Freezing fresh spinach?

rlm_3

Hi there,

I've been lurking for a while but this is my first post on OS. I have a half a bag of fresh spinach which we probably won't use in the next couple of days. Is there any way of freezing it? I know with veggies you usually blanche, cool, then freeze them but would this work for spinach? If so, how long should it be blanched for?

Thanks in advance

DawnW

You can do it as follows:
remove any tough stalks, Put a large pan of water on to boil to blanch the spinach. When it is boiling well, just dip the spinach (in a basket preferably, a chip one will do) into the water and only leave until it comes back to the boil. Plunge immediately into cold water. Press as much water out of it as possible before freezing, and pack into a plastic bag, excluding as much air as possible. It might be a bit soggy but it depends what you want to use it for. Worth a try though. You can also freeze mangetout peas like this (but without the pressing out of water, obviously). I froze lots of both (homegrown) last summer, and have just finished the mangetout.
Dawn

rlm_3

Thanks for that. I'll give it a go.

Heth_2

I've just frozen spinach as it is, no prep at all, then cooked it from frozen when required, and it was absolutely fine.

rlm_3

Ooh, interesting. Did wonder about that. I guess you would just have to make sure you froze it in 'useable' portions. Thanks

Heth_2

Again we just stuck the bag of leaves in the freezer (it was a big bag, about 350 g I think). We managed to easily get half the spinach out of the bag to use on one occasion, and then half the next time. The only thing is, if the spinach is not already washed, i would wash it first to get any sand/grit out.

tr3mor

Spinach takes up much less room when cooked, so why not fry it off in some olive oil, let it cool, then freeze it.

rlm_3

So many options! We have quite a large chest freezer which is only half full at the moment so space isn't really an issue but I'll bear that in mind in case it starts to get full up

grellan1

I have started to store spinach in a plastic zip bag with some water .This keeps the spinach nice and crisp. This is Day3 now and the spinach will be finally used up tomorrow.

Zziggi

I have got 2x500g bags of fresh spinach that i picked up dirt cheap in tesco last night. I usually make a batch of saag aloo when i get spinch cheap but i already have some in the freezer. Do you think it would work if i steam the spinach and then just freeze it cooked. Then defrost it when i need it?

Can anyone suggest a better method?

Thanks in advance

wizzkid_3

I seem to remember many years ago, I steamed spinach and then froze it in ice cube trays to add to carrot and corriander soup. Got a bag in the fridge that is going 'poor', maybe I will try it out again.