Since the kale in my garden has been so abundant lately, here is another way of stockpiling it for later use. My first article was on Drying Kale.
This time we are going to look at freezing kale to use later. I like to add kale to soups that I make in the crock pot during the wintertime. It is a great addition to bean soups or vegetable soups. It is a boost of nutrition to those soups.
Here is how I go about freezing it. It is considered a "green" in the Blue Ball Book of Preserving, so those are the directions that I used.
Here is a picture of my freshly picked kale.
Be sure to wash your kale thoroughly.
Once you have your large bunch washed, have a large stock pot full of water that you have brought to a boil. Drop your kale in and blanch it for 2 minutes.
When the time is up, quickly drain your kale in a collander.
And then place it, immediately, in a nice ice cold water bath.
Once you have shocked it with the cold, ice bath (to stop it from further cooking), you can place it on paper towels (I use kitchen towels) to let it dry off slightly.
I use a kitchen shears to cut it into smaller bite size pieces and place them in a freezer container.
I fill my containers with approximately 1 cup of the greens, as this is just the right amount to add to your soups.
Once you have filled your containers, but sure to label and date them.
This is a very easy process and hardly takes any time at all. You can have a very, very large bunch of the greens and minimize them to several small containers. Perfect for soups or adding greens to other things, like quiche, casseroles, etc....
I would love to know any other ideas you have for using kale, fresh or frozen.....
Enjoy! Until next time, Julie
Julie is Merissa's mom and she's committed to living a frugal and simple lifestyle. Julie grows her own herbs in her garden and enjoys making things at home. You can now find her home remedies and ideas here at Little House Living.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I grew up eating kale at my grandparents home. It is eaten a lot in Northern German where my grandparents are from. This is how they kept kale too. To be extra frugal and living in Ontario, Canada, they kept the one liter bags that the milk comes in. They washed the bags out good, put the blanched kale in, squeezed out as much air as possible, sealed with rubber bands and put into the chest freezer. Yummy!
I add Kale to my protein smoothie every morning. It’s a great way to sneak in extra nutrients – plus the kids don’t know
Thanks! I’ll be trying this this weekend!!! Heather
Just wondering why you’d need to blanch the kale first before freezing? I’ve never frozen kale before, but wouldn’t that decrease the live enzymes in it (that would otherwise be preserved by freezing it raw?)
Freezing kale….sound good….i will try it….!!
I freeze my collards and kale without blanching. I always seem to overcook whenever I blanch. Anyway, they tasting pretty good when added to soups or stews.
Once your product is frozen, add a layer of cold water to the container. It seals out air ,and if moisture moves out during storage it shrinks the water…not the stored items moisture (and nutrients.) If you check and see the ice gone after a few months either add more water or use. Freezers using fans dehydrate 3 times faster than simple” plate” freezers. Manual defrost plate or coil freezers are the best but require defrosting regularly. If freezing in bags with Ziplocks/etc. add a few ice cubes…they will dissapear in a few months but your food will last longer.
I got tired of cutting the kale after blanching, so I cut up all my kale before blanching. I used a very large and wide dutch-oven style pot and placed a colander directly in the water. I could blanch my kale, dunk it in the ice batch, and drain it all in the same colander (having a huge batch, I drained it slightly then dumped it in a big bowl, with the final draining when I was done with the batch). I’m still experimenting with how to freeze it in smaller quantities without using a lot of plastic.
PS: I have to freeze some – I live in Sweden, where the kale only goes on sale at Christmas time (I’ve never seen seeds here). Poor things – most Swedes use it as decoration and don’t know how delicious it it!
My Grandmother used to make a black eye peas and dandelion salad and often substituted kale when dandelions were scarce. Saute the chopped kale quickly in olive oil and add to 2 cups boiling water or broth along with black eye peas (already soaked if dry or use frozen or canned if not) add a 1/2 cup of whole cracked wheat or quinoa and simmer uncovered till the water has been absorbed. Makes a great side dish and can be eaten as a cold salad. You season as you wish.