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.