Freezing Greens

I've been blogging a lot this summer about my kale.  It was my first time planting and I had an extremely prolific crop.  The good news is that now that the season is winding up, I have a ton to freeze and eat throughout the winter.  If you are in the same boat, follow these easy directions for freezing greens.  It also works for things like green beans.

  

First wash the greens really well.

 

Then cut out the vein in the center

and chop into smaller pieces.  You can see I have a lot.

Working in batches, submerge the kale into boiling water and let it boil for about 3 minutes.

Then immediately put into ice water for 3 minutes.  You'll have to continue to add ice throughout the process, especially if you have a lot of greens so it's good to make sure you have plenty made ahead of time.

 

Drain the water from the kale.

 

Let it sit on a paper towel to get excess water out.

And freeze! I freeze mine in 2 cup servings so that if recipes call for a specific amount, I only need to thaw out what I need.  This should keep kale for 6 months so it's important to date the kale as well.

Enjoy!