HOW TO FREEZE GREENS FOR THE WINTER AT HOME

Freezing is an excellent way to store food in the winter. The hostesses got used to freeze vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs, greens. This makes it possible to feed the body with essential vitamins and other beneficial substances in the winter, when it is difficult to get fresh vegetables and fruits. On our site you can find the best recipes for freezing various foods. In this article we will talk about the correct freezing of greens for the winter at home.

What greens can freeze

Greens, perhaps, as best as possible is suitable for this method of storage, as freezing. After all, it allows you to save most of the valuable substances that make up the plant. And greens are very useful for the human body, and nutritionists everywhere recommend introducing it into the daily diet. For example, spinach contains up to 25% of the daily iron requirement for the human body, and parsley contains four times more vitamin C than, for example, lemon.

Did you know? Parsley green outdoors can withstand the winter cold - up to minus 5-7 ° C.

However, not all greens to be frozen. So, do not recommend freezing green onions since it becomes watery. In addition, it changes its taste and attractive appearance. Although cooks argue that there are several recipes, using this problem can be avoided. For example, add a plant to dishes in an unfrozen form, or freeze onions along with dill or parsley.

Many are interested in whether it is possible to freeze lettuce leaves for the winter. This, too, should not be done. After defrosting the salad turns into an unattractive porridge, no longer having either a fresh taste or smell.

Learn how to dry the greens for the winter properly to preserve the aroma and beneficial properties of herbs.

Also not advised to freeze basil. If there is a need to save it for the winter, it is better to use the dryer. So he better preserve the flavor.

For soup

Frozen parsley, dill, sorrel, spinach, nettle, celery are perfect for soup. You can freeze them individually or with a mix.

Important! In order to avoid the loss of nutrients during heat treatment, dill and parsley must be added at the end of cooking when it is already removed from the stove.

To decorate dishes

To decorate dishes you can freeze curled and ordinary parsley, onion cutter. Also greens are frozen for filling in savory pies. Spinach and green onions are well suited for this purpose.

For tea

Excellent tea is obtained from frozen mint. You can also freeze tea sets from:

raspberry leaves;
strawberry leaves;
black currant leaves;
blueberry leaves;
lemon balm;
Hypericum;
Thyme

In addition to tea, such frozen decoctions are great for cosmetic procedures, face wiping.

Preparation of greens before freezing

Prepare and freeze greens for freezing is very simple. First of all it is necessary to wash it - pour water into a bowl and rinse the plants well in it several times. Then rinse under running water.

Then the grass should be well dried, but not more than an hour. Excess moisture will lead to the formation of unnecessary pieces of ice. To dry the grass you need to put on a paper or cotton towel.

Find out how you can make green garlic, cilantro, arugula, sorrel, mint for the winter.

If you plan to freeze the green mass in bunches, then you will need to remove the stem. When freezing in other ways, greens will need to be finely chopped using a sharp knife or scissors.

Also, some plants recommend to freeze the process of blanching before freezing. In the case of greens, this involves scalding with boiling water. It is important to understand that during this process, some of the vitamins evaporate and the smell is somewhat weakened.

Important! The less time passes from the process of collecting herbs to freezing them, the more vitamins will remain in plants..

Ways of freezing

There are several ways to freeze fresh greens for the winter. They must be selected depending on where you plan to use it in the future.

Bundles

In order not to bother much, the green mass can be frozen as a whole in bunches. Here's how to do it:

From the washed and dried, with the green stems removed, form a small bunch.
Wrap it in plastic wrap or foil, forming a kind of sausage or roll.
Place in freezer.

For use, you will need to remove the "sausage" from the freezer, open it at one end and cut the required amount of greens. Pack the residue and put it back in the freezer. In case of accidental violation of the integrity of the film or foil - wrap a new layer.

Bundles can freeze any greens. As such, it can be used in salads, entrees, side dishes, pies, sauces, pizza. There is also a way to store greens in bags and containers:

Dry the washed branches and put on a tray (baking tray, tray, plate, dish) in one layer.
Put in the freezer for two or three hours.
After this time, remove the twigs from the freezer and sprinkle them in vacuum or ordinary bags, or plastic containers.

The green seasoning prepared in this way, immediately before being placed in a ready dish, is removed from the freezer and, without defrosting, cut, and then added to food.

Using the method of freezing, you can prepare for the winter strawberries, blueberries, cherries, apples, tomatoes, broccoli, corn, mushrooms, green peas, eggplant, pumpkin.

Sliced

If you have time, then all the grass you plan to freeze will need to be crushed.

The cut plants are frozen in this way:

Wash and dry.
Finely cut with a knife or scissors.
Placed in a conventional or vacuum bag.
Well level and release air.
Send the package to the freezer.

So you can freeze one kind of grass or several. Desirable - in small batches.

There is another way to freeze cut plants:

Finely chopped green mass wrapped in a film, thus creating a "sausage", as is the case with bunches. The length of such a package should not exceed 10-12 cm - this is enough for four to five uses.
"Sausage" put in the freezer.

To always have on hand fresh herbs, grow herbs (dill, cilantro, basil, arugula, sage, rosemary, thyme, savory, tarragon, oregano, lemon balm) on the windowsill.

Ice cubes

Few people know how to freeze greens in the freezer cubes. However, the matter is simple and not at all troublesome. Here is how the process looks in practice:

Washed and dried plants finely chopped.
Lay, ramming, in ice molds.
Fill the cups with water.
Put in the freezer.

Cubes can continue to be stored in the ice tray. And after freezing, you can extract them and pour them into one container or package. In cubes it is also great to freeze herbs for tea. To do this, they are first brewed in a teapot, and then, after the tea has cooled, it is poured into ice molds. After freezing, such cubes are good for adding to herbal flavor in ordinary hot tea or simply in boiled water. They are also used for wiping the face with various skin problems, or for toning.

Did you know? At first, the inhabitants of ancient Greece and Rome did not eat dill, but decorated their dwellings with them and prepared medicinal drugs from it.

Storage time

Frozen herbs are usable for one year after freezing. In the future, they will lose more of their valuable substances and remain tasty, but useless for the body.

Useful tips

To freeze succeeded, we advise you to use following recommendations:

Greens are conveniently frozen in plastic bags, silicone molds, plastic containers. Metal or glass containers are not suitable for these purposes.
Packages with frozen plants should be made small, for several times of use. If the grass is stored in bunches, then it should be cut very quickly, so that the remaining branches do not have time to be defrosted. Repeated freezing of the product is strictly prohibited.
When freezing plants in bags, you must completely remove the air before placing them in the freezer. This will help in this straw for a cocktail, which is inserted into a small hole, where the bag is closed or tied.
In the freezer greens can be kept in the same compartment with vegetables, but not close to meat and fish.
In packages you can freeze the mix of vegetables and herbs, soup sets with the addition of herbs.
It is not necessary to grind the grass with the help of cutting objects; a blender will quickly cope with this task.
If you plan to freeze herbal cubes, then for this purpose it is advisable to use separate molds, since they tend to absorb the flavor.
When freezing just cut plants, or in cubes, before placing them in bags and an ice mold, they should be boiled over, that is, blanched. It is better to put the grass in a colander for this - so the water will drain quickly. To freeze the plants are sent after they dry out.
Greens can be frozen in olive oil or butter.

Freezing is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to harvest products for a long time. Using one of the recipes for freezing greens for the winter mentioned above, you can in the winter period replenish your body with the necessary vitamins and minerals contained in tasty and fragrant dishes.