How to Blanch and Freeze Spinach
This easy and common method to preserve spinach maintains nutrients. The texture will change when it is frozen but the taste is not affected. You can sauté the frozen spinach in butter with some garlic and sea salt or add to soups, sauces and smoothies.
Ingredients:
A pound of fresh spinach will yield about 2 cups of frozen spinach.
Directions:
Rinse Spinach
Thoroughly rinse any dirt or critters off the spinach and look for any damaged leaves to discard.
Chop Spinach
Remove any super long stems and chop or rip large spinach leaves into bite sized pieces. If the pieces are already fairly small, you can skip this step.
Blanch The Leaves
Place the leaves into a pot of boiling water for 1 minute only. Use 2 quarts of water for every pound or so of spinach. Remove leaves from boiling water and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain and squeeze any remaining water out with your hands. Label and store in freezer safe containers/bags up to 1 year.
