort into small or large. After all, they are frozen in various forms. And only then they proceed directly to the process.

Tip. Throw the spinach into a colander or strainer, so it dries faster.

Freeze small spinach

Small leaflets are often used in their entirety. But, if you lay out each flap separately on the freezer or freeze the cut ones, then a lot of space will be required. Experienced housewives have long come up with one trick. It will be required:

• any bobbin thread or stationery gum
• cutting board or baking sheet
• cling film
• small spinach leaves

Each petal has a petiole cut off (do not throw it away). Then the leaves are stacked in 7-9 pieces. Each such pile is folded into a tight roll and fixed with an elastic band or thread. But only so that later it would be fashionable to quickly remove this fortification. Now the cutting board is covered with cling film. Prepared rolls are laid on top at intervals, and sent to the freezer for about 8 hours.

After this time, spinach is removed from the freezer, quickly remove the gum or thread. Frozen rolls will not turn around. They can be packed tightly in a container or bag. Such spinach is stored for about 11 months.

Frozen Blanched Spinach

If you have a very tiny freezer, and you want to freeze spinach at home, that’s the way out. You need to pre-blanch leaflets. How to do it right? Some sources recommend spinach boil for 2 minutes. What a terrible mistake! After this treatment, you will freeze a simple silo, without vitamins and minerals. After all, even pouring boiling water already draws useful substances from the burrs. Let not all, but nonetheless. Therefore, take note:

• In a large saucepan, place cold water with crushed ice.
• On the stove is another pan with boiling water (3 l) and soda on the tip of a knife.
• Lay the spinach in small portions in a sieve or colander.
• Dip in boiling water for 15-18 seconds.
• Quickly take out and dip into the water with ice, for about 20-22 seconds.
• Take out the greens, let the water drain a little and transfer to a gauze stretched over a wide bowl.

The last action will allow excess water to drain while you are working on the next batch of spinach. Now you need to take prepared leaflets directly with your hands and ... crumple them. Do not regret, clench your fist harder. The finished lump is placed on a board covered with cling film or a silicone mat. Then left in the freezer for 4 hours to freeze the upper layers.

Next, spinach is removed, placed in containers or bags denser, and again put into the freezer. Such a blank is stored for up to 9 months.

Tip. We recommend blanching spinach before freezing for greens who have kidney problems. During this treatment, a significant part of oxalic acid goes into the water, and you can safely use leaflets for food.

Freeze large spinach

It happens that the leaves grow especially large, or such greens are acquired that you can’t twist them especially into rolls. And when defrosting burdock in a plate, few people will like it. Throw away a pity. What to do? Freeze of course!

Procedure:

1. Prepared large spinach leaves and petioles from small (remember, we left?) Blanch, as described above.
2. DO NOT lower them into ice water!
3. Hot spinach is passed through a meat grinder or mashed with a blender.
4. During this time, the mass will practically cool.
5. It is laid out on ice tins or poured onto a flat wide plate wrapped with a film (to make a pancake about 1.2-1.4 cm thick.
6. Sent to the freezer for 12 hours.

After the specified time, cubes of frozen spinach puree are poured into a bag and put back into the freezer. You can also make several pancakes and stack them on top of each other. In winter, it remains only to break off a piece of the right size.

Such a blank is perfectly stored for almost 5 months.

Tip. Silicone baking dishes can be used. From them it is then very easy to take out the freeze.

Freeze special spinach

To maximize the preservation of most vitamins and nutrients, spinach is added at the end of cooking. But leaflets acquire a special taste and aroma in combination with butter. But how to mix them in the winter, so as not to jump near the stove with an oiler and a bag from the freezer?

Everything is simple. You need to mix them in the summer! You will need:

• blanched spinach puree
• favorite room temperature butter
• the spoon
• molds for freezing or silicone for baking
• sleight of hand and good mood

Then shake the cubes from the molds and put them in a bag or container. Then put it in the freezer and forget it. Remember when you cook the risotto. Just one cube and your dish will sparkle with new colors.

Unfortunately, even in the freezer, such a preparation is stored for only 3 months. But usually it doesn’t lie so much, it ends quickly.

Tip. Add some of your favorite greens here. Spinach will not go bad at all, and the aroma will be stunning.

Now you know all the ways to freeze spinach at home. It remains only to compose a menu and treat household members with the most valuable vitamin greens.

Video: how to prepare spinach for the winter