Search
Latest topics
» Onions. Walk on?by OhioGardener Today at 9:25 am
» Bokashi
by OhioGardener Today at 8:13 am
» New to SFG and in Virgina
by sanderson Today at 1:38 am
» Compost bins: Open vs. closed
by Scorpio Rising Yesterday at 10:38 am
» Recommended store bought compost - Photos of composts
by sanderson 3/26/2024, 5:56 pm
» 6 metal trellis frames
by docachna 3/25/2024, 4:31 pm
» N & C Midwest: March and April 2024
by Scorpio Rising 3/24/2024, 3:01 pm
» What Have You Picked From Your Garden Today
by OhioGardener 3/24/2024, 1:28 pm
» Senseless Banter...
by OhioGardener 3/23/2024, 6:02 pm
» Joann's fabric bankruptcy
by neefer 3/23/2024, 12:33 am
» New gardener from Santa Fe NM
by CantersVary 3/22/2024, 7:50 pm
» Kiwi's SFG Adventure
by KiwiSFGnewbie 3/22/2024, 5:07 pm
» Heat Mat Temperature Test
by OhioGardener 3/22/2024, 2:09 pm
» Victory Garden Reboot
by Scorpio Rising 3/22/2024, 11:53 am
» Mark's first SFG
by sanderson 3/22/2024, 11:43 am
» Commercial (bagged or bulk) compost question
by Mikesgardn 3/21/2024, 7:09 pm
» Think Spring 2024
by Scorpio Rising 3/20/2024, 10:34 am
» Fire Ring / Round Raised Bed Planter
by sanderson 3/19/2024, 4:51 pm
» Galvanized Fire Ring for Rhubarb Raised Beds?
by OhioGardener 3/18/2024, 10:34 am
» Happy St. Patrick's Day
by Scorpio Rising 3/17/2024, 5:54 pm
» Happy Birthday!!
by Scorpio Rising 3/11/2024, 10:28 am
» What are you eating from your garden today?
by Scorpio Rising 3/10/2024, 8:38 pm
» Why I love Oregano in the garden.
by OhioGardener 3/10/2024, 8:16 am
» Comfrey
by OhioGardener 3/9/2024, 6:07 pm
» Sealing Barrels Flowers Struggling-Need Ideas
by Turan 3/9/2024, 3:09 pm
» Hello again from a slightly different part of Central PA!
by sanderson 3/9/2024, 1:46 pm
» Chicken manure compost
by Oopsiedaisy 3/8/2024, 7:56 pm
» Chinese Broccoli
by sanderson 3/7/2024, 10:28 pm
» Heat Mat Lifespan
by Scorpio Rising 3/7/2024, 9:33 am
» Now is The Time To Take Seed Inventory
by OhioGardener 3/6/2024, 4:36 pm
Google
Preserving Swiss Chard?
+5
CapeCoddess
littlesapphire
elliephant
camprn
llama momma
9 posters
Page 1 of 1
Preserving Swiss Chard?
Briefly searched the forum and I didn't find a way to preserve swiss chard. Four plantings is too much for the 2 of us. Anyone have a nifty easy way to save this wonderful nutritious stuff? Thanks !!
llama momma
Certified SFG Instructor- Posts : 4921
Join date : 2010-08-20
Location : Central Ohio zone 6a
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
I blanch it and freeze it like spinach. I may try simply steaming/microwaving it and freezing it this year. The stems take a bit longer to blanch so toss those in a minute before the leaf.llama momma wrote:Briefly searched the forum and I didn't find a way to preserve swiss chard. Four plantings is too much for the 2 of us. Anyone have a nifty easy way to save this wonderful nutritious stuff? Thanks !!
43 years a gardener and going strong with SFG.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t3574-the-end-of-july-7-weeks-until-frost
There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance. ~ Henry David Thoreau
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t1306-other-gardening-books
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
Thank you! Would you blanch for 2-3 minutes? I'm so new at this, I've blanched carrots for 2-3 minutes and thats the extent of my blanching experience.
llama momma
Certified SFG Instructor- Posts : 4921
Join date : 2010-08-20
Location : Central Ohio zone 6a
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
I chop up the leaves, pulse them in the blender with just a slash or two of water as needed and make ice cubes with the mixture (remove from tray when frozen and put in freezer bag). Then I can toss a few cubes into anything I want (especially tomato-based sauces) without the kids realizing they are eating something so nutritious.
elliephant- Posts : 842
Join date : 2010-04-09
Age : 48
Location : southern tip of Texas zone 9
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
Fantastic! Thanks a bunch.
llama momma
Certified SFG Instructor- Posts : 4921
Join date : 2010-08-20
Location : Central Ohio zone 6a
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
I've had an overabunance of many leafy greens so far, usually stuff I didn't realize I could even eat until after planting them, like broccoli leaves and daikon radish leaves. So what I've done with all of those, and will probably work for chard as well, is simply steam them until they're fully wilted, let them cool, then squeeze out the liquid and put them in freezer bags in the freezer. Then when I make a recipe calling for frozen spinach, I use the other greens instead!
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
I didn't know you could eat broccoli leaves. Excellent!
I like my greens almost raw so I gather all the stems together in a bunch, like when you buy them in the grocery store, and then dunk them in to boiling water for a few seconds, maybe 10 or 15 depending on the thickness of the leaf. Take them out, let them drain & cool in the sink strainer, then put them into a grocery bag and roll it up in a log and stick it in the freezer. That way I can pull out the log and chiffonade or chop off the amount I need and put the rest back into the freezer.
CC
I like my greens almost raw so I gather all the stems together in a bunch, like when you buy them in the grocery store, and then dunk them in to boiling water for a few seconds, maybe 10 or 15 depending on the thickness of the leaf. Take them out, let them drain & cool in the sink strainer, then put them into a grocery bag and roll it up in a log and stick it in the freezer. That way I can pull out the log and chiffonade or chop off the amount I need and put the rest back into the freezer.
CC
CapeCoddess- Posts : 6824
Join date : 2012-05-20
Age : 68
Location : elbow of the Cape, MA, Zone 6b/7a
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
I toss it in the dehydrator for a couple hours until it's crispy, then store it in a canning jar (I don't can it, once it's dehydrated it's safe to store.) It's ready for tossing into soups and stews all winter!
Mamachibi- Posts : 300
Join date : 2011-06-17
Location : Zone 6b
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
they are also DELICIOUS sprinkled with some oil and salt and roasted to a crisp.
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
Every idea is perfect, great! I will try them all, thank you everyone
llama momma
Certified SFG Instructor- Posts : 4921
Join date : 2010-08-20
Location : Central Ohio zone 6a
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
we are dehydrating for the first time this year and loving it!
hubby bought me one for 25 bucks to try it out....and its works great!
before i didnt know what to do with extra greens...and our small freezer can only hold so much and i have not bought a pressure canner just yet .....going to soon.....
what i love about dehydrating is its great for small batch's of stuff and its so much nicer to dry herbs this way instead of them hanging in the house....
we have been dehydrating and then putting it thru a small mixing type blender and then storing them in a jar.....im going to add it to soups, stew and sauces to get that extra boost of nutrition and the children wont know a thing
hugs
rose
hubby bought me one for 25 bucks to try it out....and its works great!
before i didnt know what to do with extra greens...and our small freezer can only hold so much and i have not bought a pressure canner just yet .....going to soon.....
what i love about dehydrating is its great for small batch's of stuff and its so much nicer to dry herbs this way instead of them hanging in the house....
we have been dehydrating and then putting it thru a small mixing type blender and then storing them in a jar.....im going to add it to soups, stew and sauces to get that extra boost of nutrition and the children wont know a thing
hugs
rose
FamilyGardening- Posts : 2424
Join date : 2011-05-10
Location : Western WA
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
FamilyGardening wrote:
we have been dehydrating and then putting it thru a small mixing type blender and then storing them in a jar.....im going to add it to soups, stew and sauces to get that extra boost of nutrition and the children wont know a thing
hugs
rose
The more surface you expose to air, the quicker things will lose flavor. I try to store things as close to whole as I can from the dehydrator. It does involve crunching some leaves to make it all fit. Later in the year I grind just what I want in a coffee mill before tossing into soups, etc.
The difference is like dried parsley from the store and dried parsley from your pantry.
Talk about sneaking nutrition -- I also dehydrate summer squash slices and turnips. Then later I grind them into powder and use them along with some bread crumbs and eggs in meatballs.
ilvalleygal- Posts : 25
Join date : 2011-04-29
Location : North Central IL - 5A
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
ilvalleygal thanks for the tip....i didnt know they could loose flavor the more the are ground up and stored....
do you peel your summer squash before dehydrating it?
hugs
rose
do you peel your summer squash before dehydrating it?
hugs
rose
FamilyGardening- Posts : 2424
Join date : 2011-05-10
Location : Western WA
Re: Preserving Swiss Chard?
i grind things to a powder all the time, because they take less room to store. but then again, i use them up pretty quickly so i have never noticed any loss of flavor. as far as nutrition--it gets concentrated when the item is dehydrated--in fact, so does flavor. that is why you need less than half the volume of dried herbs as compared to fresh herbs when cooking.
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|