Surplus kale & Swiss Chard

[Primrose]

Currently have more than we can eat. Neighbours don't like it so no point in trying to give it away.. Any ideas on how best to preserve it? Have never tried freezing it due to its high water content? Does it freeze well?

[sally wright]

Dear Primrose.
it will freeze but it will only be fit for the bottom of the soup Dragon's pot or a casserole. So chop it up quite small and blanch it in boiling water for a count of around 30 seconds (just count to 30 it is easier than a timer). Strain into another saucepan of a similar size to save the boiling water for the next lot and put the chopped leaves into a large bowl of cold water. The cold water is important as it stops the cooking and helps to retain the nice green colour. When the leaves are cold, squeeze as much liquid out as possible and pack into the sort of quantities that you will use easily by weight not volume. Chipping a lump off a 5lb block of frozen veg is not an easy thing to do!
This will also work with spinnach and courgettes (60 seconds for courgettes though).
Regards Sally Wright

[alan refail]

Hi Primrose

I hesitate to suggest this................but why not compost the surplus. Thinking that every leaf, pod or fruit we grow has to be eaten can become a bit of a pointless obsession. Why not grow something else which will be in season when the dubious frozen stuff might come out of the freezer? If you want kale or Swiss chard, grow it over winter and eat it fresh.

Sorry to sound dismissive, because I must admit that my surplus brassicas are converted to free-range eggs via our hens. Swiss chard is a bit of an insult to the human palate anyway! (Takes cover from Johnboy's shotgun)

[Primrose]

Alan - actually I think you do make a good point because we eat far more kale & Swiss chard during the winter months, and if I'd thought about it, I should have delayed sowing until later in the year, rather than rushing to get all my crops sown in April or May. I don't know what it is about my growing ethos which somehow seems to demand that my whole vegetable patch is satisfactorily covered with vegetables of some kind for much of the growing season, rather than being affronted with some bare sections until later in the summer which get covered in weeds.

I'll just have to pick the surplus and send it up to Johnboy or buy a couple of pet hens). Actually, that's just reminded me of somebody I know who keeps chickens who might be able to make use of some .....

[Johnboy]

Hi Alan,
I am right by the gun cupboard! Mock outrage! Charlatan!
I think that this really it is a management problem. I grow Swiss Chard using two methods.
1. By sowing approx an inch apart down the row several times a year and commence eating when the plants are approaching 4". Simply pull the whole seedling, nip the root off wash and then very lightly steam, really only enough to wither the leaves. At this stage of their growth pattern there is none of the faint earthy taste from Oxalic Acid and lightly buttered they are scrumptious.
2. I grow for winter use with large plants which are not sown until mid August or even a little later. These I grow in modules and plant them out
to grow into large plants. Now because Swiss Chard is a very rapid grower when it really gets going there are always going to be old hoary leaves which should be frequently taken off the plant and composted so you should only ever be eating quite young tender leaves.
The large white stem can be cooked like Celery served in a white sauce but this can be rather bland. I generally discard most of the stems but make a medley of Onion, Leek and Garlic with a cheese sauce and more cheese over the top and grilled until golden Brown which even you just might like!
JB.

[Colin_M]

Currently have more than we can eat. Neighbours don't like it so no point in trying to give it away.. Any ideas on how best to preserve it? Have never tried freezing it due to its high water content? Does it freeze well?

I'm sure you can use at least some of it in Minestrone soup, which would freeze without problems.

Maybe you could even wilt some with some onions & freeze this mixture for later addition to soups over the Autumn?

[Johnboy]

Hi Colin,
The answer is not to grow too many plants for a given period and have several plantings. I have yet to sow my Swiss Chard that will provide me
with my winter pickings. Yet by doing what I have previously described I have SC all the year round.
JB.

[Primrose]

Johnboy - I think you probably have the right approach here and next year I'll delay sowing my Swiss chard until later in the summer. We have so many other summer vegetables to eat like beans, courgettes and peas that really having everything come at once can be a bit of an embarrassment.

[Colin_M]

Hi Colin, The answer is not to grow too many plants for a given period

I can't fault your logic. However sometimes don't you get a crop that has a more successful year than normal?

In my case, I err on the side of pessimism, by allowing for some losses from caterpillars, pigeons, weather etc. For example this year I lost a lot of Cavalo Nero to frost in January then my replacement crops got hammered by pigeons. Without some of these, I'd have got a much bigger harvest.

So, I think you're correct but some of us never quite manage this required level of precision in practice