Kale only in winter? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that! Here you can find out everything about freezing kale and how you can enjoy the superfood all year round.
Kale is traditionally northern German in some regions also called brown cabbage, including oat groats with pee, smoked pork, boiled sausage or Bregenwurst, but the tasty cabbage can do even more. Thanks to his high vitamin and protein content Kale is traded as a superfood and is often mixed into healthy smoothies and processed into salads or soups.
In our kitchen tricks, we reveal how you can enjoy kale all year round, how you can prepare it and freeze it as an alternative to boiling it down in order to get involved in great, new recipes.
Freezing Fresh Kale: The Preparations
Boiling down kale was yesterday. Today the fresh, tasty cabbage is frozen. Freezing kale isn't complicated, but it does take a little patience. With these kitchen tips, preserving the versatile cabbage is child's play.
- When looking for the perfect kale, you should make sure that the Leaves of the cabbage green and crisp appearance – a clear sign of freshness.
- Fresh kale can be used without any problems four to five days in the refrigerator store before it should be processed.
- Before processing the kale wash carefully and remove the leaves from the main stem.
- Before freezing, you should use the Blanch the kale. To do this, simply put on a large pot of salted water, bring to the boil, put the leaves of the cabbage in the boiling water for about three to five minutes and then quench in ice water. This stops the cooking process and the kale retains its typical color. The unique taste and the many vitamins are also retained.
- After blanching the Drain the kale well. The best way to do this is to put the cabbage leaves in a large sieve and carefully press the excess water through. Then you can spread the vegetables out on kitchen paper to dry off the last bits of moisture.
- Now chop the leaves to the desired size.
Freezing kale: an alternative to canning
Finally the kale can start freezing. To do this, simply put the blanched, chopped cabbage in portions and / or depending on the purpose in freezable containers or well-sealable freezer bags. Now just write the date and content and put it in the freezer.
Thaw the kale
Thawing the frozen kale is absolutely straightforward. To do this, simply heat the desired amount of cabbage in a saucepan of non-boiling water for about ten minutes. Then you can prepare it depending on your preference, recipe or your mood. The best tips can be found here: Prepare kale.
Freezing Kale: The Benefits
- In contrast to canning and waking, most of them stay when the kale is frozen receive valuable nutrients. This is of course particularly important if you want to conjure up a healthy, crunchy salad from classic winter vegetables.
- The trendy vegetables are in the freezer Can be kept for up to a year. So not only do you enjoy kale in winter, you can also try out delicious recipes all year round.
- Kale, the local superfood, is very healthy. When it comes to protein and vitamin C, winter vegetables are at the forefront of all types of cabbage. It is also high in calcium, vitamins E and A. Its sugar content is extremely low, which makes it a low-calorie snack.
- Kale is often underestimated, and it is not only extremely healthy, but also versatile. It doesn't always have to be hearty with a lot of lard, full of oatmeal, pork, sausage and pee. The frozen kale is ideal as a soup base, ingredient in fresh salads, in the vegetable pan, as an accompaniment to meat, or as a vegetarian or vegan dish – the list of delicious recipes is almost endless. The traditional recipes with brown cabbage with Kasseler and Co. enjoy great popularity, whether Northern German or not.
Do you love cabbage? Fine! Not only freezing kale is easy. We have the best tips for freezing pears, cooking Brussels sprouts, freezing Brussels sprouts, and cooking red cabbage.