At this past Saturday’s farmers’ market, I was given a huge bag of turnip greens. I thought they would be perfect for winter stews. Below is a quick recipe on how to blanch and freeze your greens.
Freezing Greens
Many plants are used as greens. The most popular are mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, spinach, kale and Swiss chard. Bok choi, baby pak choi, dandelions, and beet greens are increasing in popularity.
What You’ll Need
- 2 large pots
- A colander (optional)
- Ziplock Vacuum Bags
- Clean your leaves. Look over them closely for insects. Cut or tear out tough stems and midribs; compost or feed to the chickens.I cut the leaf around the tough stem to where my index finger is pointing.
- Blanch. Greens must be blanched or heated before freezing. This is an important step because if greens are not blanched properly, they will lose their fresh flavor quickly in the freezer. A quick blanch also wilts the greens, making them easier to pack.
To blanch, place your greens in a colander or loose in a big pot of boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, start counting your blanching time. Make sure to agitate your greens so they heat thoroughly.Blanching Time:
Collard greens – 3 minutes
Other greens – 2 minutes
Very tender Spinach leaves – 1 1/2 minutesAfter blanching, your greens should be a vibrant green
- After blanching, cool greens in ice water, drain and package in ziplock vacuum bags or pint jars and freeze.
Hi, Diana! Thanks for the helpful preserving info! Now I need to go pick blueberries and develop my freezer stash even more. 😉
I am a southerner who has ate overcooked greens and their pot likker all my life. my mom always froze greens in their water, it never occured to me this was the wrong way. Thanks for the great info. We even left all the stems in, cant let anything go to waste!
Kristen, feel free to send me any blueberries you want 😉
Angie, Thanks so much for commenting. I love your site and rooster identity, I have backyard chickens and love em!!
You know, I don't really think freezing greens in their water is a wrong way. You can freeze them in pint jars covered with some water which may even be better since many nutrients are left behind in the boiling water. I don't know, any other thoughts on this??
I freeze the pot likker itself, as a way to enrich bean soups in the winter.
–Yvonne B., Des Moines
Yvonne, That's a great idea! Thanks so much for sharing. Next time, I'll be sure and save the water.
I did this this past week, kale and chard. It was tough washing them. All the bugs, the bug eggs, and dirt. I washed, blanched, sieved, then I just squeezed them into balls let them sit a bit to dry just a little then put the balls into freezer bags with title and date. Hopefully, they will be fine and there for winter. Couldn't save my water because there was still dirt in it. High – five for the greens score!
I discovered lambsquarter this summer. It is delicious. And before, I always thought it was a weed!