Spinach for the winter is a variety of ways to prepare a healthy and tasty product for use throughout the year when preparing salads, soup, smoothies, sauces and sandwiches, because its harvest season is limited. Freezing spinach is the most popular, but other options are also possible: canning, pickling, blanching and drying. A selection of recipes on this topic will help you choose a preparation method.
How to freeze spinach for the winter
Freezing spinach for the winter is the easiest and most reliable way to prepare this plant for various dishes. Spinach is frozen either fresh, which preserves its beneficial properties as much as possible, or blanched, or in the form of puree. In this recipe, we freeze fresh leaves without chopping them.
- Spinach 800 (grams)
- Zip bags for freezing
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Carefully sort freshly collected spinach leaves, removing dense petioles and small debris. Then rinse them several times in cold water. -
Before freezing, spinach leaves need to be dried. Do this using a special dryer for greens, or simply shake off excess liquid well in a colander. -
Spread the washed leaves in an even layer on a towel and let them dry. If there is a lot of spinach, you can wash and dry it in portions. -
Place the prepared spinach compactly in zip bags or regular freezer bags, removing as much air as possible. Then seal the bags tightly and immediately transfer them to the freezer, where the spinach can be stored for up to 12 months.
Canned spinach for the winter
Canned spinach for the winter is prepared by blanching the leaves in hot brine and then placing them in sterile jars. Under nylon lids, spinach is well stored in the refrigerator, and for longer storage, it is better to sterilize jars according to general rules.
Cooking time: 15 minutes.
Cooking time: 15 minutes.
Servings: 0.5 l.
Ingredients:
- Spinach – 500 gr.
- Water – 2 l.
- Salt – 2 tbsp.
Cooking process:
Step 1. Carefully sort through the spinach leaves, removing damaged ones, small debris and petioles.
Step 2. Then rinse the spinach well under running water.
Step 3. Boil two liters of clean water in a saucepan and dissolve salt in it.
Step 4. Place the prepared spinach leaves into the boiling brine and blanch over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
Step 5. Sterilize a half-liter jar using any method and rinse the lid. Place the blanched spinach compactly in a jar and pour hot brine over it.
Step 6. Then close the jar with a lid and, after completely cooling, store it in the refrigerator. Happy preparations!
Spinach puree for the winter
Spinach puree is prepared for the winter to be added to various dishes: sauces, fish or meat, for sandwiches or soup. This puree perfectly preserves the beneficial properties of spinach and its bright green color. In this recipe we add green onions to the spinach. Preparing puree with sterilization.
Cooking time: 45 minutes.
Cooking time: 15 minutes.
Servings: 1 l.
Ingredients:
- Spinach – 800 gr.
- Green onion – 250 gr.
- Salt – 8 gr.
- Lemon – 1 pc.
- Vegetable oil – 25 ml.
Cooking process:
Step 1. Place fresh young spinach in a deep bowl, cover with cold water for 10 minutes and then rinse several times, changing the water.
Step 2. Then cut off the roots of the spinach, leaving only the leaves for harvesting.
Step 3. Wash the green onions and remove the white part of the feathers. Cut the onion into small pieces.
Step 4. Place the prepared spinach in a deep cast-iron frying pan, add vegetable oil and simmer over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. During this time, the spinach will significantly decrease in volume.
Step 5. Then add chopped green onions to the spinach, add salt and simmer for another 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.
Step 6. Towards the end of the stew, squeeze the lemon juice into the frying pan through a sieve and turn off the heat after 1-2 minutes.
Step 7. Puree the resulting green mass with a blender at medium speed.
Step 8. Sterilize small jars and lids in advance by any means. Pour the puree into jars and cover with lids.
Step 9. Sterilize jars of puree for 10 minutes, just like regular preparations. Then seal the prepared spinach puree, cool and store in a cool, dark place. Good luck and delicious preparations!
Pickling spinach for the winter
A simple option for preparing spinach for the winter is to pickle it. The taste of spinach is quite bland, so it is better to pickle it with the addition of sorrel in any ratio. For pickling, take only table salt and add at least 0.5 cups per 1 kg of greens. This spinach is perfect for making soups and borscht.
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
Cooking time: 15 minutes.
Servings: 7.
Ingredients:
- Spinach – 300 gr.
- Sorrel – 200 gr.
- Salt – 3 tbsp.
Cooking process:
Step 1. Sort the spinach and sorrel leaves, removing small debris and petioles. Then rinse them several times with cold water.
Step 2. Place clean leaves on a cotton towel and leave for 35-40 minutes to dry a little.
Step 3. Finely chop the prepared spinach with sorrel using a sharp knife and place half of the cuttings into a deep bowl.
Step 4. Sprinkle half of the calculated amount of salt on these slices.
Step 5. Then transfer the rest of the chopped leaves, add the remaining salt, mix well with your hands and leave for 40 minutes so that the spinach reduces in volume and releases its juice.
Step 6. Sterilize small jars and lids in advance in any way. Transfer the green mass compactly into a jar and pour all the juice.
Step 7. Seal the pickled spinach and sorrel in a jar tightly and store in a cool, dark place. Happy preparations!
Blanched spinach for the winter
Blanched spinach is prepared for freezing for the winter, and although it loses some of its beneficial properties, it decreases in volume and requires less space in the freezer. The spinach is placed in boiling water and immediately in ice water, and then rolled into balls and frozen. This method of preparing spinach is simple and quite convenient.
Cooking time: 30 minutes.
Cooking time: 30 minutes.
Portions: as desired.
Ingredients:
- Spinach - in any quantity.
- Soda – 1 pinch.
Cooking process:
Step 1. Sort the spinach leaves, remove the hard petioles and rinse several times with cold water.
Step 2. Prepare two pans. Boil water in one and add a pinch of soda to it to preserve the color of the spinach. Prepare ice water in a second saucepan.Transfer the spinach into a colander in portions and place in boiling water for 20 seconds.
Step 3. Then immediately place in ice water for 20 seconds, which stops the cooking process.
Step 4. Leave the cooled spinach in a colander to drain excess liquid or transfer it to stretched gauze.
Step 5. Using your hands, form small balls of blanched spinach, place on a silicone mat and place in the freezer for 4 hours until the outer layer freezes.
Step 6. Then transfer the frozen blanched spinach balls into a special bag and place in the freezer for long-term storage. Happy preparations!
Spinach for the winter through a meat grinder
A popular way to prepare spinach for the winter is to puree it and then freeze it, and in this recipe we will grind the spinach in a meat grinder, because some housewives do not have a blender. The spinach is first blanched to reduce its volume and then frozen.
Cooking time: 30 minutes.
Cooking time: 30 minutes.
Portions: as desired.
Ingredients:
- Spinach - in any quantity.
Cooking process:
Step 1: Prepare the spinach leaves and place them in a pan of boiling water for 40 seconds, which will soften the spinach.
Step 2. Then place the blanched spinach in a colander to drain all the liquid.
Step 3. Grind the spinach in a meat grinder with a fine wire rack, maybe twice, to make the puree more uniform.
Step 4. Place the prepared puree into any molds, place them in a bag and put them in the freezer. Happy preparations!
