If you want to know How to freeze fresh Collard greens? read until the end. Let’s first talk about collard greens. Do you know What is collard greens and why we eat them? If NO, then I’ll tell you.
Collard greens belong to a class of Cabbage family, “Brassica oleracea,” and are considered a staple food in the southern region. It has green leaves and hard stems and stems should remove before cooking. Collard leaves are an essential part we eat. they belong to the cabbage class, so their cooking strategies are similar to cabbage, kale, and mustard green. They are commonly used in soups, salad, and braises, and also raw collard leaves have a bitter or sour taste.
Now it’s time to talk about the benefits of collard greens. It is a nutritious food that is a great source of fiber, calcium, folate, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, and Vitamin C. Greens are also the best source for wound healing and bone health due to the presence of vitamin K.
They also have a small amount of thiamine, niacin, and choline. It boosts your immune system and keeps your blood cells and flow of blood healthy. It is rich in antioxidants, which reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer. It best source of folate for children and lactating mothers, and helps to regulate your heartbeat.
Can You Freeze Fresh Collard Greens Without Blanching?
Yes, we can freeze fresh collard greens without blanching them. Before moving further, I want you to know that collard green has further types: Tiger hybridVates, Morris Heading, Georgia, Ellen Felton Dard, Old-Timey Blue, and Champion. Peoples use Blanching on fresh vegetables to stop them from spoiling their leaves and roots. That’s why peoples use Blanching before storing them in the refrigerator.
Here I’ll give a little introduction to blanching collard leaves.
- After washing these collard green, cut thick roots from the left part. Then do small narrow cuts on leaves without damage to leave the spine.
- When the leaves are ready, put them in hot water and let them simmer.
- Now put these leaves in cold water with ice cubes in a separate bowl.
- Put these leaves on a paper towel, and let them dry completely. Now freeze these leaves in the refrigerator with plastic wrap.
The Disadvantage of Blanching:
- it will lose water-soluble vitamins and nutrients present in Collard.
- We can’t freeze it for a long period.
- We can’t use it in salad form or sandwiches.
Freeze Greens without blanching:
These Collard have a lot of water content, so when we freeze, then the freshness of the leaves will be stable for a longer period. We can freeze these leaves in many ways without blanching, and it also doesn’t damage the nutritional value of these leaves.
Ways of Freezing Collard Leaves Without Blanching
There are mainly three ways which we use instead of blanching to freeze these leaves and enhance their shelf life:
1. Pre Freeze Method:
It is the most simple method used to freeze greens.
- First, wash these Collard, and cut them with a sharp knife into small pieces.
- Put these cut Greens into a cold water bowl, then place them for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator.
- When 2 to 3 hours have passed, put these leaves into an airtight container and freeze them.
2. Dried Freezing Method:
- In this method, wash your Collard green leaves properly.
- Dried these leaves with a kitchen towel by pressing leaves carefully without tearing them apart.
- Place it in sunlight rays in a hanging position.
- Check these hanging leaves after 2 to 3 hours if they have dried completely.
- You can store it for up to a month by placing it in an airtight container in a refrigerator.
3. Bulk Sheet Method:
- In this method, cut your green leaves into large sizes. Don’t cut in slim forms.
- Now spread these green leaves in a tray overnight to dry them completely. Try to place this tray in a warm and humid place.
- Place these dried leaves on a paper sheet in another tray. Make 3-4 layers of leaves on one tray.
- When you make layers of leaves uniformly, place the tray inside the freezer for at least 2 hours at its lowest degree.
- After 2 hours of freezing, put leaves in plastic wrap or an airtight container and freeze them in the refrigerator.
Read More:- How To Prepare Bok Choy in Stir Fry
What happens if You Freeze Collard Greens without Blanching?
If you freeze your collard leaves without proper blanching, they will quickly lose their fresh color and flavor due to frozen temperature. If you want their full taste and flavor, blanch them before freezing. Blanching decreases the shelf-life of collard greens, but it maintains the freshness of the vegetable.
How do you prepare fresh Collard Greens for freezing?
Before any step, select good quality collard leaves:
- Select long, tender, fresh collard green with good color and without any blemish.
- Wash green leaves.
- Cut your green in a specific size you desire, and separate stems from leaves.
- You must have a baking sheet and an airtight container.
- Place your greens in ice cubes of water for 2 hours, then dry them with a kitchen towel. Place dried one in a paper sheet line.
- Freeze it into an airtight container.
Is Collard Green Good for High Blood Pressure?
Yes, collard belongs to a class of leafy green vegetables. Research at Harvard Medical School concludes that collard, kale, and other green vegetables are good for high blood pressure patients due to the presence of potassium and magnesium. Due to the presence of fiber, the body’s bad cholesterol level or high blood pressure level decrease.
Can Collard Green Cause Diarrhea?
Yes, collard greens cause diarrhea, or Maybe Not. It depends on a person’s digestive system ability. Some people who eat a high level of leafy green vegetables cause digestive issues such as diarrhea due to a high level of fiber. When we mishandle or don’t wash our collard properly, the bacteria present in them cause diarrhea, so wash your vegetables properly to kill germs.
How to tell if Frozen Collard Greens are bad?
Check daily your freeze Collard. If it has some odd odor or feels smelly, then discard it. The second way to check it is by their appearance and their color. Spoiled collard Greens appeared to mold, soft, wilt, and slimy.
Tips on Choosing Collard Greens?
Here are some tips for picking good quality Collard leaves:
- First, check on greens with firm and crisp quality.
- It should look fresh. Mold it slightly to check its freshness.
- Pick Collard with dark green color, without any blemishes.
- Pick a non-wilted one leaves.
- Try to choose long leaves, almost 10 inches long.
- If you see any browning or yellowing on any left, try to avoid them.
How long are Collards Good in the Refrigerator?
Raw collard greens wrapped in an air-tight container stay good for up to 5 days. When we talked about blanched Greens, they also stay healthy for 3 – 5 days. Properly select, stored collard leaves stay in the best quality for at least 12 months if they freeze in proper condition.
What does it Mean when Collard Greens turn Yellow?
Your Collard greens turn yellow due to many reasons. Some reasons are over-watering of plants or insufficient water, soil condition, temperature changes, pesticides, fertilizers, or inadequate amount of nutrients. When your collard leaves turn yellow, your green is not feasible for eating due to the above reasons or disease. If yellowing happens in the fridge session, it’s due to chlorophyll pigment when your collard gets old.
How to Cook Collard Green?
You read the fabulous nutrient qualities of green. Let’s make Collard leaves more delicious and edible.
- Step 1: Remove all stems from collard green.
- Step 2: Wash your green vegetables thoroughly, and then add white vinegar and salt to them. Soaked it for 30 mint and then washed it with fresh water again.
- Step 3: Cut your green into fined pieces depending on your personal choice.
- Step 4: Take a pan and mix oil with onion and red pepper. Add chicken broth and collard greens. Cook it for 30 mint on low flame.
- Step 5: Simmer it for 1 hour and check the texture. In the end, add some seasoning.
What Do Collard Greens taste like?
When we talked about the collard greens taste like, it has a bitter taste. But it’s not as bitter as kale. Their bitter taste may completely vanish away when we soak them in hot water. It has a strong smell.
Conclusion
We learned about “how to freeze fresh Collard Green without Blanching,” and it was an amazing time we spend seeking knowledge. These plants are bitter, but we removed their bitter taste. If we want Collard best, then we must follow these guidelines.
References:
https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-collard-greens#:~:text=Collard%20greens%20provide%20vitamin%20A,attacks%20invading%20bacteria%20and%20viruses.
https://www.diys.com/can-you-freeze-collard-greens/#:~:text=You%20do%20not%20have%20to,to%20blanch%20them%20before%20freezing.
