The rediscovery of Mangold can no longer be stopped. The summer vegetables are allowed to sprout one leaf after the other in the garden soil. The result: too much edible greens for a short summer. But everything "superfluous" can be frozen wonderfully.

Swiss chard should be blanched before freezing

Consume crisp and fresh

Tender chard leaves that grow in your own bed are crisp, fresh and packed with vitamins. Processing them into delicious dishes in this state is ideal.

Therefore, only pick these vegetables if you will use them for cooking immediately afterwards. This also applies to sensible freezing when the harvested quantity exceeds current consumption.

You should also pay attention to the freshness of supermarket goods. The high season in summer seduces with low prices. But the warm air temperature quickly causes a loss of moisture and causes the leaves to wilt. Only buy plump looking chard and stock up on cheap, frozen supplies for the winter.

The best preservation method: freezing

Always remember that fresh chard can only be stored in the fridge for a very short time. If you can already foresee that the preparation is not possible so quickly, another storage method must be used. Freezing is then the salvation, as it can save a large part of the valuable ingredients and even the green color for a longer time.

prepare leaves

  1. Cut off any dry stem ends.
  2. Wash the chard thoroughly several times until no dirt or sand remains on the leaves.
  3. Separate thick stalks from the green leaves.
  4. Cut the stalks into small, bite-sized pieces.
  5. Cut the leaves into fine or coarse strips, depending on your preference. However, do not mix these with the stems just yet.

Blanch first, then freeze

The tender leaves and thick stems need to be placed in boiling water separately as they take different lengths of time.

  • Blanch the stems for 2-3 minutes
  • Blanch leaves for 1 minute
  • in a large saucepan of lightly salted water
  • quench in ice water

The hot bath offers these advantages

The features listed below, which blanching gives to the deep-frozen vegetables, speak convincingly for this step:

  • the color is preserved
  • Swiss chard "shrinks" and takes up less space in the chest
  • Vitamins are preserved

Freeze chard properly

The blanched and cooled chard should first drain well. It can also be carefully dabbed dry with kitchen paper.

Divide the amount of chard into smaller portions. Place them in suitable, well-closable containers. In terms of environmental friendliness, these can also be made of glass. Cleaned jam jars, for example, are ideal containers for frozen goods.

tips

Do not fill jars to the brim as the frozen contents will expand slightly. They could burst in the freezer.

shelf life and thawing

Frozen chard can be left in the freezer for 8 to 12 months. It does not have to be thawed, but can be frozen and added to the cooking food. It continues to cook in it within a few minutes.

Conclusion for fast readers

  • Preservation: Fresh chard does not keep for long, so freezing is the best preservation method
  • Ideal time: Summer is chard season and the ideal time to freeze harvest surpluses or cheap purchases
  • Prerequisite: Only fresh and crisp leaves offer the best quality, also for the freezer
  • Preparation: Cut off dry stem ends; wash chard thoroughly; Separate the stems from the green
  • Preparation: Cut stems into bite-sized pieces, leaves into strips; Do not mix leaves and stems
  • Blanching: put in salted and boiling water; Boil stalks 2 to 3 minutes; Leaves only 1 minute
  • Quench: put blanched chard directly into ice water and cool down; then take it out immediately
  • Advantages: color is retained; vitamins are preserved; "Shrunken" Swiss chard takes up less space
  • Portioning: first drain the chard well; after that, divide into smaller portions;
  • Bottling: fill suitable containers with chard; Environmental aspects also speak for glass glasses
  • Tip: do not fill glass containers to the brim; Frozen food expands and can cause them to burst
  • Freeze: label container with contents and date; put in the freezer immediately
  • Shelf life: Frozen chard has a shelf life of between 8 and 10 months.
  • Thawing: Use straight from the freezer and add to cooking food while still frozen.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:

  • as a free PDF file to print out yourself

Category:

Vegetable garden