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Many housewives use aromatic, fragrant and very healthy greens in the preparation of the first and second courses. In summer, it can be found in abundance in the beds, but in winter, fresh, it is available only on store shelves and its prices are by no means low. Fortunately, some housewives have come up with recipes for how to prepare greens for the winter... By performing simple manipulations, you can preserve the quality and benefits of this versatile ingredient until the onset of the new season. We will talk about how to do this later in the article.
Greenery harvesting methods
There are several fundamentally different ways of harvesting greens for the winter. So, most widely housewives use drying and freezing. These methods are quite simple and accessible even to inexperienced cooks. Canning and salting are used less often to preserve green supplies in the winter, since these methods require certain skills and abilities.
You can harvest any greens for the winter, for example, parsley, dill, sage, celery, spinach. The main requirement for greens is that they must be fresh. Withered greens are not suitable for harvesting.
Drying Green Supplies
Since ancient times, people have sought to preserve food by drying. The main advantage of this method is the ability to preserve all vitamins and nutrients in the product. It is possible to dry greens in natural conditions, however, in this case, weather conditions play a huge role. You can artificially dry herbs, some vegetables and fruits in a dehydrator. This device allows, regardless of external factors, in a gentle mode to remove moisture from the product, keeping all the nutrients in it.
How to dry greens
You can dry any fragrant herbs and herbs, with the exception of salad. The product collected for drying must be sorted out, damaged and rough leaves must be removed. A quality product must be rinsed with cold water and dried by spreading it out on a kitchen towel or newsprint. After removing moisture from the surface of the leaves, the greens are cut. It is important to remember that large pieces dry for a long time and rot if dried during storage. Very small fragments of fresh product during harvesting lose a lot of juice, as a result of which they lose their aroma after drying. Thus, based on these important points, you need to choose the average size of the slices for each type of greenery when cutting.
You can dry green supplies in three different ways:
- Using a dehydrator will allow you to quickly and efficiently dry the product. To do this, set the temperature regime to 400C and sprinkle the herbs on trays.
- You can dry the product in a regular oven. To do this, turn on the gas to a minimum, set the baking sheet in the uppermost groove of the oven. In this case, the door must be ajar. It is important in such conditions not to burn, but to dry the greens in a gentle mode.
- The "grandfather" method involves drying in natural conditions. To do this, the crushed product is laid out on a tablecloth, which is spread in the shade with good air ventilation.
The readiness of the dry product can be checked by touch: the finished product should break into several small pieces when squeezed.
Storage and use of dried product
You can store greens in paper bags or hermetically sealed jars. The choice of capacity largely depends on the humidity in the room.The thing is that dried greens have the property of hygroscopicity and can lose their qualities when stored in conditions with high humidity.
You can store each type of product in separate containers or a seasoning obtained by mixing several components. You can use the product in the process of preparing the first and second courses, as well as add it directly to the plate with ready-made food.
Freezing
You can save greens for the winter by freezing... The advantages of this method are long-term storage without loss of quality and the safety of all nutrients in the product.
Freezing methods
There are two ways to freeze greens: dry and wet.
The dry method of freezing consists of the following steps:
- greens are carefully selected, washed, dried;
- cut it into small pieces, given that grinding the product in the future will be almost impossible;
- the prepared product is laid out in plastic bags, tied hermetically and placed in the freezer;
- before the onset of complete freezing, the bags are broken several times by hand so that the product is free-flowing and does not freeze in a single large lump.
Wet freezing involves the creation of ice cubes, which are based on crushed greens. The advantage of this method is the portioning of the product. To carry out wet freezing, you must:
- finely chop the selected and washed greens;
- decompose the product in small silicone or plastic molds;
- fill the molds with water, put in the freezer until complete icing;
- collect the frozen cubes in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer.
After freezing, different types of greens are almost impossible to distinguish, so it is recommended to sign the packages before freezing. You can freeze both individual types of product, and their mixture.
Features of using frozen greens
Greens in the freezer are always fresh. You can add it to soups or main dishes shortly before the end of cooking.
The frozen product is stored in a freezer. Short-term power outages will not cause significant damage to the product. But it is important to remember that the thawed product cannot be frozen again, since it will lose its quality.
Canning
Canned greens can be not only tasty, but also healthy. You can preserve various types of aromatic herbs. To do this, you need to find recipes that will help you properly preserve the product. Here are just a few of them:
- Rinse and dry the herbs. It can be parsley, dill, celery, cilantro, or a mixture of all of these herbs. The total mass of the green product should be 2 kg. Additionally, 500 g of parsley root or celery root can be added to the mixture. Chop the greens, cut the parsley root into thin rings. 250 g of salt is added to the total mixture of products. The resulting mixture is filled into jars. It is better to choose containers of small volume, since the canned product cannot be stored for a long time in the open state. Jars with a volume of 100 and 200 g are tightly filled with herbs so that they let the juice out. Then add 70% vinegar (2 tablespoons per 100 g jar). Filled cans are sterilized in boiling water for 5-7 minutes, after which they are rolled up.
- Wash greens (dill, celery, parsley) in the amount of 1 kg and chop finely. Leeks (200 g), onions (300 g), carrots (300 g), peel and cut into slices. Add chopped hot pepper pod and 3-5 sweet bell pepper pods to the mixture. Add salt in the amount of 460 g and 4 tbsp. l. vinegar.After thorough mixing, the jars are filled with herbs, sterilized for 5-6 minutes and rolled up.
- A universal recipe for canning involves the use of a mixture of various fragrant herbs in the amount of 2 kg. The chopped mixture of products is placed tightly in jars and poured with syrup (1 liter of boiled water, 45 g of sugar, 25 g of salt, 1 cup of vinegar 8%). Sterilize the mixture in boiling water for 20 minutes.
For the preparation of canned greens, you can use the given or other recipes with a photo.
An unusual recipe can be found in the video:
You can store cans with canned food all winter in a cellar or basement. After opening, they are stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Canned product is added to soups, about 1 tbsp. l. for 2 liters of liquid.
Salting greens
The high concentration of salt prevents the herbs from spoiling. For beginners and experienced housewives, a universal recipe for making pickles can be useful:
Finely chop the washed and dried fragrant herb (any) and mix with salt. For every 1 kg of product, there should be about 250 g of salt. After thorough mixing, the product is placed tightly in clean jars and covered with a nylon lid. For 2 days, the salting is placed in the refrigerator. During this time, the greens in the jar should be compacted. In this case, the free space must be additionally filled with a salty mixture. Store prepared pickles in a cool, dark place. The refrigerator compartment is ideal for storage.
Conclusion
There are many ways to preserve greens. Each housewife must independently choose the best way for herself. For example, if the house has a large freezer, then the easiest way is to freeze the product. This method of preparation does not require a lot of effort, knowledge and time. Using a dehydrator allows you to quickly and efficiently dry the product without taking up space in the refrigerator during storage. Canning and salting takes time and knowledge. Such harvesting methods are more often used by experienced housewives. But no matter what method of harvesting is chosen, you always need to remember that greens are a source of vitamins, which is especially necessary for a person in winter.
