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Parsley contains many vitamins and minerals, which the human body especially lacks in winter. One way to preserve these fragrant greens is to freeze them.
This article will discuss how to freeze parsley for the winter. In addition, you will learn why you should give preference to freezing, rather than salting or cooking in oil.
Frozen greens will retain their flavor, while salted greens will lose it. You can freeze parsley:
- Shredded in bulk.
- In ice cubes.
- Twigs.
Freezing benefits
It is worth noting that each method of preserving greenery for the winter has its own merits. We invite you to consider the benefits of freezing:
- The vitamin complex is saved. Perhaps the most important thing when preserving a vegetable is to preserve the nutrients in it. Therefore, freezing has an exceptional advantage over other types of storage, since in this case all vitamins will be preserved.
- Aroma, taste and consistency are preserved practically unchanged.
- Preparing parsley for freezing is very simple. This usually takes no more than half an hour. Next, it's up to the freezer.
Features of the choice of parsley for storage
Green mass suitable for freezing should have a bright color, it should not have dry leaves and other damage. Of course, the parsley must be fresh. This is due to the fact that if the plucked parsley is stored for 3 days in the refrigerator, then by the time of freezing it will lose half of the useful vitamins. You shouldn't buy faded greens.
Preparing greens for freezing
Whichever way you choose to freeze the parsley, you need to prepare it for sending to the freezer and this is always done in the same way:
- Cleaning parsley bushes: remove unusable leaves, cut off the roots and throw out foreign inclusions.
- Flushing. This is done by soaking greens in salt water. Firstly, this method does not injure the parsley leaves. And, secondly, so nitrates can be removed from it and microorganisms living in greenery can be killed. The water should cover the bunches of parsley.
- Drying. Excess moisture is removed by shaking, after which the parsley is laid out on a towel to dry completely. For high-quality drying of all branches, they should be turned over from time to time. This is especially important if you plan to store frozen, pre-shredded greens or whole twigs. Alternatively, you can make express drying of greens. To do this, lay it on a towel and roll it up, so the main moisture is absorbed into the towel.
The green mass is now ready for freezing. More details about freezing methods will be discussed in the next part of the article.
Freezing parsley
There are several ways to save parsley for the winter, but freezing is the easiest one. You can freeze greens using different methods:
- In the package.
- In an ice mold.
- In bunches.
In the package
If you decide to keep the parsley in a bag, it is very important to pay special attention to drying the greens. If there is water on the leaves, then the greens will stick together in one lump in the freezer. Subsequently, it will have to be either split or cut, which is not very convenient.
If you decide to store the green mass of the vegetable in a bag, then you need to collect it in bunches, cut off the stems, and then finely chop it. So, you get parsley for dressing.
Storage bags can be regular or zipped. It is not worth ramming a large portion of greens into one bag, as it will be inconvenient to store it. Even if you have time to quickly separate part of the greens necessary for consumption, then part of the frozen parsley will have time to thaw. After multiple freezing, it will darken.
The prepared mass in the bag must be signed, and the bag must be rolled or tied. If you do not sign the bags, then the green mass of the vegetable can be confused with another seasoning, which you may also decide to freeze.
Freezing parsley in bunches
The quickest and easiest way to freeze parsley is to place whole bunches of parsley in the freezer. But can this be done? Of course, you can, only on condition that the greens are well dried beforehand. The twigs are collected in bunches of such a size that they can be used in 1-2 times. Whole bundles can be wrapped in plastic wrap or plastic bags.
Tightly wrapped in a bag / film, parsley in bunches forms thin rolls, which are usually stored without additional packaging or container. This parsley is used for making soups, broths, baking fish, meat or chicken with herbs. Who doesn't love to feast on fresh, spring-flavored food on a cold winter evening? Freezing greens just contributes to this.
In ice cube trays
The preparation of the green mass consists of the above-mentioned stages, but in this case you do not need to dry the leaves thoroughly, since the chopped parsley will still be filled with water. At the same time, you need to grind the greens even more thoroughly than usual, otherwise you will not be able to ram them into the small cells of the ice cube trays.
So, you need to put the greens in cells and tamp them. After that, the molds are filled with purified or boiled chilled water. Place in the freezer for about four hours. After that, remove the finished cubes from the cells and put in a bag, sign it and put it back in the freezer, now for permanent storage.
If there is no freezer, what to do
If you do not have a freezer, then there is no need to talk about how to freeze parsley for the winter in the refrigerator. However, there is a way out. There is another way to preserve vitamins and minerals in greens. To do this, it must be dried. By the way, the seasoning will retain its natural flavor. The work consists of the following stages:
- Checking greenery. All spoiled, yellowed and rotten parts of the parsley must be removed. Then the root should be cut off.
- Then the greens must be prepared: wash and dry thoroughly.
- Parsley is spread on a baking sheet covered with parchment and placed in an oven preheated to + 60 ℃. Drying greens at low temperatures preserves all of its beneficial properties.
- In order for the green mass to dry evenly, it should be agitated from time to time.
Drying is worth resorting to only if you do not have a freezer. In general, it is easier to freeze parsley, for this you just need to sort it out, rinse and give it the desired shape. So, you will save on buying greens and make useful blanks for cooking different dishes. We bring to your attention a video related to the topic:
