Every housewife dreams of using fresh seasonings in the kitchen all year round. Thanks to modern technologies, this is possible. Let's look at how to freeze greens for the winter in the freezer.
Is it possible to freeze greens at all?
Some housewives are afraid that after freezing the green spice will lose its beneficial properties and attractive juicy appearance. And they make the main mistake: they buy greenhouse food in supermarkets, which sits there for weeks.
But this is a mistake; with quick, deep freezing, the healthy herb retains all the vitamins in their original form. And also a beautiful shade that decorates the dish so much.
Knowing the basic rules, you can provide yourself with all types of seasonal grass all year round:
- More or less unpretentious plants are dill, parsley, cilantro and celery. They can either be chopped or simply stored as a whole bunch. Or rather, use your imagination and make culinary preparations right away. For example, finely chop and mix in small portions so that, if necessary, you can immediately remove and use. Or collect small bouquets and freeze them as well.
- With more juicy leaves, such as sorrel and spinach, it is already more difficult. It is preferable to cook them in an ice cube in order to reduce the saturation with moisture; then we will consider this method in more detail.
- If you didn’t know, leeks are also frozen. But they do this with a deeper freeze, about -18 degrees, and then store it with all the other greens.
What greens should not be frozen?
However, not all weed is worth using. For example, green onions, since they absorb moisture, lose their taste, smell and appearance.
Basil is also not a good idea; it will undoubtedly lose its main feature, namely its smell. In this situation, drying would be more acceptable, while maintaining the specific notes of its aroma.
The first step is to rinse the grass sprigs well and dry them, but not for long, as the leaves may wither. You can lay it out on a towel or let the water drain through a colander.
If you plan to prepare the molds tightly, you can pour boiling water over them for a few seconds. This way, more slices can fit into one cell. Also, depending on the type of weed and convenience, you need to choose a storage method. It is recommended to make small portions of preparations from different mixtures.
It all depends on your desire, time available for preparation and space in the freezer.
There are several interesting ways:
- In packages. You can put everything in one large one, but it’s more convenient to take several small ones and arrange them in portions at once. If necessary, it will be enough to take one out and add it immediately frozen to the finished dish, if it is hot. The inconvenience of a large volume is that you will need to take it out and inject it each time, while the remaining part will gradually defrost. And repeated freezing negatively affects the quality and also forms additional ice.
- In a bottle. We cut the bottle and put chopped plants or neatly folded twigs there. But you should note that this is not very compact for a refrigerator.
- In foil. Suitable for both crushed and bundled storage. You will need to collect a variety of greens and wrap them in foil in medium portions. The advantage is very fast freezing, and the faster it is, the more vitamins will be preserved. But foil does not hold back the aroma well, so it is better to wrap the workpieces in a bag afterwards.
- In cling film. Place a small amount of slices on film, roll into a sausage and cut. Place in the freezer and wait until freezing occurs. Next, put everything in one bag and put it away for long-term storage.
- In containers. The washed and dried vegetation should be placed in containers, suitable for twigs and cutting, and hidden in the freezer. Again, you need to take into account its size; perhaps there is space now, but in the future it will be a hindrance. Please note that it is better to take containers from silicone or plastic.
- In ice trays. This method is suitable for both succulent leaves and regular seasoning. Place the finely chopped branches in molds, you can first pour boiling water over them so that the greens settle and more can fit, fill with cold water and save. To avoid confusion in the future about which type is which, you can take containers of different shapes, or make mixes. It is unlikely that you will be able to see what is in the mold under a layer of ice.
You decide how to use it yourself, depending on the dish, if it’s hot you can use it right away without defrosting it, if not, wait until the water has subsided, dry it and add it.
It also makes it easier to use; there is no need to defrost the cube to get rid of water. This method is more suitable for harvesting herbs. To preserve the aroma, you can prepare thyme, thyme, basil, but you can use any others.
To prepare, you need to follow the usual procedure: wash, dry, separate the leaves from the trunk and cut only them. Next, distribute the mixture into ice trays about 2/3 of the container and fill with olive or vegetable oil.
The choice of fill is at your discretion. Place the mold in the freezer for a day, after the cubes have set, transfer to a bag and store.
You can also add butter. But to do this, you first need to melt it and cool it a little so as not to cook the spice. Next on the list: pour it into the chamber.
How to freeze greens for the winter in the freezer: how long can you store
If all the rules are followed, washed well, dried, the shelf life reaches 10-12 months. That is, just before the new season.
Of course, if it stays there longer, then visually nothing will happen to it, but the amount of vitamins will constantly decrease. And what is the point of this when you can make a new blank. So before you stock your freezer, calculate your needs.
Under no circumstances should greens be re-frozen; all vitamins will be lost, so it is recommended to prepare small portions.
How to decide whether to dry or freeze?
From the point of view of preserving vitamins and positive properties, greens, and any product should be frozen fresh. If you pick a bunch, wait a week, and then decide to keep it, it won't do any good. It will wither and lose all its charm.
But freezing has a disadvantage - the smell is lost, so if the main thing for you is to season the food with flavor, drying will be enough, and useful vitamins will be found in other ingredients.
So, now you know how to freeze greens for the winter in the freezer. All that remains is to decide on your preferences, purchase fresh bunches and choose one of the above methods. The main thing is not to overdo it, stock up so that it lasts until the new harvest and enjoy the whole year.
Many thrifty cooks know that the simplest way to store garden, garden and greenhouse crops for a long time is to freeze herbs, vegetables, and berries. Without preservatives, heat treatment and other labor-intensive hassles, the selected harvest is packaged and sent to the freezer.
You will need cling film, plastic containers with lids and bags, containers with ice compartments or silicone molds for candies/muffins. Make sure in advance that all containers for freezing greens are clean and dry.
When preparing dishes, frozen greens are added both frozen and after thawing. For example, when whipping unsweetened smoothies and various vitamin cocktails, you can crush the drinks immediately and immediately cool them.
In order to have a choice and assortment, we will freeze the greens not in bulk, but in different options. We will mix some assorted, divide some by type, leave some as whole branches, and chop and grind some.
Any fresh herbs can be frozen in a similar way. In addition to dill, onions and parsley, they stock up on spinach leaves, sorrel, cilantro, basil, garlic arrows, wild garlic, and other shoots.
Cooking time: 60 minutes / Number of servings: 10
Ingredients
- green onions - a bunch
- parsley, dill - bunch
Preparation
Big photos Small photos
So that green semi-finished products are immediately ready for use, first of all, we wash all the branches and onion feathers with cold water, rinse well - on those that are just from the garden beds, soil usually remains. We don’t mash, we try to act carefully, preserving the juice. Shake off the clean greens and lay them out in loose rows on a cloth or paper towel. We give it time to dry, sometimes turn it over. If you come across rotten or dry branches, separate them from the general bunch and throw them away.
We begin to pack clean and dry greens. The simplest option is to collect an assortment of three types (onions, parsley and dill), wrap them in cling film as a whole bouquet, without cutting them. For convenience, you can attach a label saying what exactly is frozen and put the date. Such a prefabricated bunch is useful for dishes in which any kind of vegetation is good and there are no clear restrictions on a specific variety. When the packaging is soft (like film), it is better to keep the workpieces on top of all supplies or on a spacious shelf, and not pile them up with other bags or containers.
We freeze some of the onion feathers ourselves, without dill and parsley. Chop into small rings, if desired, separate the white part from the green and also place in different containers or bags. If there is no such goal, pour all the cuttings into the container at once.
Another method - without complications. We cut off the hard stems of dill and parsley (we don’t throw them away, we freeze them separately for cooking broths with roots and herbs, or we grind them in a grinder with various trimmings to small flakes, into a paste). We chop the leaves finely or coarsely with a knife and distribute them into containers or bags.
Now grind it with the smallest “caliber” until it becomes a puree or small flakes. And here you will need a chopper with a “knife” attachment or an immersion blender. If they are not there, pass them through a meat grinder (once or twice). This semi-finished product is added to soups, broths, vegetable purees, cereals, sauces, dips, and drinks.
We fill ice-freezing cells, small silicone or plastic molds with finely chopped herbs, and fill them with drinking water.
So, we send whole bunches, slices and pureed “cubes” to the freezer until completely frozen and for storage. If something was frozen on a board, after hardening, pour it into bags/containers with a lid. We take the green ice cubes out of the cells and pack them into a convenient container.
The simplest freezing of greens will come in handy in the kitchen more than once when preparing sauces, salsas and dips, first and second courses and marinating, flatbreads, savory pies and cocktails.
By freezing greens for the winter, we have the opportunity to use herbs throughout the year to prepare our favorite dishes and diversify our diet.
Preparing greens for freezing:
- We place the well-washed plants so that excess water can escape. It is better to wash the plants rather than blanch them; there is a better chance of preserving vitamins.
- With some freezing methods, the greens need to be dried a little. Place the greens on a towel to dry; We systematically rearrange the layers over the course of 2 hours, changing their places. We don’t keep it for a long time, otherwise the plants may wilt.
- When packing greens tightly, they must first be doused with boiling water and the plants will become softer.
- If desired, with certain freezing methods, the plants can be finely chopped.
We offer ways to freeze greens for the winter in the freezer:
| Method for freezing greens | Advantages of the freezing method | Disadvantages of the freezing method |
| We freeze plants in whole bunches. After washing and drying the greens, place them in bunches in one layer in the freezer. After 2 hours of freezing, place the bunches in special containers or bags. | The process of freezing and preparing for it takes a little time, and the housewife never has enough of this. More nutrients are retained in plants. | Parts of a frozen plant - stems - that are not suitable for food take up additional space in the freezer. Before cooking, we cut off unnecessary parts of frozen plants; this takes time. |
| To freeze the plants, wrap them in food foil. | The freezing process occurs much faster, which affects the quality of the product. | The packaging is not airtight. Frozen plants can absorb foreign odors. |
| Place the greens in a trimmed bottle and then into the freezer. | Plants in a bottle do not wrinkle or get damaged, and look good after defrosting. | The bottle takes up a lot of space in the freezer due to its shape. |
| Create ice cubes with herbs. To do this, we place the washed and finely chopped plants tightly in containers intended for ice cubes. Fill with water and freeze. | We save time on drying the greens after washing. The resulting cubes are beautiful and convenient for cooking. It is rational to use them for preparing first courses. | A lot of time is spent on chopping and compacting the resulting green mass. |
Note! If you use plastic molds to freeze greens, do not use them for other purposes. The plastic absorbs lingering green odors, and the ice cubes used to cool the water from these molds will have a strong odor.
Important! If you put greens in bags, you need to squeeze them to remove the air. Otherwise, the remaining air will turn into ice when frozen, and the greens will be difficult to separate from each other.
When freezing plants in the freezer, pay attention to the quick freeze function. If this function is not available, then you need to create conditions for quick freezing of greens by preparing small portions. The preservation of vitamins depends on this.
What greens can be frozen?
Housewives themselves choose what is more convenient for them - to freeze plants by individual species or to make spicy mixtures of herbs placed in one container for freezing. It depends on the experience and preferences of the cook herself.
When preparing greens for freezing in the freezer for the winter, pay attention to the following:
- What specific plants do you use for food? Not all housewives use rosemary, but many use parsley.
- Which greens are useful in large quantities, and which are not very popular in your kitchen. So, dill is added to many dishes, and you will need much more of it than tarragon.
- In what quantities will greens be needed before its future harvest? It is possible to estimate approximately the total amount of use of herbs for cooking.
Important! You need to know what greens you can freeze. This is how lettuce leaves change their structure due to the cold and, when defrosted, look unappetizing - they are not suitable for food. And the parsley sprigs look fresh anyway.
Benefits and harms
The benefits and harms of frozen greens:
Correctly freezing and correctly using thawed greens means following the following rules:
- You cannot use containers for freezing plants made of metal, which oxidizes vitamins, or glass, which can crack at subzero temperatures. Use silicone, polyethylene or plastic utensils.
- The quality of frozen plants depends on how quickly they are frozen, so it is best if the greens are divided into small portions.
- When using greens for cooking, they do not need to be thawed.
For a good housewife, frozen plants will not compete with fresh ones, they will be just like fresh ones. And in composition, and in appearance, and in color, pleasing to the eyes. And, of course, the persistent smell.
Bon appetit and delicious dishes on your table!
Useful video
- Related Posts
In the summer, many housewives are faced with a choice: should they freeze fresh greens for the winter, dry them, or pickle them? The first option has a lot of advantages, ranging from the simplicity of the preparation process to the preservation of taste and aroma. In order to get a beautiful and nutritious product out of the freezer during the cold season, and not a wilted mush, you need to try in advance. We will tell you what greens can be frozen, how to do it correctly and how long such a product can be stored.
Why freeze greens for the winter?
- carotenoids;
- antioxidant vitamins: A, C, E;
- vitamin K;
- folic acid;
- potassium and magnesium;
- calcium and phosphorus;
- sulfur;
- iron;
- chromium;
- zinc.
The human body needs these chemical elements all year round, but in winter it faces a deficiency. What about fresh leafy vegetables and herbs that are sold in stores? Often, producers grow them on depleted soils, using fertilizers and pesticides. Store-bought products are unlikely to help your body become healthier.
The best way to meet your winter vitamin and mineral needs is to prepare your herbs ahead of time. When drying and salting, most of the nutrients are lost, unlike freezing. The latter, with a competent approach, also allows you to preserve up to 50–60% of the taste of the product.
Frozen greens can be added to almost any dish: soups, salads, boiled potatoes, meat, fish. Finely chopped, it is perfect as a filling for savory pies, pies and pancakes. And large leaves from bunches will be used to decorate food.
Which greens can be frozen and which cannot?
From the point of view of preserving nutrients, any greens can be frozen. Quick freezing at temperatures from -18 to -25 degrees allows you to save up to 90–95% of vitamins. Only vitamin C is partially destroyed.
However, there are nuances associated with deterioration in taste. Thus, watery types of plants (green onions, lettuce) after defrosting become sluggish, slimy and change their taste. You can, of course, freeze them and preserve them as sources of vitamins. But will you eat later?
Many people don't like the way basil turns out after defrosting. It goes from a fresh spice to a tasteless herb. Therefore, experienced housewives still prefer to dry basil.
You can freeze not only “salad” greens, but also medicinal herbs: leaves of lemon balm, mint, raspberries, black currants, fireweed, thyme and others. Such preparations are suitable for preparing aromatic teas, medicinal decoctions and cosmetic procedures.
Preparing greens for freezing
To prevent greens from turning into dark green porridge in the freezer, they must be carefully prepared for freezing. Follow these steps:
- Pour warm (not hot) water into a basin and soak the plants in it for 2-3 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.
- Rinse under running water.
- Place on cotton towels in one layer and let dry for an hour. Please note that you should not leave your herbs in direct sunlight.
Greens freshly picked from the garden are more suitable for freezing. The less time passes from the moment of collection to harvesting, the more vitamins will be preserved.
Some housewives blanch herbs (pour boiling water over them) before freezing. This action allows you to extend the shelf life of the product and better preserve color and aroma. However, it destroys some vitamins. Whether or not to blanch the greens is up to you.
Three ways to freeze greens
The choice of freezing method depends on what dishes and drinks you plan to add herbs to in winter.
Sliced
Finely chopped greens are ideal for baking, soup, meat and fish dishes.
The preparation proceeds according to a simple scheme:
- Grind clean herbs (including stems) with a knife, scissors, or use a blender.
- Place the raw materials in bags. Preferably vacuum or with a clasp to prevent the aroma from escaping.
- Flatten the greens in the bags and release the air.
- Place in the freezer.
You can freeze one or several plants together. For example, a “mix” of dill, parsley and cilantro is good for stew, and sorrel, nettle and beet tops are good for soup.
In bundles
Herbs are taken from bunches to decorate dishes (for example, pizza) and add to salads.
If you want to freeze your greens this way, cut off the stems first.
Small bundles can be wrapped in the following types of packaging:
- cling film;
- foil;
- parchment paper.
Form the greens into “rolls” and place in the freezer. When you want to take out the product, simply open the top of the package and cut off the required number of leaves.
In ice cubes
Housewives rarely use this method, but in vain. Herbal cubes are convenient to throw into soup at the end of cooking. You can also freeze medicinal plants in this form and then add them to tea or use them to wipe your face.
The procedure is as follows:
- Take out the ice cube trays (preferably silicone), rinse thoroughly and dry.
- Chop the greens as directed in the first recipe.
- Press the herbs into the molds 2/3 full. Fill with cold boiled water.
- Place in the freezer.
Whatever freezing method you choose, store the product at a temperature no higher than -18 degrees. Otherwise, it will quickly lose its beneficial properties. Do not place meat, fish, or seafood in the same compartment with frozen greens, as they absorb extraneous odors very strongly.
Shelf life of frozen greens
With proper freezing technology and temperatures from -25 to -18 degrees, the shelf life of greens is 1–1.5 years. However, the vitamins in the product begin to degrade after 8 months. Therefore, it is advisable not to delay its use.
If greens are stored at temperatures from -8 to 0 degrees, they begin to lose their beneficial properties after 3 months. And its taste is worse than that of the “heavily frozen” one.
Why can't plants stay in the freezer for several years? During storage, moisture slowly evaporates from them, which leads not only to loss of taste, but also to the destruction of chemical elements.
How to defrost a product without losing vitamins?
Many housewives make mistakes not in the process of preparing greens, but when defrosting them.
Please note that the product will lose a significant proportion of vitamins in the following cases:
- you leave it to defrost at room temperature;
- immediately throw into boiling water or hot vegetable oil;
- defrost and refreeze.
As you already understand, beneficial substances disappear during sudden temperature changes. The easiest way to avoid this situation is to transfer the herbs from the freezer to the refrigerator. Then they will defrost gradually.
If you are going to add greens to a salad, cut a bunch directly from frozen. And eat the dish immediately, without waiting for the herbs to completely thaw.
Frozen herbs are added to soups, meat and fish at the end of cooking, when the fire on the stove is no longer burning. Or better yet, just before serving food. Then some of the vitamins can be preserved.
Thus, freezing, storing and thawing greens is a whole science. Wrong actions can spoil the taste and aroma of herbs, destroy valuable substances, and reduce shelf life. But in winter the body waits for vitamin replenishment. Therefore, before preparing the product, carefully read the rules and tips given in the article again.
Loading...