Making stocks of greens for the winter

Unfortunately, the warm season, when you could easily use the freshest greens from your site, is over. Of course, you can set up a “vegetable garden” on the windowsill, but many summer residents prefer to simply stock up on parsley, dill and other herbs for the winter.

There are not so many ways to preserve greenery for the winter, consider all.

Method one – freezing

It is believed that it is frozen herbs that retain the maximum of nutrients and aroma. To begin with, let’s collect the greens correctly. These rules will be general for all, without exception, methods of harvesting greens. It is very important to pick the green shoots before the plants bloom. In this case, you will receive the maximum set of vitamins, and therefore the benefits. Collect greens in the morning, when the concentration of oils in the leaves is at their peak, and the aroma is especially strong.

All plucked shoots and leaves should be carefully sorted out, neatly folded in bunches, cut off the rough stems.

To freeze, the greens must be rinsed and cut as you like – finely or not very much. Remember that you are getting a finished product to use, so make your pieces the way you would normally cut sorrel, parsley or dill for salad or borscht..

There are two ways to freeze greens for the winter:

• In ice cubes. A small pinch of greens is placed in the mold, filled with water and placed in the freezer. Then it will be convenient to throw such a cube into the cooking dish. For some types of greens, the option is not suitable, because, for example, you need a lot of sorrel for green borscht, the ice cube will turn out to be too large, it will take up a lot of space. But for spicy herbs that are used in small quantities, it is quite a good and convenient way of storage..
• Just in bags or containers. Sliced ​​greens without water simply fit tightly into bags, plastic containers, wherever it will be convenient to get them frozen in winter. It is advisable to use small packages – for one serving of a particular dish.

Cnthe second one – salting and marinade

Now this option for storing greens for the winter is not very popular, since the process takes longer, and the herbs themselves are not as fragrant and fresh. But if your freezer is tight, why not. For salting, the washed and chopped greens are ground with salt. In half an hour, juice will appear, along with which the stocks are sent to pre-sterilized jars. You can tamp it on top and sprinkle it with salt, and then roll it up or just close it tightly with a lid. Keep refrigerated.

When pickling, in addition to salt, vinegar is used, and greens are poured with boiling water. Jars with chopped herbs are sterilized – it will take about 10 minutes for a half-liter container. The marinade contains 2 tablespoons of ordinary vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. Store in the basement.

Important! Using such blanks from greens, it should be remembered that they already have salt, and a lot, so the dish must be added carefully, trying not to oversalt.

Way the third is drying

A simple and therefore very popular storage option for dill and herbs such as oregano, thyme, and rosemary. It is easy to dry them, but this option is less suitable for sorrel. Although even quite juicy parsley can be dried quite well, and roots are also used.

For drying, herbs can be arranged in bunches, rolled up and hung somewhere in the shade, in a well-ventilated place. You can also use some kind of bedding made of paper or clean cloth, on which the leaves of greenery are laid out to dry..

Important! Don’t use newspapers to dry anything! Printing ink contains harmful substances that can be transferred to your future winter supplies.

If the greens are drying on a litter, then turn it over every day, stir it so that it dries faster and does not cake. Protection from rain is, of course, necessary, as well as from direct sunlight, which will impair the taste of the leaves. The entire drying process in favorable hot weather and in the breeze usually takes a week or ten days. You can speed up the process in the oven, where a baking sheet with herbs is placed at a minimum temperature and with the door open.

Dried and very fragile greens can be easily chopped by hand and placed in containers or jars with lids to preserve the flavor. You can simply keep such a dry supply of aromatic herbs in the kitchen cabinet along with other seasonings..