Never Let Another Bag Of Spinach Go Bad Again With This Preservation Technique

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Even if spinach is a constant, almost daily ingredient in your home meals, it can still spoil. If you buy your leafy greens in bunches, they may end up dried out and wilted, and pre-bagged veggies can sort of just turn into compost. Paper towels are a great hack for extending the life of refrigerated spinach, but even so, it can sometimes get forgotten in the back or bottom of the fridge. But you can potentially store these veggies for years with this trick: freeze-drying.

If you're not already in the freeze-drying game, freeze dryers, like this ZZKD model, can be quite pricey. But, while you can get (sort of) similar results with a home dehydrator (like this COSORI), these devices use heat to remove only about 70% to 95% of moisture. And dehydrated foods will possibly only retain about 60% to 75% of any given food's nutrients. A freeze dryer, on the other hand, uses extremely cold temperatures and a vacuum to remove up to 99% of moisture. Plus, freeze-dried foods retain more nutrients (up to 97%) and have a much longer shelf life — two or three decades, rather than around a year or less. 

The texture of your spinach will certainly change, so you won't necessarily be using it in cold, succulent salads. But there are plenty of uses for freeze-dried spinach, and it's really simple to make.

First, learn what to look for when buying good-quality spinach — dark green leaves are usually best, for example. Once home, you'll need to wash your veggies and make sure they're completely dry before they go in the freeze dryer. Because spinach has a low water content, you can fill the trays completely, as long as they'll easily fit into the machine. The regular setting should work just fine, but some leaves may come out looking slightly darker, even glossy in appearance. Although they're likely completely dry, check the leaves and trays for any moist or cold spots, and play with the settings and tray volume to get the leaf color consistent. It will still last up to a year in a regular airtight container under proper conditions. For full homesteader or prepper treatment, vacuum seal your freeze-dried spinach in Mylar bags or jars to keep it shelf stable for 25 years or more.

Full-leaf freeze-dried spinach makes a nice crunchy snack when topped with a little salt and spice. It's perfect crushed over soups and salads, like a simple roasted butternut squash soup. You can use it pretty much like you would any dried herb to add some crunchy spinach flavor to your pizza or mix it into a sauce to add more depth. Or, turn it into a powder in your food processor or blender and add it to smoothies — a clever way to get your kids to eat their greens. Once you've mastered the freeze-dried spinach, you can go the complete supergreens route and add kale, alfalfa, chard, carrot tops, and even seaweed to the mix. While it may be quite different from the cold, moist crunch you're used to, freeze-dried spinach has dozens of delicious applications and provides nearly identical nutrition.