How to freeze sorrel for the winter in the freezer: fresh, in bags, how and how long to store, reviews

Green borscht, okroshka, pies. Many dishes are prepared with sorrel. This is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. The product gives food a pleasant taste. It is consumed fresh and develops interestingly during heat treatment. To prevent inflammatory diseases and enrich the diet, it is necessary to consume leafy vegetables in summer and winter.

You can use frozen sorrel in any dish, but it is important to prepare it correctly. Let's look at the most interesting, proven recipes.

How to keep sorrel fresh in the refrigerator?

There are many ways to preserve sorrel in the refrigerator while keeping the plant fresh. So, let's take a closer look at several options.

Method 1

To preserve not only the freshness of the greens, but also the beneficial substances, you must do the following:

Rinse the sorrel thoroughly in cold water.
Pat the leaves dry with a paper towel.
Lay out the cloth on a flat surface and place the washed sorrel.
Leave the greens for 20 minutes to allow all the remaining water to drain.
Carefully collect the leaves, place in a glass jar and close the lid tightly.
It is recommended to store the container on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

This method will allow you to preserve fresh sorrel for 30 days. If freezing is necessary for longer storage, then you need to use other methods.

Method 2

Wipe the leaves with a damp cloth.
Leave on the counter for 15–20 minutes so that the greens dry out a little.
Place it in a plastic bag, tie it and make small holes in the bag.
Place the bag on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

This method helps preserve the freshness of sorrel for 2-3 weeks.

Method 3

Canned sorrel

Place clean leaves in glass jars.
Place the jars in an iron container filled with water.
Place the container on low heat.
Hold until the leaves sink to the bottom of the jar.
Gradually add more leaves until the jar is completely full.
Remove jars from heat.
Cover with plastic lids.
Place on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

With this method, you can keep the leaves fresh, while the greens are obtained in their own juice. To prepare it, you do not need to process the sorrel or add any additional ingredients.

Freezing methods

There are several ways to freeze sorrel for the winter in the freezer.

Whole leaves

A product frozen in this way remains as fresh as possible and retains the greatest number of useful properties, but the preparation takes up a lot of space and will be convenient primarily for those who have a separate freezer or chest.

Leaves should be divided into small, single-use bundles. Young thin petioles do not need to be cut off. Each bunch is wrapped in cling film or laid out on a flat surface and placed in the freezer. After some time, they can be transferred to bags or containers.

Stems that are too long, thick or coarse should be trimmed first.

Chopped greens

To begin with, the petioles of washed and dried fresh leaves are cut off, which can later be crushed in a blender and frozen in the form of a puree. Then the green mass is chopped with a knife or cut with kitchen scissors. The crushed product is placed in bags or containers. When packaging, the raw materials are compacted quite tightly and they try to squeeze the air out of the packaging in order to save space and avoid withering. It is better to freeze chopped greens in compact portions, so that there is enough for one or two times. If you spread it out in large volumes, then when you frequently open the bag or container with the preparation, the color of the crushed leaves will change, darkening and becoming less appetizing, although this will not affect the taste and healthiness.

Many housewives consider special tight bags with a zipper to be the most convenient container for storing herbs.

In some cases, crushed sorrel leaves are frozen in the form of small briquettes, which are convenient to add to soup or borscht, or to use for making sauces. To do this, chopped greens are distributed into ice or baking molds (as in the photo), poured with a small amount of drinking water and placed in the freezer. The frozen cubes are then transferred to a bag or container to save space in the freezer.

To enhance the flavor, meat or vegetable broth is a good choice.

According to reviews, many housewives prefer to freeze sorrel with butter. This method is convenient for further use in preparing pies, omelettes, purees, etc.

Step by step recipe:

Remove the butter from the refrigerator in advance so that it becomes soft (no need to melt it).
Finely chop the washed and dried leaves or cut them with scissors.
In a container of sufficient volume, mix softened butter with finely chopped herbs.
Distribute the resulting mass into molds (it is better to use silicone ones) or form a sausage and wrap it in cling film.

As a puree

This method is based on the principles of waste-free processing, as it allows you to use all the “substandard” greens and petioles left after other types of harvesting.

The washed and dried raw materials are crushed in a blender to a homogeneous puree. If the leaves are not too juicy, you can add a little water or vegetable oil. The finished mass is laid out in small portions in plastic or silicone molds (for ice, sweets, cupcakes), and then sent to the freezer. After complete freezing, the briquettes are transferred to a common bag or plastic container.

The semi-finished product in the form of a homogeneous mass is excellent for adding to puree soups, smoothies, sauces

With any freezing method, you can safely add other herbs to the sorrel, for example, dill, parsley, basil, onions - whoever likes what you like best.

Is it possible to freeze sorrel in the freezer?

Of course, you can freeze sorrel in the freezer. However, for this it is necessary to prepare preparations. And then, you will be able to preserve healthy and fresh greens for a long time. In order for sorrel to retain its appearance and beneficial properties, you must follow the rules for preparing for freezing. Sorrel is prepared in different ways. The easiest way is freezing. Some housewives boil the greens before freezing, others blanch, and still others use whole leaves.

Which sorrel is suitable for freezing and which is not?

Only fresh, juicy product is suitable for freezing. Do not store old, tough leaves. They will not give the desired taste, but can only ruin the entire preparation.

You should not take those leaves that have already begun to turn yellow or have too hard petioles.

Also note that you need to collect sorrel for freezing before shooting.

How to freeze meat broth and in what way

The most common question is whether it is possible to freeze broth in a regular glass jar. Liquids expand when the temperature drops. The glass may simply burst. It makes more sense to look for and use a different container.

What can you freeze in:

plastic containers;
tight bags;
ice trays;
Silicone forms.

What you can't do:

thin bags;
glass jars;
metal containers.

Long-term storage is possible only in an airtight container. Containers will require tight lids. An option is to freeze them in them, covering them with film, then pack the ice cubes in plastic. The same goes for using silicone molds. It’s more convenient; you don’t need to lay anything down. The material is easy to bend and remove the workpiece.

In containers

The most convenient utensils are plastic containers. They are inexpensive, come in different sizes, and can be found in any home. If necessary, cover with film to remove. If you have a tight lid, this is not necessary.

Freezing instructions:

Pour the cooled broth into containers. Leave approximately 1-2 cm of air gap.
Close. Check for leaks.
Place in a chamber and freeze.

It is more convenient for storage to use square or rectangular containers with flat lids. They fit compactly on shelves and take up less space.

In packages

We came to the most popular method - how to freeze chicken and beef broth in bags at home. Not all bags are suitable. We choose only durable polyethylene. It is advisable to play it safe - insert two pieces into each other. This method is convenient for freezing milk and other liquids.

How to freeze correctly, instructions:

We place the bags in any bowls.
Pour the broth.
We tie the bags.
It remains to be placed in the freezer.

You can freeze the bags placed in a bowl. Then carefully remove the container. The advantage of this method is that nothing will accidentally spill. The bag will not stick. Disadvantage - the workpiece will take the shape of a bowl.

It is convenient to use special freezing bags. They are made of dense food-grade polyethylene and are highly durable.

Preparation and storage of broth

With meat

You can freeze the broth along with pieces of meat. Poultry, fish, and mushrooms are also used. Only the product must be separated from the seeds and immediately cut into the required pieces. Strain the broth.

Freezing instructions:

We distribute the products into containers. Each serving should yield approximately the same amount.
Fill with broth. Close or seal.
Place in the freezer.

This way it is more convenient to freeze in hard containers - plastic, silicone containers. Products completely covered with liquid will not freeze and will retain their juiciness.

Cubes

Sometimes a small amount of broth is needed for sauce or soup for a child. We suggest freezing in ice cube trays. It is advisable to use concentrated decoctions. Leftover broth from aspic is great.

Freezing instructions:

Cool the broth.
Pour ice cube trays into each cell.
Now you need to carefully put it in the chamber and freeze it.
After a few hours, we take it out, shake the cubes into a bag, and tie them up.
Return to the freezer.

If the size of the cells is not satisfactory, we recommend using silicone molds for muffins and portioned cupcakes. Technology doesn't change.

Selecting and preparing greens for freezing

For freezing, sorrel is usually harvested between May and early July. It is at this moment that the leaves of the plant are young, have reached their limit in growth and are filled with the maximum amount of vitamins. If you collect it closer to autumn, most likely the greens will be sour, due to a gradual increase in acid concentration.

Note! All housewives know that the plant contains oxalic acid; if its content in the leaves is high, sorrel cannot be eaten frozen or fresh.

It is also worth noting that all people with impaired stomach acidity, gout, as well as pregnant women, should be especially careful when eating all dishes with the addition of this plant.

To make winter preparation healthy and tasty, you should consider the following rules:

Sorrel should be sorted by hand, removing dry and yellowed leaves.
Sorted greens do not need to be separated from the stem, since it has the same taste as the leaves.
Only bright green leaves should be left for freezing.
If possible, for such purposes it is better to use sorrel grown independently.

Frozen sorrel for the winter

Place the prepared sorrel into separate bags. Calculate so that one bag is enough for exactly 1 dish, otherwise you will then have to rack your brains about what to do with the leftovers, because thawed sorrel quickly spoils. For example, for soup you need about 200 g of sorrel. Close the bags tightly, releasing any air, and place in the freezer. For freezing, it is convenient to use zip bags with a special reusable clasp.

Life hack: When you take the sorrel out of the freezer, you don’t have to defrost it, but immediately throw it into a pot of soup 5-7 minutes before it’s ready - so that it has time to boil in the hot broth.