How-To: Freezing Kale

Kale. What a great new healthy veggie for our table. High and vitamins and minerals, this little leaf packs a punch. And with such a budget-friendly vegetable that is so versatile, it is one staple you're going to want to keep around. One of my personal favorite things to do with kale is to turn it into kale chips (btw you can find the recipe I follow here). Since I have been buying it in large quantities of  it I have always wondered if I can freeze it. Then that day came this weekend. So when I went to the farmers market here I asked the local farmer who grew the kale if they knew if it was possible to freeze (they said yes). So since I was in the dark for so long I figured I would pass my kale freezing tips onto you.

First thing is first you will need to prep the kale. Since it normally comes so large you will need to snip the pieces off of the stalk. Just take some regular old kitchen shears and snips the pieces to desired length ( I kept mine on the larger side so that I would snip them later).  Make sure you also clip off the yellow or brown pieces.

Next, you will need to start a large pot of water. Once it starts boiling, you are going to place a few stalks in to start blanching. This will essentially clean the bacteria and dirt on the veggie. Since my kale pieces include the stalks, I am going to keep them in for 3 minutes. If you prefer to  remove the stalks on each piece, you will only need to blanch the pieces for 2 minutes each.

Next set aside a bowl of ice. Once each pot of kale has been blanched, you will need to shock the kale- to stop the cooking process. This will allow the kale to be half cooked and bright green but allow you to be able to fully cook it later on.

After you have shocked the kale, set it in a colander to drip dry while you complete the rest of the pieces you have remaining.

Once you have finished all of the kale, you will need to allow it to fully dry before placing it in freezer bags for storage. If it is not fully dried, it will be soggy and therefore will not freeze well- so ensure it is completely dry first ( I used paper towels to get excess water as well.