Spinach for Freezing?

I'd like to freeze spinach in decent quantities this year for use over the winter, but it always seems like such an exercise in futility, because it takes so much of it to cook down for a tiny package. Any tips or shortcuts? I did order a packet of Monstrueux De Viroflay Spinach ("50 days. Big leaves to 10" long, smooth and deep green in color. Very fast growing plants are popular for fall planting. A gourmet French heirloom developed prior to 1866.") for fall planting because it looked like it might be easier to get enough for freezing, but maybe there are other ideas out there.

Leslie

I'm interested in the same thing, but no new ideas. I just feel like we will only get a tiny crop because we have no room to grow a huge amount and it will just cook down to nothing.

I am wondering two things about this: One is, why cook it before freezing? What if you just harvest the leaves and freeze them flattened in ziplock bags? The second thing I am wondering is, spinach is such a good winter crop for many, seems if you sow in fall it will stick around most of the winter, and then resow in very early spring?

Those are my only two contributions to this lonely thread. :-( Good luck!

Thanks for caring about this poor lonely thread, Kylaluaz! Good idea about not cooking before freezing, although then it just takes up a bit more room. I've been buying organic frozen spinach that seems partially cooked but maybe not completely. Anyway, that's the way I freeze my basil, so it might work and at least it would be easier. I love spinach, but it's on the Environmental Working Group's list of one of the more chemically-laden vegetables, so I don't like to eat the regular type.

I planted Pinetree's Spinach Mix and also Matador for the spring, and I'm planning to use the Monstrueux De Viroflay for a fall planting, so maybe I'll have this thing covered, but who knows!

Leslie

LOL, you're welcome, Leslie! I've been watching this thread since you started it, thinking, gee, go ahead and post something, and then I would stop myself because, after all, you were asking for varieties and I don't know any. Guess I just needed Gina to break the ice, so to speak.........

I freeze basil that way too which is why I thought of it. Good luck with your spinach adventures!

Kyla

Hmmm.. I hadn't thought to freeze without cooking.

Do you think when it thaws it will just wilt fast? Hubs and I eat it fresh in salads, omelets, tacos...
It's worth a try. Couldn't hurt! I can just as easily stick it in an omelet or soup as soon as it thaws.

Cook it while frozen, why not? For omelets and soups you could just chop it up frozen and t oss it in...... no? For the omelet maybe saute in the pan a bit.....

anyway that's how I treat basil, freeze the leaves and chop them off in sections when needed, not thawing first.........

Kylaluz, I wasn't looking for varieties, just ideas about how to freeze ANY spinach. Momster, I don't think you'll be able to eat it uncooked after it thaws, but you can always cook it and know that it's healthy spinach!

We do the same thing with basil and parsley and cilantro. We dry our oregano. Not sure why....

You're right -- I was thinking after it thaws and wilts. Not really thinking much at all though (wink).
I usually do toss frozen into the soup as is.

I like to throw spinach on pasta, the way I would do with broccoli raab. Yum! A little bit of garlic and olive oil and it's a feast.

Hmm. I'd never thought of freezing without cooking. I know that part of the reasoning behind blanching frozen veggies is to keep the color from darkening as much. It also changes the way they breakdown or somthing. If you did want to cook them I'd just barely hit them with steam, just turn the color bright green.

I'd give strait freezing them a shot. In fact I think I will ;) And Hi Kyla.

This site is probably my favorite for preservation techniques.
(http://www.pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm#freezing)

I notice they don't talk about spinach, though.

I usually don't blanch my snap beans or asparagus before freezing them, but the beans aren't super thin when I pick them, so my normal method of cooking is to sauté them for a long time with onions and pork drippings or some other flavoring. I cook asparagus while it's still frozen, in a fairly hot pan, and braise it with a little oil. I like it better that way than frozen blanched.

The purpose of blanching before freezing is to stop the enzyme action to prolong the storage life of the product. And it gives the produce a nice dark green appearance.

I don't grow spinach, but I do grow Swiss Chard. Last year I canned the greens--and I really liked the result. Just like store bought, only better. :)

A nice thing about canning is you don't have to worry about your food spoiling in a prolonged power outage, and the canned food lasts for a long, long time.

Of course, you do need to have a pressure canner, which is a bit spendy. But well worth the cost, in my opinion.

Cool, ice worm, I did not know that.

and hiya, Duchess. ;-)

Ice worm, I know that blanching is supposed to stop the enzymes, and I'd use it for something tender like peas, but the way I cook beans and asparagus it doesn't seem to make much difference, if any. And I'm not comfortable canning things; I just don't trust them. I like the flavor of a lot of things better frozen, too.

But you're right, there is that downside to freezing. We have a generator but it runs on LP gas, so if there were a real disaster like Katrina we might be out of luck with fuel deliveries!