Can I freeze kale

[GreatAuntEmily]

I was given kale and Swiss chard plants in the spring - they are now ready to pick. But we are eating bbq and salad these days - so dont' neet them at the moment, can I freeze them? According to google I can but just wondered if anyone had any good tips. I did a small amount last year and forgot about it in the bottom of the freezer I didn't blanche them but that means they don't keep for so long.

They keep perfectly well in the ground and you’ll be harvesting both way beyond Christmas

Yes. But as billy said, they do keep well in the ground anyway. Probably better over winter because there aren't so many caterpillars.
If I've bought kale I bung the bag in the freezer and just take a handful when it's needed.

you can freeze but they are then only suitable for soups or sauces imo.
but I agree with pp, keep them in the ground.

They are fully grown and ready to harvest now, I just thought they'd be tough by winter but maybe once I start removing leaves they'll produce fresh new ones. Thanks for advice, I've been away and don't want to spend time freezing stuff just now, already have loads of Broad beans to do.

tbh I would look up bbq recipes with kale and chard. I sure I had cheese parcels wrapped in chard before at a bbq

Both will stir fry if you have that at all. I treat kale like spinach, only takes a few minutes to steam. But it will stay in the ground, I've loads ready atm, I just pick a handful when I'm doing sunday roast, or if we are having fish and potatoes. Will still be picking it come November/December and will probably not pull the plant until then when I mulch the beds ready for winter.

Kale may start flowering eventually. Just pick the stems at the bud stage and use as broccoli. But other than that, they’re ok in the ground, and it’s nice to have absolutely fresh kale.
Similarly with chard. When that flowers, it throws up a central tough stem. But meanwhile it’s throwing lots of tiny stems with flower buds and small leaves, which can be used raw in salads.

I have a recipe for kale (and similar greens), it is vaguely Italian. Cabbage goes really well with tomato so I do a tomato / onion / garlic / black pepper medley. Blanch the greens, put in container, add medley on top, freeze.
I can then conjure up an interesting vegetable side dish at any time, with just 3 minutes' worth of microwaving.
I also batch-cook spiced red cabbage. It's a bit of a faff to make originally but it means that, later on, you can quickly pull out portions of fancy veg from the freezer when you are short of time.

I have a lot of perpetual spinach and chard ready at the moment. The youngest leaves are fine in salads (mixed in with lettuce etc.) Older leaves and stems are great for use in a range of recipes (soups, sauces, frittata, curries, stir fries) - or as others have suggested, just leave them in the ground. They will survive well into winter. I've not found that kale freezes very well. It's one of those veg that is much better fresh.

They do keep producing leaves when you pick them regularly. If you see signs of flower heads forming remove them quickly to prolong leaf production. I had curly kale plants that did me all of last autumn, winter and most of the spring too. In the end when they were determined to flower I ate the flower stalks like sprouting broccoli for the last few weeks.

Mine froze ok but went a bit crumbly or dusty when I took out of the freezer. So ok in soups, risotto type recipes but it doesn't keep it's shape.

Yes, that's what happened to min Mum6457 - crumbly but fine for soup. I will make a point of picking regularly now, and removing flower heads.