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Freezing Spinach

July 22, 2006

Selecting High-Quality Spinach:

Select young, tender green leaves. Leaves on spinach should be at least 6 inches long. Harvest early in the day before heat from the sun causes greens to become limp. The amount needed to fill 1-pint is approximately 1 to 1 1/2 pounds.
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Preparing for Freezing:

Wash thoroughly in an ice water bath to remove sand and insects. Rinse. Cut off woody stems and remove damaged leaves. Leaves can be left whole or chopped coarsely.

Blanching Time:

Water-blanch spinach for 2 minutes. Cool promptly and drain.

Best Freezing Method(s):

Dry Pack

Transfer cooled, blanched greens into suitable containers. Seal, label and freeze. Leave 1/2 inch headspace. freezing guide

Stir Fry

As an alternative to blanching, spinach can be stir-fried until leaves are wilted (2 to 3 minutes) and packed into boilable bags. Seal bags, cool, pat dry and freeze.

Suitable Packaging:

Freezer containers should be moisture and vapor resistant and should not be prone to cracking or breaking at low temperatures. Containers should provide protection against absorbing flavors or odors and should be easy to label. Suitable packaging for freezing spinach includes freezer-grade plastic bags, rigid plastic containers or glass containers and heavy-duty foil containers.
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Maximum Storage Time:

10 to 12 months at 0ºF. For best flavor, consume within 6 months.

Thawing:

Add green directly to dishes without thawing.

Tips & Shortcuts:

Carefully lift greens out of their water bath using a colander or strainer to leave any sand and grit behind.

Refrigerating Greens:

Wrap unwashed greens in paper towels and store in plastic bags. If spinach greens are cut in the morning, they will last 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator this way. Cooked greens should be covered and stored up to 5 days.
 

Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

December 31, 2008

Can I freeze raw spinach?

Ruth

Answers

By (Guest Post)
December 31, 20080 found this helpful

I know you can freeze blanched spinach, but I am not sure about raw.

Editor's Note: You must blanch spinach before freezing to maintain the color and texture.

 
January 6, 20090 found this helpful

When I freeze spinach out of my garden, I wash it and let it completely dry. Then I bunch it up and put it in freezer bags. Great for cooking.

 
July 12, 20141 found this helpful

Unblanched spinach that is frozen will be safe to eat, but the continued enzyme activity in the green leaves will damage the texture and destroy some of its nutrition. The two exceptions of which I'm aware are onions and bell peppers, which can be raw-frozen.

 
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