Preserve Greens ?
 

We have 20' of Mustard Greens growing and was wondering how to preserve them? I'm unsure if they need to be cooked or blanched or if it's even possible to freeze them?

You can can them. Or,blanch and freeze. I've also pickled mustard greens like saurkraut. They're quite good that way. Just add salt to a packed bucket of greens, weigh down with some ziploc bags filled with brine or heavy stones on plates. Give it a week or through and pickled greens!

You can freeze them - for best quality, blanch for 2 mins. You can also dehydrate them. I dried the leaves of brussel sprouts plants, then ground to powder and add to casseroles, soups, etc. Yes to fermenting like sauerkraut or kimchee. Look for a recipe with lots of salt since that is what inhibits bad bacteria. To can greens, you would have to pressure can them since they are low in acid.

If you bought that new canner you can can them this way after processing there is no more expense of keeping them like running a freezer.

Look up a reputable canning site and follow the directions.
Just remember if you add any kind of meat to the greens you are going to have to process them for 75 minutes not the shorter time for 'vegetables.

Worth

We bought it Worth. Presto 23-Qt. Pressure Canner and Cooker.

I can't wait to see my 5' tall wife using it. That's going to be a sight :)

I would just blanche and freeze them and be done with it. The fermenting idea does seem interesting but I dont have any experience with that, though I'd like to learn one day.

[QUOTE=AlittleSalt;474722]We bought it Worth. Presto 23-Qt. Pressure Canner and Cooker.

I can't wait to see my 5' tall wife using it. That's going to be a sight :)[/QUOTE]
Looks nice Salt.
My mom was 5 foot 2 and she lugged the big ones around.
But she also killed a grizzly with a 44 pistol too.:lol:
The trick is to only move the canner when it is empty. ;)
She may need a foot stool. :)

Worth

Got one of those too Worth. It has 23 years of history spilled, dripped, painted on it. It's Rubbermaid. It just won't wear out.

Jan is a tomboy that doesn't look the part. She never killed a grizzly, but she can use an ark welder.

Canning is something new to both of us - as in us doing it instead of parents and grandparents. We both understand the importance of doing it right.

I'm sure there will be a lot of questions along the way.

When I cook greens, I cook a bunch. Greens to eat and greens to freeze.

Cook them just like you like them. When they are done, use a 1 cup measure and fill it with the greens, use a spoon to press the liquid out and add more greens until you have a cup of greens with most of the liquid removed. Put 3 cups of greens in a quart freezer bag and add enough of the liquor to completely cover the greens. Squeeze the air out as you close the bag. Place the bags in the refrigerator to cool before adding them to the freezer. To use, just thaw, heat and eat. Tastes just like fresh.

I like mine 50/50; half turnip greens and half mustard.

Stewed rutabagas, turnip greens and mustard with a dash of pepper vinegar, hot cornbread, a slice of onion and it's time to slap your momma. Claud

Now, what I need to know is how to get all the sand out of greens? Mine always seem to end up gritty,despite soaking and multiple rinses.

Tracy, sand is a huge problem here. It gets on everything. We wash greens outside first. Then rinse them in a sink of water, and finally rinse them like rinsing dishes.

One thing that helps, in years past - I cover the garden in oak leaves. That keeps the splash-up from happening so much. However, this year, if I put leaves on the garden - it would never dry out.

Clean a 5 gal bucket squeeky clean with a bleach solution and use it as an outdoor sink to prep your greens. I usually soak them, rinse, and repeat, then rinse them again with the hose on the mist setting and placing them in a large collander (ie a clean milk crate) before bringing them into the house. I clamp the hose to a pole next to my work area so I can use both hands to clean. This time of year there are lots of bugs to rinse off.

I have a 40 gallon water trough i have used.
Worth

[QUOTE=Stvrob;474992]Clean a 5 gal bucket squeeky clean with a bleach solution and use it as an outdoor sink to prep your greens. I usually soak them, rinse, and repeat, then rinse them again with the hose on the mist setting and placing them in a large collander (ie a clean milk crate) before bringing them into the house. I clamp the hose to a pole next to my work area so I can use both hands to clean. This time of year there are lots of bugs to rinse off.[/QUOTE]


If you don't care for meat with your greens, add about 2 hand fulls of salt to 3 gallons of water, stir well.

Wash the mud and debris from the greens with a hose, shake off the excess water and allow the greens to soak in the salt water for a couple of minutes. The salt water will kill the bugs, but more importantly it will cause them to release their grip from the greens so they can be rinsed away. After the salt water soak, rinse the greens normally.

30 dozen bunches of greens and 30 dozen bunches of mustard twice a week pulled, tied, washed, iced and covered with a tarp were the first thing loaded on the truck back when I was peddling vegetables. Claud

A friend uses her washing machine to clean the sand off her mustard greens. Tripped my mind when she told and showed me. I was like the washing machine? Ugg It works and nobody who has ever eaten her greens has gotten sick. Don't know how it would work in the new machines, but does great in the older top loading machines.

[QUOTE=Starlight;475510]A friend uses her washing machine to clean the sand off her mustard greens. Tripped my mind when she told and showed me. I was like the washing machine? Ugg It works and nobody who has ever eaten her greens has gotten sick. Don't know how it would work in the new machines, but does great in the older top loading machines.[/QUOTE]

Ive thought of doing that but my wife intercepted me and put an end to it. I guess you would use the gentle cycle?

Tomorrow is the day. I think I'll leave the washing machine part out though :)

Next week when the sun returns - I have little doubt that they will quickly go to seed, so tomorrow I'll be processing them.

The whole washing machine idea sounds creepy.:o
Worth

[QUOTE=Stvrob;475517]Ive thought of doing that but my wife intercepted me and put an end to it. I guess you would use the gentle cycle?[/QUOTE]

I have a very low flow LG machine. Probably wouldn't work so well since it trickles out water in little,tiny squirts. I have no idea how it washes the clothes but it does a good job snd I got a great price on Craigslist. Besides,it's a very pretty cherry red.:D

[QUOTE=AlittleSalt;474722]We bought it Worth. Presto 23-Qt. Pressure Canner and Cooker.

I can't wait to see my 5' tall wife using it. That's going to be a sight :)[/QUOTE]

I practiced canning with dry beans and chicken broth. Dry beans are a challenge to get right, will teach you how to gently change the temperature so that they don't siphon out of the jars.
It's really nice to have a pantry full of canned beans and low sodium homemade broth. You'll love your canner!

[QUOTE=Stvrob;474744]I would just blanche and freeze them and be done with it. The fermenting idea does seem interesting but I dont have any experience with that, though I'd like to learn one day.[/QUOTE]

Very easy and makes a great kimchee.
I also love saurkraut and homemade dill pickles made from Armenian cucumbers. Eggplants are really good this way, and any green. Garlic chives turned out yummy as kimchi.
My husband ferments pepper puree for an amazing salsa base or hot sauce.

[QUOTE=Stvrob;474992]Clean a 5 gal bucket squeeky clean with a bleach solution and use it as an outdoor sink to prep your greens. I usually soak them, rinse, and repeat, then rinse them again with the hose on the mist setting and placing them in a large collander (ie a clean milk crate) before bringing them into the house. I clamp the hose to a pole next to my work area so I can use both hands to clean. This time of year there are lots of bugs to rinse off.[/QUOTE]

I'll give this a try. And, use lots of leaves this fall/winter. I have tons of them.

Saltmarsh gave you the best idea for preserving greens. Just cook them seasoned the way you like and freeze them. We have been doing it that way for 25 years or more and they are really good that way. Not quite as good as fresh but what is.

Bill

Bill, I agree. I'm going to do as Salt recommended about the salt water.

I'm going to follow these steps:

Rinse outside
Put in a sink of water
Rinse again in the other sink
Cut to bite size
Toss into boiling salt water for 2 minutes
Remove and place greens in an ice bath
Dry them
Place in Ziploc bags and use a straw to get out as much air as I can
Freeze

[QUOTE=AlittleSalt;476542]Bill, I agree. I'm going to do as Salt recommended about the salt water.

I'm going to follow these steps:

Rinse outside
Put in a sink of water
Rinse again in the other sink
Cut to bite size
Toss into boiling salt water for 2 minutes
Remove and place greens in an ice bath
Dry them
Place in Ziploc bags and use a straw to get out as much air as I can
Freeze[/QUOTE]

If you freeze them without liquid you'll have a problem with freezer burn. Freezing them in the liquor prevents that problem. Claud

Thank you Salt, I'll be starting the process in about an hour. I had to clean up after our grandchildren visit Wednesday and Thursday. They are 2 and 5 years old, so lots of cleaning.

Three hours of picking, rinsing...washing...rinsing, cutting, cooking, ice bath... 7 quart bags of greens.

I learned new respect for all of you who preserve food. Same thing tomorrow. I only got half of them today.

Then there are two 40' rows of turnips to think about. I guess I'll cook some turnip greens up to remember what they taste like. And then figure out what to do.

I'm going to have nightmares of organic err stuff stuck on greens after 5 weeks of heavy rainfall.

[QUOTE=AlittleSalt;476679]Three hours of picking, rinsing...washing...rinsing, cutting, cooking, ice bath... 7 quart bags of greens.

I learned new respect for all of you who preserve food. Same thing tomorrow. I only got half of them today.

Then there are two 40' rows of turnips to think about. I guess I'll cook some turnip greens up to remember what they taste like. And then figure out what to do.

I'm going to have nightmares of organic err stuff stuck on greens after 5 weeks of heavy rainfall.[/QUOTE]

Fantastic Salt, this winter it will make you proud of your hard work and a sense of accomplishment.
Plant rotabeggers this fall.:yes:
Worth

Worth is right about planting the rutabagas, but most people are missing out.

The rutabaga greens have a better flavor than turnip greens especially when they are young and tender. The greens won't keep like the waxed root so most people aren't familar with them.

When I plant rutabagas I sow about 4 times as many seed as needed. When they get about 4" tall, I pull half for greens leaving the biggest in place for roots and spaced properly. Then when they are about 8" tall I pull half again for greens leaving the biggest for roots and about 6" apart.

Slice the roots like steak fries spray with nonstick coating sprinkle on some seasoned salt and bake in the oven like you would potatoes. Good eats.
Claud

I'm not sure if I've ever seen seeds for rutabaga. It's something I have heard about but was never curious enough to research... until now. [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga[/URL]

I need to supplement my diet with more leafy vegetables. I know it would help my wife as well. I guess the next step is to find out if seeds for Rotabagge are available locally or if I need to order them online? I just wrote it on the white board. That's where I make my lists to buy stuff.

We are going to plant spinach this fall. What I've been reading for years now - is that greens taste better when grown in fall. Some can take a little frost and taste even better. I need to make the soil cool enough for them to grow. Maybe starting seeds and then transplanting would be better? I found with Collards that the ones I direct sowed are half the size of the ones I transplanted. A lot to think about.