I harvested spinach today for the very first time in my life. We have been eating on our spinach crop from the garden for the past several weeks, but it has finally grown so quickly that we haven't been able to keep up with it. So, today I harvested and tested my hand at the art of spinachery. Here are a few things that I have learned:
1. Once spinach matures into larger leaves it can be cut down at the base of the stems near the ground and it will grow back. You can continue to cut it until it "bolts." Bolting means it sends up a central shoot that seeds.
2. To freeze spinach you wash it, remove the stems, blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes and then shock in a cold bath for 2 minutes. Squeeze as much excess water as possible from the spinach and freeze.
3. A whonkn' lot of fresh spinach boils down to an itsy bitsy teeny tiny clump of freezable greenary. (3/4 of a garbage bag full makes the darling clump above)
So is it worth it? By the time you cut, wash, trim, boil, shock, squeeze, label and bag the spinach, you can go to Wal-mart, buy 100 bags of spinach, and have dinner made by the time you have produced three meager bags of home grown. However, knowing and perfecting the process of freezing spinach is one more drop in a bucket of knowledge. And knowledge is priceless...
