Stocking up young nettles for the winter for cabbage soup. Dried nettles: ways to harvest for the winter - how to dry nettles at home

It's no secret that nettle is very useful, but lately many have undeservedly forgotten about it. But since ancient times, this plant has been eaten and treated. Nettle can fill your body's daily vitamin requirement, so let's learn how to properly collect and store it for the winter.

The best time to collect this useful herb is the month of May. Nettle in this period is young and tender. For harvesting, only the upper part of the plant is cut off with delicate stems about 10-15 centimeters in size.

If you did not have time to stock up on grass in time, then do not despair, old shoots of nettles can be cut off, and after a while fresh young shoots will grow in their place.

How to prepare nettles for freezing

The collected grass must be soaked in a saline solution for 20 to 30 minutes. This will help get rid of small insects hiding in the greenery from your eyes. To prepare the solution, table salt is added to the water in the calculation: 1 liter of water - 4 tablespoons of salt.

After this procedure, the nettle is rinsed with clean water and dried. To do this, the greens are laid out on paper or cotton towels and gently blotted with a cloth on top. The leaves are periodically stirred by hand and change wet napkins to dry ones. If you open the window and arrange a small draft, then drying will be faster, the main thing is that direct sunlight does not fall on the greens.

Ways to freeze nettles

How to freeze whole nettle leaves

Grass is prepared for freezing in the manner described above. Then the dried nettle leaves are put into plastic bags and tightly packed, trying not to deform the greens.

Freezing nettles in bunches

You can freeze nettles in bunches. From the washed and well-dried greens, small bundles are formed, which are then tightly packed in several layers of cling film.

Freezing chopped nettle greens

Before sending the grass to the frost, it can be chopped with a knife or special herb scissors. To make the workpiece as crumbly as possible, the slices can be pre-frozen on the freezer tray. Poured into one container, greens can be used by removing the required amount of product from the bag.

You can skip the pre-freezing stage if you pack chopped nettles in portions, for one time use.

How to Freeze Blanched Nettles

Nettles can be blanched before freezing. To do this, it is dipped in boiling water for several minutes, then cooled and squeezed.

Blanched nettles can be chopped and packed into containers, as Nikolai Tipatov does in his video - Collecting nettles, harvesting nettles for the winter for nettle soup

And Anita Tsoi will tell you how to freeze blanched nettles packed using a kitchen vacuum in her video "Harvesting nettles" on her channel "Tsoikin Recipes"

How to freeze nettle puree

It is convenient to use such a preparation for sauces and add to pureed soups. Fresh leaves and young stems are crushed in a blender with the addition of a couple of tablespoons of water.

The finished puree is laid out in silicone molds or special containers for freezing ice. To make the cubes more regular, you can add more water to the cells. After the puree cubes are frozen, they are removed from the molds and packed in bags or containers.

How to freeze nettle juice

The technology for preparing this blank is the same as in the previous recipe, the only thing is that after grinding, 50-100 grams of water is added to the nettle puree, and then everything is carefully squeezed out. Cake and juice are frozen separately from each other in molds for making ice. Ice can be added to soups and broths, as well as used for cosmetic purposes.

How to store nettles in the freezer

Frozen nettles are stored in the freezer for 10 to 12 months at an average temperature of -16 ... -18ºС.

In order not to confuse nettles with blanks from other greens, containers and freezer bags must be signed, indicating the name and degree of grinding of the product, as well as the date of laying in the freezer.

Nettles and onions make a delicious dressing for first courses. Quick pickling will give the greens a new original taste. Nettle is an underestimated inhabitant of the garden, but this burning plant can be considered a “vitamin bomb”.
Nettle-onion preparation is added to vegetable stew and salads. But the main purpose is to be a decoration for rich meat green borscht.

Taste Info Vegetables and greens / Other preparations

Ingredients

• young nettle - 350 grams,
• green onion -100 grams,
• salt - 1 tablespoon,
• sugar - 1 tablespoon,
• vinegar 9% - 50 milliliters,
• water - 250 milliliters.

How to cook pickled nettles with green onions for the winter

Nettle is an insidious plant, so it is better to protect your hands with thin gloves. Harvesting season begins in May and ends at the end of June, at which time the leaves and stalks of the nettle remain especially tender. Onions are chosen with thin stems, only green feathers are used for pickling.
Onions and nettles are washed, the water is shaken off, the plants are laid out on a wooden board.


Green onions are cut in standard - centimeter strips. The nettle is sorted out: the juicy tops are pinched off, the leaves are cut off. Nettle stalks are not suitable for pickling. Transfer all greens to a bowl.


Nettles and onions are poured with boiling water, covered with a lid, left for 10 minutes.


After steaming, the greens become softer and decrease in volume.

Water is poured into another bowl, and then marinade is prepared on the basis of this liquid.


Nettles and onions are placed in a dry, sterilized jar. The volume of the jar is 500 milliliters. Greens are laid tightly, but not tamped.
Measure 250 milliliters of water, add salt and sugar. Boil the marinade for 2 minutes, turn off the heat, pour the marinade into the pan.
Hot marinade is poured into a jar of nettles and onions. There are two options for completing the process. If you intend to put pickled nettles in the refrigerator, you can immediately roll up the jar, turn it over and wrap it with a towel.
This soup dressing keeps for 2-3 months. For longer storage, you need to additionally sterilize the jar.


Greens and marinade should not rise above the line of the jar hanger. The dishes are covered with a lid and put in a saucepan with warm water, spreading on
bottom of a napkin or thin towel. Sterilization of a half-liter jar lasts 5-7 minutes, the time is measured from the moment the water boils. After sterilization, the jar is rolled up, turned over, wrapped. Store the workpiece in the cellar.


Borscht and soups are prepared on the basis of pickled nettles. When marinating, rather large slices are used, nettle leaves remain intact. When pickled nettles are taken out of the jar, they are chopped again so that thin strips of greens get into the soup.

In order to prepare nettles, it is necessary to choose only young shoots, which must be collected in the first two weeks of early May. Young nettle shoots are much more convenient to process because they do not yet have time to become prickly. There are several types of nettle harvesting:

• Drying
• Freezing
• canning
• salting
• Juicing

Drying nettles

After cutting young shoots of nettle, preferably away from industries and highways, put in a colander and rinse thoroughly with running water. After the water drains, spread out on a tray, covering with gauze or cotton cloth so that they absorb excess moisture. Then spread the nettle on a paper towel in a thin layer. The place for drying should be chosen dark and well ventilated. It is important that the sun's rays do not fall on the plant.

You can also dry nettles in a suspended state, tying them in small bunches and hanging them in a dark, ventilated place. Dried nettles should be stored in paper or cloth bags in a dry place.

Freezing

With this method, nettles can be kept almost fresh. Frozen nettles are very convenient to use for making stuffing and soup dressings. The nettle is collected in the same way as for drying. After washing and drying, it is finely chopped, laid out in a small layer on a tray, covered with cling film, then placed in the freezer. Frozen nettles are laid out in bags or containers, and folded into the freezer for further storage.

canning

Nettles can be preserved both separately and with sorrel and spinach. Young leaves of the plant with non-hardened stems are washed and soaked for a couple of hours. Then the nettle is allowed to drain and cut into pieces, up to 10 cm in size, pour 3 parts of the nettle with 1 part of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Then put in jars, set to sterilize. A liter jar is sterilized for 35 minutes.

salting

For salting nettles you will need:

• 1 kg of young nettle leaves;
• 100g salt.

Young leaves are washed, crushed, salted and ground. Then tightly stacked in jars, closed with plastic lids or tied with parchment.

Juicing

1 kg of young nettle leaves prepared in advance is passed through a meat grinder, half a liter of cold boiled water is added, mixed, the juice is squeezed through gauze. The pomace is again passed through a meat grinder, squeezed again. The resulting juice is poured into glass containers, pasteurized at 65-70 degrees for fifteen minutes.

The benefits of nettle

It is difficult to overestimate the benefits of nettle. In winter, when the lack of vitamins affects, it will have to be at the table, besides, greenery not only pleases the eye, brings pleasure from taste sensations, but also maintains health. Nettle contains:

• aluminum;
• vitamin K;
• carotene;
• phytoncides;
• calcium;
• organic acids; sulfur;
• potassium;
• manganese;
• vitamins of groups E, B and C;
• barium.
• copper;
• iron;

There are a lot of medicinal plants on earth, among which nettle occupies a leading position. After all, it is she who is a truly unique plant that a person uses in many areas of his life.

Our ancestors made bast fibers from nettles, from which ropes, threads, fishermen's nets and fairly durable fabrics were subsequently made. Europeans in the 19th century sifted flour through a nettle sieve and filtered honey.

Nettle in the past was widely used to perform various magical rites. There was an opinion that it was this grass that evil spirits and evil spirits were afraid of.

In the hungry years of the war and after it, the main food of barefoot children, along with sorrel, quinoa, was also nettle. They ate it from early spring until late autumn, and their mothers also cooked various dishes from this miraculous plant: liquid cakes, salads, and also cabbage soup.

Today, of course, life is more satisfying and therefore nettle, like food, has faded into the background and is absolutely in vain. After all, it contains quite a lot of vitamins and various trace elements. Nettle is able to replenish the daily requirement of the body in vitamins.

The most real culinary masterpieces from nettles are prepared by the mistresses of Transcaucasia, creating a variety of national dishes. All year round you can get this plant for food thanks to its harvesting for the winter. There are several ways to harvest nettles for the winter: drying, freezing and canning. Each of the methods has its own positive aspects.

Nettle for the winter: homemade preparations

Drying nettles for the winter

When to harvest nettles for drying? For this preparation, young shoots are suitable, which are collected in early May, the first two weeks. Young nettle leaves are quite convenient to process, as they practically do not burn.

And so we cut off the young shoots of the nettle, as far as possible from the production areas and highways. Rinse thoroughly in a colander and under running water. We let the water drain, and then lay it out on a tray, which we cover with gauze or cotton cloth in order to absorb all the moisture.

Then lay out the nettle for drying in a thin layer on a paper napkin. Choose a dark and very well ventilated place. It is worth noting that it is necessary to exclude direct sunlight on the plant.

Also, nettles for the winter can be dried by hanging. To do this, we connect it with bundles of small sizes and hang it in limbo. Dried nettles are stored in paper or fabric bags in places where there is no access to extraneous moisture and smell.

Freezing nettles for the winter

Nettles are collected in the same way as for drying. Then it is thoroughly washed, allowed to drain and finely chopped. Shredded nettles are laid out on a tray in a thin layer, covered with cling film and sent to the freezer.

A few hours later, frozen nettles are scattered in containers (bags) and put in the freezer for further storage. Nettles can be used for cooking, without defrosting.

Nettle canning for the winter

This plant is preserved both independently and in combination with spinach or.

Natural canned nettle

Fresh young leaves of the plant, as well as stems that have not yet hardened, are washed in cold water, and then soaked for one to two hours. At the end of time, nettles are pulled out of the water, allowed to drain and cut into pieces up to ten centimeters in size. Then pour three parts of nettle with one part of hot water and boil for five minutes. Still hot, put in jars, cover with lids and set to sterilize. We sterilize a jar with a capacity of one liter for 35 minutes, and a half-liter jar for 35 minutes.

salt nettle

To salt this plant you will need:

One kilogram of young nettle leaves;

One hundred grams of salt.

Young leaves are thoroughly washed and allowed to drain with water. Then they are crushed, kitchen salt is added and ground. Next, densely placed in clean and dry jars. Close with polyethylene lids or tie with parchment.

Nettle juice for the winter

We pass one kilogram of young and prepared nettle leaves through a meat grinder, combine with half a liter of cold boiled water, and stir thoroughly. Then we squeeze the juice through cheesecloth, and again pass the pomace through a meat grinder, add half a liter of water and squeeze the juice through cheesecloth.

Pour the juice into prepared glass containers and set to pasteurize at a temperature of 65-70 degrees for fifteen minutes. We close the boiled juice with polyethylene lids, and store

Finally, it will not be superfluous to recall that nettles can be very badly burned, so it is recommended to collect it with gloves. It will also not be superfluous to note that it can cause allergies, so it will not be superfluous to consult a doctor before using it.

This year I'm going to freeze as many different greens as possible, and today I'll tell you how to freeze nettles for the winter. It will be useful to you not only in cooking. This is a wonderful basis for decoctions and tinctures for rinsing hair, lotions and face masks. Do not miss the opportunity to prepare for the future this very useful plant! Frozen nettle retains all its healing properties and vitamins; in winter, in the absence of fresh herbs, there will definitely be a use for it.

If there are nettles near your house, arm yourself with scissors, gloves, bags and collect as much as you like. If there is nothing like that, buy it at the market, grandmothers sell it from early spring to autumn. Just make sure that the leaves are young, from the tops, the old ones become hard, prickly and are not suitable for culinary purposes. But as a cosmetic raw material, they are quite suitable.

Collected or purchased nettles must be processed immediately. After cutting, it is not stored for a long time, after a few hours even in the refrigerator it fades and darkens.

How to freeze nettle leaves for the winter

We will need:

• A large bunch of young nettles;
• tight packages;
• sharp knife or scissors.

Freezing nettle for the winter in a bag

First of all, let's sort out what we bought or collected. Discard the darkened leaves, if the shoots are rough, hard, we separate the leaves from them, and the stems themselves are also thrown away. We will harvest young leaves for culinary purposes, and those that have already become tough will come in handy in home cosmetics. We figured out what was what, put it in large bowls or basins and poured cold water over it. Let the nettle stand for half an hour so that dust and dirt get wet, and do not forget that small spider bugs can also be in the leaves.

Now thoroughly wash the nettles under running water, leave in a colander. Shake it several times, so the water drains faster.

Then we scatter the leaves on a towel in one layer and let dry. We stir from time to time. Choose a place to dry without drafts and do not leave for a long time, otherwise it will wither. Half an hour will be enough for the leaves to dry.

We take a large handful of nettles, cut not very finely, larger than you do cutting greens for salads.

We're going to pack it right away. I have regular ones, no zipper. I add a couple of handfuls of chopped nettles, let the air out and tie the bag at the top. I leave it flat, do not fold, so the leaves do not crumple and do not break. I send it to the freezer.

The second way is to scatter the cuts on the board and put in the freezer. Freeze, pack in small portions, tie, stick a label and sign.

In the first and second courses, frozen nettles are added without defrosting, like any other greens. I came across recipes for baking with nettles, but I haven’t tried it, I can’t say anything, but in soups, especially in green borscht, it is very good!

Well, in conclusion, some useful tips, they will help you properly preserve and use the freeze.

✍ - It is unacceptable to defrost and re-freeze the nettle, it turns black!

✍ - Taking out of the freezer, quickly select how much you need and immediately place the rest back.

✍ - If you freeze nettles for different purposes, then sign what for what. Frozen greens are similar, then you won’t figure out where you have culinary packages, and where is the blank for masks and decoctions.