Preservation: how to prepare sorrel for the winter, the best recipes, proper storage

From May to June, many housewives are concerned with the question of how to prepare sorrel for the winter with minimal loss of nutrients. There are many canning recipes, and in most cases, sorrel does not even require preliminary heat treatment. It is due to this that the product retains most of the vitamins. And thanks to the presence of oxalic acid in the composition, such a preparation will not require much effort from you over time.

Benefits and harms

Sorrel leaves are both tasty and very healthy. They are often advised to be used by people with sexual dysfunction and eating disorders, men after forty-five years and women during menstrual periods.

The entire value of the plant lies in its rich chemical composition: sour grass contains carotene, antioxidants, flavonoids, and esters. The listed substances have a good effect on the digestive tract, heart muscle, and nervous system.

In addition, the plant contains many vitamins and other elements necessary for humans. Sorrel is enriched with organic acids (oxalic, tannic, ascorbic, pyrogallic). There are PP vitamins, retinol, thiamine, beta-carotene, riboflavin, and tocopherol.

The minerals in the composition can support the immune system; they are also responsible for the condition of the skin, nails, and hair. The following substances are present in sorrel:

iron;
calcium;
phosphorus;
magnesium;
sodium.

And the plant is still a low-calorie product. There are 18 calories per 100 g of product. Therefore, it is often present in many programs for effective weight loss.

But it was not without harm to health. Gastroenterologists say that if you have pancreatitis, you should stop using this product. And this rule applies to both exacerbation of the disease and remission. Acids can attack the pancreatic mucosa, causing complications of the disease.

It is because of oxalic acid that the herb differs in its taste. But this acid can accumulate in the body in the form of salt deposits. Oxalates form stones and sand in the gallbladder and kidneys. If you already have hard formations in these internal organs, then you are also not allowed to eat green leaves. Sorrel also actively produces acid in the stomach, causing ulcers and gastritis.

Pros and cons of keeping fresh herbs refrigerated

Storing fresh sorrel in the refrigerator has its positive aspects:

all the vitamins and microelements that the greens are rich in are preserved;
Compared to freezing, it has a natural taste and is suitable for preparing salads and baking;
Compared to drying, it retains vitamin C in full.

Advice

The vitamin C content is reduced by 3 times within two hours after assembly.

The only drawback is the short period during which sorrel has a marketable appearance and is suitable for fresh consumption.

Freezer storage

First, wash the selected greens from all contaminants. Dry and finely chop with a sharp knife. Take a small portion of chopped leaves (for example, for one serving of cabbage soup), fold carefully into a plastic bag, release the air, and form into a flat cake. Place in the freezer.

When the greens are completely frozen, place them in a second bag to seal them and place them on the lowest shelf of the freezer. In the form of compact cakes, sorrel will not take up much space in the refrigerator. And it’s convenient to use such portion bags.

How to preserve sorrel without sterilization

Many experienced housewives will agree that oxalic acid is such a strong preservative that harvesting sorrel for the winter can be carried out without sterilization, which in this case not only becomes useless, but also destroys the valuable substances contained in the greens. Therefore, there are many simple recipes that allow you to preserve sorrel without heat treatment (Figure 9).

Here are some of them:

Clean, crushed leaves are cut and compacted tightly into a sterile jar, filled with cold boiled water, rolled up or tightly closed with a nylon lid. Store in a cool place.
The washed and chopped sorrel is placed in a prepared container and poured with boiling water. They wait until the air bubbles come out, compact the green mass, add water to the very top and roll up the cans. Such preparations can be stored even at room temperature.
Sorrel and dill are sorted, washed and chopped. In this case, you need to take a quarter more dill than sorrel. The sorrel is compacted into jars and sprinkled with dill on top. The greens are poured with cold boiled water and covered. Store in a cool place.

Figure 9. Harvesting for the winter without sterilization

The development of modern household appliances makes it possible to store sorrel by freezing or drying. When frozen, the plant completely retains all its beneficial properties and vitamins. Frozen greens can be stored for up to 2 years, provided they are not thawed and then frozen again.

Freezing technology includes several stages:

Collection and preparation of green mass;
Thorough washing of leaves;
Grinding of raw materials;
Blanching greens for 1 minute, which does not affect the quality of the product;
Straining off excess liquid. To do this, remove the greens from boiling water with a slotted spoon and leave for a few minutes to drain.
Drying of raw materials;
Packaging in plastic bags;
Transport to the freezer.

If necessary, the contents of the packages, without defrosting, are dipped into boiling broth when preparing first courses.

With sparkling water

Remove yellowed and damaged leaves from the foliage. Prepare sterilized containers. You will also need sparkling water without flavorings. Cool it down first. Fill the prepared container with chopped sorrel in dense layers, just pour in water and immediately roll up. The main highlight of the preparation is the gas bubbles, so it is recommended to consume the open jar immediately.

With this harvesting method, the beneficial substances of the plant are preserved. Dishes with it will give the impression of using only picked greens.

How to store workpieces?

Regardless of the method of preparation for the winter, storage rules provide for the following:

after defrosting, the product must be consumed immediately;
pickles are placed in cool rooms away from sunlight;
dried herbs are placed in paper, cardboard or glass containers.

The salted product is suitable for consumption for 8 months. Frozen greens can be eaten for a year, dried for 2 years.

Marinated version of the preparation

An interesting way of preservation with the addition of salt. There are only 32 calories per 100 g of product. It won’t take up much of your time—everything takes about an hour. Just prepare everything you need in advance:

1 kg sorrel;
liter of water;
half a glass of table vinegar;
a tablespoon of salt.

Preparing the plant itself will be no different from previous methods. Then chop it into medium pieces. Place in sterile containers . In a saucepan, combine water with vinegar and salt and bring to a boil. The salt should be completely dissolved, so stir the marinade occasionally. Then leave it to cool.

Salting methods

Greens can be harvested by canning or freezing. Salting methods are considered traditional, thanks to which the grass retains its nutritional properties for a long time.

If one of the listed methods is used, it is recommended that after adding sorrel to the dish, use 3 times less salt. When adding spinach or dill to this preservation, the herb should be taken in equal proportions.

In its own juice

To preserve for the winter, it is necessary to sterilize the containers. The greens are placed in jars and compacted. Then the container is placed in a saucepan, where water is poured, and heated over low heat.

As the grass warms up, it will begin to release juice. During this period, the sorrel gradually settles, so you need to periodically add leaves so that the plant completely fills the glass container. As soon as the juice reaches the neck, the jar can be removed from the pan. Silicone lids are used for sealing.

When preparing greens for the winter using this recipe, it is recommended to take containers with a volume of 250 or 500 milliliters. The advantage of this preservation method is that the product does not sour over time.

In brine

The product turns out tasty if brine is used to prepare it for the winter. For preservation use:

sorrel leaves (the quantity is determined by the volume of the workpiece);
a teaspoon of salt (calculated for a 500 ml jar);
boiling water.

To prepare a winter snack, the leaves are cut into strips and placed (compacted) in 500-ml jars. Salt is poured into the container and boiling water is poured so that the water completely covers the plant. The stream should go strictly through the center of the jar, without touching the walls.

At the end, the containers are rolled up and stored.

There is another recipe for preparing greens for the winter. In this case, a tablespoon of salt and 100 milliliters of vinegar are used, and warm or cool water is used instead of boiling water. The resulting preparation is not suitable for people who cannot tolerate acidic foods.

In the form of vitamin puree

To prepare vitamin puree for the winter, you will need 50 grams of salt for every kilogram of sorrel. The latter ensures the safety of the product.

The leaves are ground in a meat grinder (combine) and then mixed with salt. The resulting mass is infused for one hour. Next, the puree is put into jars. It is recommended to close containers with tin lids.

If necessary, you can skip the salt. The absence of this component will not have a significant effect on the taste of the finished product.

Cold pickling

There are two recipes for cold pickling for the winter. For the first you will need a kilogram of sorrel and 30 grams of salt. The ingredients are ground together and left for 30 minutes until the leaves give juice. After the allotted time has passed, the resulting mixture is transferred to half-liter jars and closed with plastic lids.

For the second recipe for pickling for the winter you will need:

kilogram of leaves;
glass of water;
microwave;
2 cans of 500 milliliters.

This recipe is convenient in that the product is prepared without boiling the original ingredients.

The leaves are cut and placed on a plate. A glass of water is added to the mixture. The plate is placed for 4 minutes in a microwave oven turned on at 900 watts. After this, the ingredients are mixed and reheated. The third time, the plate is placed in the microwave for one minute.

After this treatment, the leaves acquire a dark marshy hue. At the end, the sorrel is transferred to jars, compacted tightly and rolled up for the winter.

Drying sorrel

If you want to prepare a lot of greens, but do not have a lot of free time, then you can resort to drying. The main rule is that there should be no direct sunlight .

Wash the cut leaves thoroughly, remove damaged parts, and dry. Chop and spread on paper in a thin layer, put in a warm, well-ventilated room. Stir the cuttings from time to time to ensure an even drying process.

Keep an eye on the greenery! If you overdry it, it will simply crumble all over and as a result you will not get dried leaves, but dust. Store this preparation in glass spice containers or paper bags.

Sorrel with nettles for the winter in jars

In this recipe we will prepare green dressing for nettle soup. These are two constant companions in preparing a sour first course. We will blanch them in boiling water. Then we place them tightly in glass containers and fill them with brine. We will get not only a tasty preparation, but also a very healthy one. You can store it in a cool place and pamper your loved ones with green soup until the new harvest. I suggest you take note of this recipe.

Ingredients:

500 g. sorrel
250 g nettle leaves
300 ml. water.

Cooking method:

We sort through all the grass. We throw out the trash. We check for the presence of bugs, spiders and slugs. Soak in salted water for 10 minutes. Rinse everything thoroughly. Cut into randomly thin strips.

Next, take a container in which we will cook the greens. Pour water into it and bring to a boil.

Add chopped herbs (dressing for green soups) to boiling water.

Boil for 5 minutes. Place in prepared glass jars. Cover with metal lids. Place in a saucepan and sterilize for 15-20 minutes in boiling water. If you do not want to sterilize, add vinegar 1 tbsp. l. into each jar.

Small volume cylinders are better suited for these purposes. We twist them or roll them with metal lids using a machine. Turn them upside down. Wrap yourself in a warm towel (plaid, blanket, jacket). Let it sit like this for about a day or two. After this we put it in a cool place.

And during the cold season, you can easily pamper yourself and your loved ones with vitamin soup!

Bon appetit!

Green borscht

And now the most interesting thing: how to prepare a delicious soup from your preparation, which will delight you on a cold winter evening with its bright colors.

The first thing to remember is whether you added salt during canning. Just add some of the greens from the jar to the soup fifteen minutes before the end of cooking.

If you use frozen sorrel, you do not need to defrost it before cooking. Immediately dip the green “cake” into the hot soup ten minutes before the end of cooking. Only a frozen product loses some of its acid, so many housewives add a little acid separately (vinegar or lemon juice) to soups.

And dry leaves will simply add incredible aroma and richness to the soup. You can add them at any stage of cooking and in any quantity at your discretion.

Sorrel lovers should prepare it for the winter so as not to deprive themselves of the opportunity to enjoy fresh herbs in cold weather. All of the recipes listed are time-tested; if you follow all the rules, sorrel will retain most of the nutrients even a year after it is stored in the basement or refrigerator.

Preparation for storage

To preserve sorrel for several days, you can simply place it in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. For long-term supplies, the leaves should be pre-treated. Having bought or picked greens, it is recommended to do the following:

You should sort out the sorrel. Remove flower shoots, yellowed leaves, excess grass, and cut off damaged parts.
Soak them in a large bowl of cool water - this will help them straighten out, releasing particles of earth that will sink to the bottom. Placing the plant in salt water allows you to get rid of small insects that remained unnoticed at the first stage of treatment.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the greens from the liquid and lay them out on towels to dry.
They cut into portions, making subsequent preparation of dishes easier.
Packaged in containers in which storage will be carried out.

Sorrel is a perishable plant. To maintain freshness, do not delay preparation. More than a dozen varieties are known, and all of them are suitable for storage.