Use your hands to mix and sort through the spinach leaves as they soak. Sort through the leaves to remove damaged leaves, weeds, insects, stones, dirt, or other debris.
If you’re thorough enough, the first soak and rinse will probably remove most debris. For spinach that seems especially dirty, or to be extra cautious, repeat both steps twice more to remove as much dirt as possible.
If you do not have a salad spinner, you can wrap the leaves in paper towels and gently squeeze out the excess moisture. Afterward, spread the leaves out over a layer of fresh paper towels for 10 to 15 minutes to continue drying them. Thorough drying is especially important if you plan on freezing raw, unblanched spinach. It’s not too significant when freezing blanched or pureed spinach, though.
Don’t be afraid of packing the spinach too tightly. Tight packing is actually recommended since it leaves less room for excess air. You could also use freezer-safe plastic storage bins, but these do not work quite as well since you won’t be able to remove quite as much excess air from the container prior to sealing it.
When you’re ready to use it, thaw the spinach in your refrigerator for several hours. Squeeze any excess moisture out of the thawed leaves before using or consuming them. The cell membranes will break down during frozen storage, making thawed spinach too soft to eat raw, but you can still add it to smoothies and cooked recipes.
Note that traditional blanching will preserve the color and taste of the spinach but may cause a loss of some nutrients to occur. To reduce the amount of nutrients lost, consider steam-blanching instead. Prepare to steam-blanch by placing a steaming basket over the boiling water. [2] X Research source
If steam-blanching the spinach, place the leaves in the steamer basket and immediately cover it with the lid. A tightly sealed lid is necessary to capture enough steam to blanch the spinach. If direct blanching the spinach, note that the water will likely turn green as it cooks.
The quick transfer should stop the cooking process and halt the loss of nutrients. It should also further preserve the color and flavor of the spinach.
If you do not have a salad spinner, place the spinach leaves in a large colander set out over dry paper towels. Allow the spinach to drain for around 20 minutes, then use additional paper towels to tap away any excess moisture.
While you can technically use freezer-safe plastic containers instead of bags, doing so increases the risk of freezer burn since you won’t be able to remove the excess air.
Thaw the frozen spinach in your refrigerator for several hours prior to use. Since thawed spinach tends to be soggy, it cannot be eaten raw but can be used in smoothies and cooked dishes.
For many blenders, you may need to avoid filling the blender more than halfway to allow the blades adequate access to its contents. You only need to add enough water to get the blender going. If your blender has a difficult time with the amount of water originally used, feel free to add more water in small increments.
If you don’t have any spare ice cube trays, consider using mini muffin trays, standard muffin trays, or candy molds. Silicone trays and molds work especially well, but plastic versions can also be used.
If you have difficulty removing the cubes from their trays, allow them to thaw at room temperature for several minutes. Try again once the sides and bottoms have softened, but before the cubes melt.
You can thaw frozen spinach puree before use or add them to smoothies, stews, and similar dishes while they’re still frozen solid.
