I have been doing a lot of harvesting and saving this week. The extreme temperatures in Colorado have sent a lot of my veggies into stress mode. I have three various plantings of spinach and it was time to pull the first harvest out. I missed the window for tender leaf spinach so I decided to blanch and freeze this harvest to use in fall stews, spinach and artichoke dip, and chopped into various dishes.
I always harvest my lettuces early in the morning before the sun ever hits the plant. I believe that it gives you the best flavor and texture. I usually harvest the leaves leaving the base of the plant behind. If the plant is healthy it will sometimes produce a second harvest. Many of my plants had already bolted and were looking pretty tired so I left the good ones and pulled out the rest.
The most time consuming part of this preserving process is the cleaning. I go leaf by leaf rinsing and cutting off the woody stem. I know this sounds monotonous, but you would be surprised on what you can find hidden on the underside of a spinach leaf.
Once all the leaves are cleaned I set up a system like the picture below. One pot for blanching, one pot for cooling, and then a storage bowl for the spinach ready to be bagged.
Blanching (scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time) is a must for almost all vegetables to be frozen. It stops enzyme actions which can cause loss of flavor, color and texture.
Blanching cleanses the surface of dirt and organisms, brightens the color and helps retard loss of vitamins. It also wilts or softens vegetables and makes them easier to pack.
-National Center for Home Preservation
I found this chart on the National Center for Home Preservations website and thought it was very helpful for the novice blancher. Click on this Link to be directed to it.
My process for blanching spinach is as follows:
1. Clean spinach and cut off woody stem
2. Bring large pot of water to a boil
3. Have a ice water bath located next to boiling pot for quick cooling
4. Submerge a large handful of spinach in boiling water. Let the spinach boil for three minutes before taking it out and placing in the ice bath.
5. Once the spinach is cooled squeeze out extra water and place in the “ready to be bagged bowl”.
6. Repeat this process until all of your spinach is blanched.
***You will have to add more ice to your ice bath to keep the water cold. I have also heard that you some people only blanch veggies in the same boiling pot 5 times before they change out the water. I never do that, but I wanted you to be aware of this.
Once the process is done, I separate my spinach into equal amounts and place in freezer bags. To cut down on opportunities for freezer burn I create my own “foodsaver”. I really need to invest in one of those contraptions that suck all of the air out of the preservation bags, but for the time being I am the one doing the sucking. It is really easy to do… just squeeze all of the air out of the bag, seal the top leaving just enough room for a straw, manually suck the rest of the air out through the straw and then seal! Presto…DIY Foodsaver.
This process is really very easy. Once you get the hang of blanching you will find it an easy, quick option for putting up your garden harvest. If you don’t grow spinach then head to your local farmers market and get some there. There is nothing like garden spinach thrown into a tasty fall stew. The taste can not even be compared to the hard blocks of frozen spinach you buy at the grocery store.
As always, thanks for stopping by and happy blanching!
