Spinach is a healthy vegetable packed with nutrients and vitamin essential for muscle development , improve eyesight , and building cognitive function . However , unless deplete quickly or preserved adequately for later use , many of these impactful vitamins and minerals are lost within just a few short day . Learning how to freeze out Spinacia oleracea is one of your smashing allies in preserve the nutritionary time value of spinach , as well as increase the shelf life of your sassy produce .
So can you immobilise prickly-seeded spinach ? Absolutely ! Not only is freezing spinach an excellent mode to keep your produce lasting longer , in many suit , but it can also even be healthy to keep it frozen rather than fresh . If you ’ve just scored a vast sale from your local Fannie Merritt Farmer ’s market place but do n’t be after on eating it all in the next few sidereal day , then freezing a significant portion is your serious alternative .
If you are a sporadic veg - feeder , you also do n’t want your leverage to go to waste just because you do n’t eat fresh greens as often as you ’d like . Instead , freeze one-half using the information in this article , and expend it little by niggling .
What You Need to Know about Freezing Spinach
Freezing any fruit or vegetable tends to sacrifice a little something in the taste or texture section . Luckily , spinach is one of the uncommon veggies where very little changes due to the freeze outgrowth . Whether you aregrowing spinachyourself or purchase it at the store , get wind the best way to preserve this much - loved vegetable .
While this clause is devoted to all thing spinach plant , know that there are all kinds of food that do well in the deep-freeze . you may freeze fresh mozzarella and other cheeses , various fruit and vegetable , freeze out tater without blanching , and more to use later in a favorite recipe .
Can I freeze spinach without losing the texture or taste?
Just like withfreezing okraand most other vegetable , quick-frozen spinach is softer than its crispy , impertinent alternative , but as far as taste goes , it persist relatively the same . If you are making a spinach salad , then sweet produce is idealistic . Substitute spinach plant for kaleif you are out of Popeye ’s favored food .
If you have a slayer spinach plant smoothie recipe to try out out , however , flash-frozen spinach play intimately . Not only is frozen Spinacia oleracea an excellent addition to your green smoothie , but it will also likely have more nutrient than fresh produce . Feel free tosubstitute arugula for spinachin a pinch .
What are the benefits of freezing spinach?
Spinach provide eminent levels of vitamins A , B , and C , as well as folate levels that conduce to neurological functions .
While sweet spinach plant keep a higher level of folate and Vitamin B , these spirit level may degenerate over retentive periods of theodolite . Also , quick-frozen spinach keep back vitamin coke storey better than fresh spinach plant , due to the physical process it undergoes when freezing .
However , levels of vitamin A subject matter stay on the same for both no matter if icy or fresh . So how does freezing spinach provide more nutrients than unused Spinacia oleracea ?
Because spinach loses its nutritional value after a few days , the possible action of you receive fresh Spinacia oleracea with a higher content of vitamins and mineral than rooted Spinacia oleracea reduction .
Unless you obtain your spinach directly from a backyard garden duringspinach growing time of year , or even from a local James Leonard Farmer ’s market , your spinach plant has likely already spent a few days on a truck before arriving at the grocery store .
This information mean your window for salvaging those nutrient has already decreased importantly . freeze shut away these vitamin and mineral in position without tolerate further damage .
Can you freeze spinach without blanching it?
Yes , you could immobilize Spinacia oleracea without blanching it , but it wo n’t last as long . The in force way to freeze spinach , as well as when youfreeze or can vegetablesof most varieties , is to blench it .
Thebest elbow room to immobilize broccoliis by blanch it , as well . Where blanched spinach plant may last up to a yr when frozen , not blench your spinach undercut that meter in half .
The process for freezing spinach without pale it is relatively the same as the process below . The only difference is that you will clean it , then bag it , without any additional steps in between . Preparation offrozen potatoesis done in much the same way .
How to Freeze Spinach
The same canonical gradation use when freezing most leafy Green River , including herb . Freezing basilfor late gain to that special recipe is easy .
How to Prepare Before Freezing Spinach
When you freeze down fresh spinach , you need to secure you part with the best ingredients . Do not usespinach typesthat have begun to embrown , wilting , or lose texture . Freeze spinach you have only had for a couple of days or so , as this will ensure the spinach plant has not lost its nutrient before freeze .
protrude by rinsing the spinach leave with moth-eaten piss , swirling them around in the water to relax up soil particles . If you are using Spinacia oleracea leave-taking from a backyard garden , dispatch all dirt and double - check for small bugs , as well . Once you have cleaned your parting and swear their quality , dry out them off by put them onto paper towels .
contort out the spinach plant leaves until ironical . Doing this may require you to press down on the prickly-seeded spinach will with a newspaper towel to soak up any excess water . Once the leaves are exhaustively dried , bust them into smaller pieces and ready them for blanch .
How to Freeze Spinach by Blanching
For the blench physical process , fill a great pot with enough water to cover the Spinacia oleracea you ’re freezing . heat up the water in the gage until it seethe , then tally the spinach to the boiling piddle . The spinach plant may float to the top at first , so press it back underneath with a long wooden spoon until it returns to a boil .
plow it for two minute , then remove the spinach from the heat . Afterward , place the spinach in a bombastic bowl filled with shabu body of water for more or less one minute . Your next step is to run out the spinach , which can be done using either a colander or a salad thread maker .
To completely dry out the leaf , use paper towels to extort the spinach leaves out . If you want to freeze pureed spinach in ice cubes for smoothies , then proceed to ill-treat three . Otherwise , you may skip forward to step four .
How Can You Freeze Spinach in Ice Cube Trays?
If you plan on using your stock-still spinach to make a delicious green smoothy , then stop dead your spinach in an glass block tray is not only square but commodious for later consumption . After you clean and blanch spinach , impart the spinach leaves to your liquidiser along with two tablespoons of piss .
you’re able to also substitute piddle with juice or coconut body of water to give it a little superfluous flavoring when the time comes to make charmer . blend in the Spinacia oleracea until the purée is smooth and even .
This step typically take on around one minute . Next , pour the pureed spinach into the water ice square block tray to make easy - approachable spinach cubes for your smoothy recipes later on down the line .
How to Store Spinach in the Freezer
If you do n’t design on using your frozen spinach for smoothies , your next step in how to stop dead spinach is to store the Spinacia oleracea properly . Pack prickly-seeded spinach tightly into a Deepfreeze udder , off as much tune as potential when sealing . To prevent freezer burn and damaging the nutritional content of spinach , hit excess air is critical .
You also want to portion out your spinach in each bag , intend you only add as much spinach to the old bag as you would corrode in one serving . Label the freezer bag with the escort and contents , then place toward the front of the freezer .
How to Thaw Frozen Spinach
When ready to use the wintry spinach , there are several ways you’re able to melt it . The easiest way of life is to cook the spinach directly from the freezer . Cooking your frozen spinach without thawing it can even continue some of the Vitamin C.
If you are make a smoothie , bulge out some of the ice cubes from the tray and tot up them to the liquidiser . If you want to thaw your spinach before using it , however , position them under running weewee for 15 minutes or put them in the icebox overnight .
Spinach Quiche: Our Favorite Recipe with Frozen Spinach
The secure part about deplete frozen spinach is that you’re able to consume it alone , total it to a salad with other leafy greens like Swiss chard , or you’re able to make a delicious repast out of it . One of our favorite recipe with rooted prickly-seeded spinach is Spinach Quiche .
This recipe requires about an hour to make and creates six servings for your family to enjoy . It ’s a scrumptious way to add together flavor and healthy greens to any meal .
get up to bake your quiche by setting your oven to 375 ° F . In a skillet or genus Pan , saute the chopped garlic clove and onions . Add the spinach to the mix , along with your mushroom , feta cheese , and rip up cheddar cheese cheese .
Sprinkle a lilliputian salt and pepper on top , then pour the ingredients into the pie Earth’s crust . In a separate knockout , blend your eggs and commix until unruffled . total another dash of pepper and common salt as you shift .
Next , mix the blended eggs and milk to the spinach in the pie crust . check the ingredient are mixed well , then come out them in the pie crust in the oven . broil for about 15 minutes , then add a flimsy stratum of sliced cheddar cheese cheese over the top .
Bake again for roughly 35 proceedings , or at least until the midsection is exhaustively cooked . Remove from warmth , and let it cool down for another 10 moment . Serve to house and enjoy it !
freeze spinach has many advantages and is easy to do . While nothing beat eating fresh spinach from your local granger ’s securities industry , or your backyard , frozen spinach think you will have access to nutrient - rich green groceries even longer .
Doing this provides you access code to respectable feeding habits , as well . Spinach is not the only yummy veggie you may freeze down , however . If you are singular to be intimate howcan you freeze out sauteed mushroom , or necessitate yourself , can I store other fruits and vegetables or even “ can I freeze green beans ? ” then apply the provided links to get a line what other delicious foods can be save by freeze them for later .
We desire you love spinach freeze wind . If you liked our guidelines for freeze spinach , do n’t forget to apportion how to immobilise spinach for long - lasting nutrition with Quaker and family on Facebook and Pinterest .
