How to Thaw Frozen Spinach?

How to Thaw Frozen Spinach: Frozen vegetables are always useful as they give us a chance to cook any healthy sandwich or salad in no time. It is always a smart idea to preserve some stock of frozen veggies in your fridge to enjoy something creative on weekends. Spinach is a healthy green option that accompanies any soup, juice, or salad.

You might cook spinach while some families consume it raw in salads. It is one of the best ideas to freeze spinach for further use in cooking various dishes. Thawing spinach is the best thing you must try to get it year-round. In this blog, we will find out the various methods of thawing frozen spinach to use for further cooking.

Methods to freeze Spinach

There are 2 methods of freezing Spinach. You can either freeze spinach directly or after completing the method of blanching. Let us discover both methods in detail:

Method of directly freezing spinach

If you want to freeze spinach directly, follow some steps given below:

• The first thing you need to do is to wash spinach with tap water and clean it thoroughly. Cleaning the spinach thoroughly will remove dirt and other harmful particles.
• Then take a kitchen towel and dry the spinach leaves properly and drain them.
• The next step is to separate the spinach into small portions.
• You have to further store the spinach portions in zip-lock bags. While storing a zip lock bag, place the spinach leaves and remove the maximum air out of the bag to freeze the vegetable rightly. The presence of air in the zip lock bag will make it soggy.
• For smaller portions of spinach, you can take a normal ice cube tray or even silicone molds. Chop the spinach finely and store them in a mold to freeze it.

Method of freezing spinach after blanching

There is another method of freezing spinach. You can freeze it after blanching it by following some easy steps:

• Take a large vessel or pot and boil water in it.
• Then take a bowl of cold water and add a few ice cubes to make a cold mixture.
• The next thing you have to do is to dump the spinach in the boiling water for 2 minutes and take it out.
• Then take out the spinach and quickly add it to the icy water.
• Finally, remove the soaked spinach and divide it into various portions.
• Put the different portions either in an ice cube tray or zip lock bag as per availability.

If you ask me, I would suggest the blanching method. The blanching method will maintain the beautiful green color as well as remain tasty and fresh for a long time. If you have no time on your hands, get the spinach without the blanching method. However, the blanched veggie stays fresh for a year.

Blanching can go with any kind of green veggies like kale, cabbage, or celery.

Unique ways for thawing frozen spinach

It depends on the person how she likes to include spinach in cooking. Some people take it directly from the freezer and add it to the dish while some families use the defrosting method to use spinach in cooking various dishes.

Before we jump to the section on the thawing methods of spinach, let us know what is thawing. It is the process of cooking frozen spinach by warming it in a vessel. Have a look at some of the easiest ways to thaw frozen spinach:

Normal counter or colander

Since the frozen spinach is soggy, it will release the water. So, the best way to drain the vegetable is to place it in a colander on the sink to drain the excess moisture content. You can also leave the frozen spinach on any plate at normal temperature. To drain spinach, you must find a vessel or place from where the water can go out.

Put it in a fridge

One of the easiest thawing methods for spinach is keeping it in the fridge. Take a large bowl and place the frozen spinach leaves and keep it in a fridge for the whole night.

Simply add hot water

Defrosting spinach can be done instantly by adding some warm water. Take any pot with holes or simply take a strainer to remove water from the spinach. Add hot water and the icy part of the vegetable will melt in a few seconds.

Use the method of microwave oven

The method of microwave is easy and fast. Take an oven bowl and put spinach and select the defrost option in the oven. In a few seconds, you will get the thawed spinach leaves to add to the cooking process.

Uses of Frozen spinach

You can either use frozen spinach directly in the cooking or after completing the thawing process. Both methods are good and can be used while making many dishes.

You can add frozen spinach directly to the dishes such as:

• Stews and curries
• Baked items

These dishes require a long cooking time and so adding frozen spinach directly will be a better option.

Uses of frozen spinach after thawing

Thawing is necessary in some dishes. You can add frozen and thawed spinach in various stuffing, dips, and sauces. Preparing stuffing and dips needs less time and so adding thawed spinach will be a great option.

Wrapping up

Spinach is loaded with vitamin A and several nutrients. It is one of the best superfoods that improve eyesight and enhances your health. Take it after blanching or directly in the food to gain a crunchy taste.

You can prepare spinach soup on a winter day or soup for dinner. It can be added to a variety of salads with raw veggies. Apart from that, spinach can also be added to making sauces, dips, and quiche. A variety of smoothies can be prepared with the help of fresh spinach leaves or thawed ones.

Try some of these methods to thaw frozen spinach and enjoy its dishes anytime to make a perfect meal!