So I spent most of yesterday building one of those straw umbrellas. You know the type. You see them in the Caribbean or outside on the patios of your local Hooters bars. They're classy things.
I made mine out of Swiss Chard.
I've also fashioned 17 leisure suits, a hammock, 3 pup tents and a sort of wobbly fishing pole out of the stuff.
I have a lot of Swiss Chard.
If these were the olden days they would call me "Scurvy Sue" because people would walk for miles to get my Swiss Chard to prevent scurvy. As it is, they just call me Karen. That insane woman on the corner who lost countless gardening tools and 3 cats to the Swiss Chard patch. There might be a toddler in there too; I saw movement ... but it could very well just be another cat. Either way it's making some God awful sounds.
All this and I still have enough Swiss Chard to choke a dinosaur. One of those ones with the really long necks.
I have therefore taken to freezing my Swiss Chard so I can enjoy it in the winter, when I don't hate it so much. It's easy to do ... way easier than canning, and doesn't take much time at all.
All you have to do is blanch them (plunge in boiling water) then cool them.
I know a lot of you are thinking "But ... I freeze stuff all the time without blanching it, and it's fine". And you're right. It's fine. You know what else is fine? A store bought cookie. But does it compare to a warm, gooey, crisp around the edges homemade cookie? No. No it does not.
You need to blanch because blanching stops enzymes in their tracks. Or at least slows them down. Enzymes are live and unless you stop them from doing what they do your vegetables will lose their flavour, colour and texture. Boiling the vegetable for a couple of minutes slows down/stops the enzymes from working. So you get brighter, tastier, better textured frozen vegetables.
The same process can be used for most greens like Kale, green beans, Spinach, Collard Greens and more.
It's as simple as this ...
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How to Freeze Greens
Gather your greens.
Wash them.
Prep them (take tips off of green beans, slice stems out of Kale, Swiss Chard etc.)
Plunge them in boiling water for 2 minutes. (3 minutes for Collard Greens)
Plunge them in ice water for the same amount of time.
Form them into bundles and freeze them. (either in baggies or with your Foodsaver)
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Pick em.
Plunk em.
Cut the stems out of em.
Blanch em. (for 2 minutes)
Ice Bath em. (for 2 minutes)
Bundle em ... then bag em.
I know. Just like little Swiss brains.
And remember, even if you don't grow any of this stuff you can still use this technique with fresh produce from farmer's markets or roadside stands. You're way better off to freeze that stuff than to buy and eat the fresh imported stuff in the winter.
If you own a Foodaver (and you really should) you know that Foodsavering watery items is a struggle. The vacuum sucks up the water and the bag doesn't get a good seal on it.
A trick for using the Foodsaver with items like this with a really high moisture content is to freeze the bundles first and then Foodsaver them.
I do this freezing thing every so often with my green beans, beet tops and Swiss Chard. Great results with not a lot of time or effort.
Unlike the patio umbrella.
Thanks for this tutorial! However, on order to retain the most nutrients, we use the pressure cooker for our greens but never for future use. Is it possible pressure cook them quickly then shock and freeze instead of blanching?
Charrrrrrd!!!
1. It's getting so big in my yard - too big to bother freezing? Will it be yucky?
2. Would it be worth placing the blanched chard in a nut milk bag to drain/squeeze out excess liquid before freezing?
3. Is there annnnny good use for the stems besides compost? The leaves are disliked by my family, but the stems are loathed.
Thanks!
Charrrddd!!! 1.It does get a bit yucky, yes. But it's better than no chard. 2.Nah. Don't bother. 3.Small stems are edible but you're family is right. The larger ones are bitter and gross. I wish they weren't because they're the prettiest part. ~ karen!
Chard stalk pickles http://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/recipe/lacto-fermentation-recipes/lacto-fermented-chard-stalks/
Over here in my part of France.... People throw away the green bits and eat the stalks haha! Maybe it's not the same variety... Mostly it's cooked in a creamy or cheesy white sauce
I got a goegeous bunch of beets w/ leaves from one of my daughters today..
Just did your leaves..so pretty:) Thank you..this winter ..in soups etc..
I like what you are doing with your posts and your site. I use kale for my smoothies so if I blanch I will get more nutrients and since its frozen I won't notice mushiness. Thanks for the encouraging words re blanching.
And class act on responding to a person whose facts you don't agree with. Nicely done. Carol
Thanks Carol. Most times I just tell people to shut up so I must have been feeling generous that day, lol. Blanched vegetables still aren't my favourite to eat, but I like knowing I have some green stuff in the freezer through the winter when I don't feel like going to the grocery store for green stuff. ;) ~ karen!
I am so tired of repeated bad advice. You DO NOT need to blanch vegetables prior to freezing. Any enzymatic activity will be stopped by the freezer with less loss of quality than with the same vegetable blanched. This is another example of people just repeating what they have heard. Please check the science!
Regarding Swiss Chard, I love it, chopped (stem and all) then sauteed with a little olive oil, drizzle with soy sauce and toasted sesame oil.
Well Wes. I hate to say it but unless you've spent a great deal of time in the laboratory, you are indeed doing what you're accusing others of. You're repeating what you've heard. As far as blanching, for me personally the number one reason is killing bacteria etc. You'll notice I managed to respond to you without resorting to all caps, condescension or an heir of superiority. ~ karen
Hi Karen - dunno if you'll get this cuz this is an old post. I'd like to know about the texture of the frozen then used greens. My husband is very picky about texture. He hated cooked spinach til I started flash sauté-ing it. He cannot stand mushy, so there's no point freezing greens if they will end up mushy.
Thank you very much - I trust you.
Hi Ellen - They will end up mush, lol. There's no way around it with greens usually because once you blanch them and then freeze them well .. they just get mushy. However ... I've been told there are several varieties of green beans that don't get mushy. Lazy Housewife beans for one, which are an heirloom variety. Sorry for the bad news. On the upside, you may still be able to use the greens for soups and stuff. :( ~ karen!
Another great way to serve swiss chard is to sauté it in olive oil with some cut up garlic and sprinkle with salt and a bit of chile peppers. Then serve them as a side dish with meats/eggs or fish. You can also sprinkle some parmesan cheese or small chunks at the end of the cooking process. I like using pecorino pepato. A sharp Italian cheese with black peppers. I have also frozen it after partially cooking it this way. Yummy.
What thoughts do you have for the tons of basil I have growing? Besides making a boatload of pesto...Thanks!
Suzanne - Funny you should ask! I have a post coming up (I can't remember if it's this week or next ... on what to do with basil!) ~ karen
Read this too late, so sad. The first hard frost on the Prairies tonight will be freezing my Swiss Chard in the garden. Boo hoo.
Arlene - Rip it out! Run outside and rip it out! Right now! Wait. Your swiss chard should be O.K. in the frost. It's pretty hardy. I think you'll be fine. :) ~ karen
Hi Karen,
Just a little fyi - enzymes are not "living". They can be "active", and they can be denatured, rendering them inactive, but they are not a living thing.
Just had to throw that out there, for whatever it's worth. The science teacher in me, sorry!
That picture looks for all the world like you are out in the middle of the night, in your nightgown, picking your arms full of swiss chard. If this is what it looks like, you need another vacation. You know how I've ragged you about taking a vacation every month but if that's your nightgown, you do need one this month. I'm seriously worried about you now. I mean really! Can I have your mom's phone numer.....or the fella's. Help is on the way, honey.
That's a dress, LOL! A very comfortable one. What with it resembling a nightgown. However, I must admit I go out into the garden in my p'jamas all the time. Day or night. Weekday or weekend. My neighbours really wouldn't bat an eye if I went out in the garden wearing a Superhero costume. They're used to me. As is my mother. :) ~ karen!
Funny. I was thinking how classy you look in that picture, Karen.
I had no idea you could freeze Swiss Chard. If I had known that--I WOULDN'T HAVE EATEN SWISS CHARD EVERY DAY FOR LUNCH FOR THE PAST 3 WEEKS!!!!@!!!
Now I know . . . a thank you is in order . . . unfortunately, out of sheer desperation and a lack of culinary creativity, I yanked all my Swiss Chard plants out by their roots yesterday and ate them!!!!!!
You cut out the stems? They're the prettiest bit!
LOL. I know. They're beautiful. Like my sheets. And duvet cover. And napkins. And bread bag. ~ karen
And blanching is important because raw greens (spinach kale chard etc) contain oxalic acid, an anti-nutrient, which prevents the absorption of calcium etc. I was just harvesting my chard today, too. We Ontarians know the F word (frost) is coming soon!
:( I refuse to believe. NO. NO FROST. Not until the very end of October. I'll be running out and covering up my plants with plastic and sheets and duvets and anything else I can find. ~ karen!
Oh damnit. I already froze all my beans. Wash, snip, bag. Next time!
Karen, you're a genius! I hope I'll have a freezer by the drop dead date for harvesting my kale. My mom tells me I can freeze roasted tomatoes too. As soon as I get my stove hooked up...
LOL! I thought just having to use a bar fridge was a struggle. (broken fridge ... still not replaced) ~ karen!
You still haven't replaced the fridge? We're remodeling our kitchen and that seemed to be the easiest decision my husband made - new fridge. Despite having a perfectly good one. But, now I'll have a regular size back-up freezer/wine fridge. Supposing we ever finish the kitchen... We have 16 people coming for thanksgiving dinner, so...
Me too, LOL! I don't know WHAT I'm gonna do. My problem is space. I want a 36" stove, but if I get that, I have to get a narrower than normal fridge which is hard to come by. ~ k!
We planned our kitchen to have a 36" stove, and then went shopping. After much tearing out of hair over how expensive they are, we solved our problem by going pro-style in 30". There are a lot of beautiful 30" pro-style ranges that even have 5 burners. We chose a Blue Star. Frankly, I'm pretty sure I'll never need 6 burners despite how much I love to cook. The only thing that really might have been handy is a wall oven, but even then, only on Thanksgiving. What kind of range do you want?
Well .. funny you should mention Blue Star. My two top choices are Blue Star or Thermador. Thermador is more beautiful but I think I like the Blue Star burner more. Did you get a coloured blue Star or the plain one? ~ k
Well, at the showroom, we fell in love with the red 36" one. But. Reality set in and we went with stainless. Somehow it just seems classic and timeless. The thing we love about the blue star over everything else is the way the grates remove to hold a wok. Not that we are huge wok cookers, but my husband worked at a Japanese restaurant through high school and I think it may be the only way to get him to make dinner occasionally. Supposedly Thermador is very good too, but we just love the old fashioned look of the blue star. We are remodeling a 1905 house trying to stay with a modern classic look - hard woods and subway tile etc.
Have you visited a showroom? Do let me know what you choose!
I already know it would be stainless. :) The only other one I'd pick would be white, but ... still ... I'd go stainless. :) ~ k!
As to crispy kale, it's roasted after being tossed with olive oil and salt, can't remember what temp or how long but google roasted kale. I've had it and loved it!!!
Karen - so I went to a restaurant in Vancouver and they had the most AMAZING crispy Kale which I tried to replicate and was gross. Any ideas on how one might 'fry' kale without dipping it in a vat of oil which obviously they have and I don't. I stir fried it and i did not get the desired effect
massage the leaves with olive oil (yes get in there & rub the leaves with the oil) & spread in single layer on cookie sheet, s&p to taste, & roast... can't remember temperature... prob anywhere from 350-400... take out when crispy!
Does this work for basil?
I haven't tried blanching with basil. Over on my Facebook page we're just having a discussion on how best to keep basil! ~ karen
I'm going to stalk your facebook page now - thank you :)
Karen I don't know how you have the patience,I'll just take my chance and eat the imported stuff and let you know in the next few months what weird thing I'm growing out of my body parts because of it!
http://www.dawnajonesdesign.com/
I've been growing swiss chard for years, never eaten it because it never grows bigger than 10 inches. Seattle area, it is purely ornamental, so jealous