The best recipes for harvesting leaf celery for the winter

Sheet celery outwardly resembles parsley, but has a richer aroma, in which nutty notes are guessed. Such greens are considered a universal spice that can change the taste of meat, fish, first and second courses for the better. Leafy celery contains many nutrients.

In winter, when fresh vegetables and herbs can only be found on supermarket shelves at a high price, it is nice to have harvests made in season. They not only diversify the taste of dishes, but also help to cope with vitamin deficiency. With success, the hostesses harvest all types of celery for the winter - both leaf, and petioled, and root. Greens are not only dried and frozen, but also used to prepare original snacks and soup dressings. Today we will talk about the methods of harvesting the green part of the plant.

Features of leaf celery

Leafy celery has dense, rough leaves with a rich nutty aroma.

Celery leaves contain vitamins B, K, E, C, A, amino acids, essential oils and minerals. This is one of the few foods with a negative calorie content, that is, the body spends more energy on its processing than it receives.

Useful properties of celery:

• improves the functioning of the nervous system;
• improves mood;
• tones up the body;
• removes headache;
• normalizes metabolism;
• promotes losing weight;
• removes harmful substances from the body;
• relieves swelling;
• reduces blood sugar levels;
• increases potency;
• relieves inflammation;
• helps to cope with diseases of the genitourinary system.

A small amount of fresh or dried celery can replenish the daily intake of vitamins in the body. It is considered the best way to fight vitamin deficiency in winter and spring.

Interesting! The smell of celery is partly due to the presence of testosterone in its composition. It has a positive effect on male potency and female hormonal levels.

Leafy celery has less flesh than its petioled and root varieties. It fades quickly and cannot be stored for a long time, so greens are dried, salted or frozen, less often canned. Then it becomes not only a fragrant and healthy seasoning for dishes, but also a delicious snack.

Selection and preparation of leaf celery for long-term storage

In order for leaf celery, when harvested for the winter, to retain the maximum amount of useful elements until the next harvest, it is important to choose it correctly.

Experienced housewives have some advice on this:

1. The greens absorb all of the processing chemicals used when growing them. They are preserved when dried, frozen and preserved. Therefore, for the greens to bring benefit, for harvesting, they choose plants grown in their own garden, or buy from a trusted seller on the market. A store product usually contains a minimum of nutrients.
2. Greens are harvested while they are still growing in the open field. Greenhouse plants contain much less nutrients.
3. Cut the plants before they bloom. Otherwise, all the nutrients and useful elements will end up in the flowers, and not in the leaves.
4. The greens should have a deep green color. Yellowish and drooping plants are not taken for harvesting.

Celery is recommended to be harvested for the winter on the day it was harvested.

It is important to properly prepare the greens before harvesting:

1. Celery sprigs are sorted out and examined. Remove all yellowed, drooping, as well as with traces of mold, disease and insect activity.
2. Greens are washed with cold water. Then it is dried.

Blank recipes

You can prepare celery for the winter not only by the well-known methods, but also by pickling greens. Such preparations are used as a dressing for first and second courses, a base for sauces and a separate snack.

There are many ways to preserve celery leaves for the winter. Below are the best recipes, according to the hostesses.

In a simple marinade

Usually petiole or root celery is pickled, but some housewives prepare greens this way. This preparation will be an excellent addition to salads, sauces and marinades for meat. It is used as an ingredient in sandwiches, hamburgers, and pizza.

Ingredients:

• celery - 1 kg;
• water - 1.5 l;
• garlic - 6 cloves;
• lemon juice or vinegar - 4 tbsp. l;
• ground red hot pepper - 1 tsp;
• black peppercorns - 8 pcs.;
• sugar - 2 tbsp. l .;
• salt - 2 tbsp. l.

Some housewives take not only greens, but also plant stalks. The ingredients are mixed in equal proportions. Reduce the amount of hot red pepper if desired.

Cooking method:

1. Prepared greens are coarsely chopped. Rough stems are removed.
2. The garlic is peeled and cut into thin slices.
3. At the bottom of the jar, put peppercorns and red pepper. Then celery and garlic are placed in layers in a jar, tamping.
4. Water is poured into a saucepan, sugar and salt are added. The mixture is brought to a boil. After dissolving the sugar and salt, pour vinegar or lemon juice into the brine and boil the mixture for another 3 minutes.
5. The marinade is poured into a jar of celery.

If the snack is not prepared for long-term storage, it is refrigerated for 3 days. After that, it is ready for use.

To prepare greens for the winter, a jar of snacks is sterilized. To do this, put it in a saucepan and pour cold water up to the shoulders. The liquid is brought to a boil over low heat and boiled for 15 minutes. After that, the jar is taken out, covered with a lid, turned upside down and left in a warm place until it cools completely.

With dill and parsley

Celery leaves are harvested along with other herbs. This mixture will be an excellent seasoning for hot dishes. It complements broths especially well.

Ingredients:

• parsley - 350 g;
• dill - 350 g;
• celery - 350 g;
• salt - 1 glass.

Other greens are also added to the mixture. For example, parsley or basil. Green onions will not work.

How to cook:

1. Greens are washed and finely chopped. Tough stems are removed.
2. Greens are placed in layers in a jar, sprinkling each layer with salt. The ingredients are carefully tamped so that they let the juice out.
3. Banks are closed with nylon or screw caps. Store the workpiece in the refrigerator.

The mixture is salty. It is important to consider this when adding it to a dish.

Dressing for borscht

Many housewives notice that summer borsch is tastier than winter borscht. After all, in the summer there are fresh herbs, tomatoes and a lot of vegetables. However, if you make a dressing for borsch with celery for the winter, then the dish will turn out to be no less tasty in the cold season.

Ingredients:

• celery greens - 1 kg;
• tomatoes - 2 kg;
• carrots - 1 kg;
• onions - 1 kg;
• sweet pepper - 1.5 kg;
• salt - 1 kg.

It is enough to add a half-liter can of such a dressing to a ten-liter pot of borscht, and the dish will acquire a rich taste. In this case, you can do without frying.

Preparation of borsch dressing:

1. Carrots are washed clean and rubbed on a coarse grater.
2. Cut onions and peppers into small cubes.
3. Tomatoes are dipped in boiling water, peeled, cut into several parts, peeled from seeds and passed through a meat grinder.
4. Finely chop the celery greens.
5. All ingredients are mixed and salt is added to them. The mixture is boiled for 20-30 minutes.
6. The resulting dressing is laid out in jars, which are then placed in a saucepan and poured over the shoulders with cold water. Sterilized within 20 minutes.
7. Banks are rolled up with lids, turned upside down, wrapped in a blanket and left to cool completely.

Housewives recommend storing this dressing in the refrigerator. Some do not cook the ingredients, but simply sprinkle them with salt and store them in the refrigerator.

Council. If desired, add 1 kg of red beets to the ingredients. It is grated.

Canned in tomato sauce

Greens canned in tomato sauce are suitable for making pizza and sandwiches. It is served as a sauce for meat and fish. It is also used as a dressing for soups.

Ingredients:

• celery - 1 kg;
• tomatoes (it is better to take red and fleshy) - 2 kg;
• sugar - 4 tbsp. l .;
• salt - 1 tbsp. l .;
• odorless sunflower oil - 2 tbsp. l .;
• vinegar - 1 tbsp. l .;
• cinnamon, red hot pepper, black allspice - 0.5 tsp each.

Other spices are added to taste.

How they cook:

1. Tomatoes are poured over with boiling water, after which the skin is removed from them. Each tomato is cut into quarters and the seeds removed. Grind tomatoes in a meat grinder or blender.
2. Sugar, salt, vegetable oil, vinegar are added to the resulting tomato mass. Cook the ingredients over low heat for 20 minutes.
3. The greens are finely chopped and added to the boiling tomato sauce. Spices are poured there. The mixture is boiled for 5 minutes, tasted, if necessary, add more specialty, sugar or salt. Cook for 15 minutes.
4. The resulting sauce is poured into sterilized jars. Roll them up with lids, turn them upside down, wrap them with a blanket and leave them to cool completely.

If desired, add garlic to the mixture - then the taste of the sauce will be more intense.

Council. If you cook petioled celery according to the same recipe, you get not a sauce, but an appetizer.

Other ways to harvest leaf celery

Celery canning is not the easiest way to harvest greens. Usually housewives use other methods to preserve the harvest until the next season.

Drying

Dried herbs retain vitamins and essential oils. Store dried celery in glass jars or cloth bags. If necessary, add the spice to the dish.

Previously, the greens are washed and allowed to completely evaporate moisture. Then it is dried in two ways:

1. Greens are tied in small bunches and hung with leaves down in a dry dark room.
2. Rough stems are removed. Leaves are left spread out in a single layer on the newspaper until they dry completely. Dry greens are ground into powder and transferred to a cloth bag or glass jar.

Store dried herbs in a dry, dark place. It is important that it does not come into contact with moisture. Otherwise, the seasoning will be spoiled.

Freezing

Another option is to freeze the herbs. With this method of storage, celery loses some of its nutrients, but this does not affect its taste.

There are several options for freezing:

1. Greens are washed and dried. Tough stems are cut. The leaves are folded into a bag and placed in the freezer.
2. The celery is washed, chopped finely and tamped tightly into ice cube trays. A little water is also added there so that the greens "grab" when frozen. The workpiece is sent to the freezer. Such portions are added to hot dishes, where they melt and turn into delicious greens.
3. Celery is washed, the stalks are cut. The greens are finely chopped and mixed with softened butter (take 1 package of butter for 2 large bunches of celery). The mass is laid out on a film, wrapped, giving a cylindrical shape, and sent to the freezer.

Dry ambassador

With the help of dry salting, it is possible to preserve the maximum amount of vitamins in greens. However, this seasoning is stored less than dry or frozen. Due to the large amount of salt it is not suitable for all dishes.

Ingredients:

• celery - 1 kg;
• salt - 1 glass.

Cooking method:

1. Celery is washed. Tough stems are removed. Greens are coarsely chopped with a knife.
2. Chopped leaves are stacked in a jar in layers. Sprinkle each layer with salt.
3. A jar of herbs is closed with a nylon lid and stored in the refrigerator.

Other greens are harvested in the same way. Assorted herbs are often prepared.

Terms and conditions of storage

Properly prepared greens are stored for a long time. The method and terms of storage depend on how the seasoning was prepared:

1. Preservation is stored in a cool place for up to a year. Non-sterilized preservation is placed in the refrigerator. If the blanks have been properly heat treated, they will not disappear in the cellar or pantry.
2. Dried herbs retain their taste for 2 years. Store in a cloth bag or glass jar in a dark, dry place.
3. Frozen celery can stay in the freezer until the next harvest. Thawed greens cannot be frozen again.
4. The dry ambassador is stored in the refrigerator for no more than 2 months.

Tips from experienced housewives

Experienced housewives know the secrets of making celery:

1. In all the recipes described, celery greens are successfully replaced with petioles or root. In this case, the blanks will have completely different tastes. A mix of several parts of celery turns out to be unusual.
2. During the summer, you can freeze all the greens left over from cooking in oil or water.
3. Rough celery stalks do not need to be thrown away. Tie them together and dry them for a delicious broth seasoning. The bunch is placed in boiling water, and at the end of cooking it is removed and discarded.

Conclusion

Celery leaves are a product that contains many beneficial substances. It is able to compensate for the lack of vitamins and minerals in winter and spring. In addition, it imparts a pleasant aroma and spicy taste to dishes.

Preparing greens for the winter is easy. For this, there are many proven recipes for salting, drying and canning.