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Post by hortusbrambonii on Sept 7, 2013 15:37:52 GMT -5
I was wondering if it would work to freeze some of my lambsquaters, tree spinach 'magentaspreen' or that 'Aztec broccoli' that is 3 m high but still not giving anything but leaves for the winter.
Would just blanching and freezing them work? Anyone who has experience with it or who has tips?
Also, someone in a FB group said something about dried lambsquarters. Anyone who knows about that?
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Post by raymondo on Sept 7, 2013 18:28:20 GMT -5
Can't see why freezing wouldn't work. Spinach and silverbeet, both relatives, freeze well after light blanching.
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Post by hortusbrambonii on Sept 8, 2013 0:59:05 GMT -5
I've had bad experience with freezing chards (or was it beet leaves? Can't remember), maybe they were boiled for too long or too short then?
The stems had become all weirdly dry-ish and tasteless.
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Post by zeedman on Sept 8, 2013 2:31:40 GMT -5
Sounds like the chard may not have been blanched long enough. Unless chopped or sliced thinly, the stalks take longer to blanch than the leaves, especially as the leaves get larger. Even the leaf veins can be a problem when the leaves reach their full size; I cut out the central vein & treat it as a stalk. I always slice some of the stalks thinly with the leaves (to give the chard some body) and blanch a pound of the mix for about 4 minutes. Less time then that, and I had the same dry-stalk problem when the frozen chard was cooked. The exact blanching times will vary, depending upon the volume of water in the kettle, the thickness of the stalks, and the total weight being blanched. After some experimentation, I found that the stalks are properly blanched if they appear translucent after cooling (under-blanched still appear white).
If larger chunks of stem were used, it would be nearly impossible to blanch the stems at the same time as the leaves, without over-cooking the leaves. Probably the only option would be if the stalk pieces were blanched separately (and for a longer period of time) then mixed with the already-blanched leaves.
At best, I only use about 1/2 of the stalks or less when freezing. The rest of the stalks make a pretty good celery-like cream-style soup.
Never tried freezing lamb's quarter or its kin, but I would think that they would blanch just like any similar green. Blanching might even reduce the emetic effect I've observed from eating fresh lamb's quarter, by leaving some of those compounds in the blanch water. Come to think of it, I may try that myself next year.
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