blanching dandelion leaves

gneesy

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I read online that dandelion leaves can be frozen and good for 10-12 months, as long as you blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes before freezing.

Has anyone tried this? Does the blanching affect how safe it is to feed to the tortoises?
 

Lyn W

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I've not tried this myself but I remember reading a post a long while back from someone who had frozen dandies and they found that the leaves became mushy when defrosted. Maybe if they were separated with kitchen paper they would do better - perhaps you could experiment with a couple of them.
I'm the world's worst cook so don't know how blanching would affect them them, would they lose their colour and goodness?
 

Maro2Bear

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I read online that dandelion leaves can be frozen and good for 10-12 months, as long as you blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes before freezing.

Has anyone tried this? Does the blanching affect how safe it is to feed to the tortoises?


Greetings... ive never blanched dandelions, but have other veggies and greens. To quickly ansr your question, the blanched greens are perfectly safe to eat. But, I’m more curious are you blanching to preserve them for later? Or another reason.

  • Blanching Veggies: Its mostly to brighten the color, but it also removes a little of the crunch. Blanching slows or stops the action of enzymes. Up until harvest time, enzymes cause vegetables to grow and mature. If vegetables are not blanched, or blanching is not long enough, the enzymes continue to be active during frozen storage causing off-colors, off-flavors and toughening.
The problem is that once you blanch, you should freeze. When you defrost them to serve your tort, going to be mushy (think what frozen spinach looks like once cooked).

Anyhow... good luck. Let us know how u make out. Try a small batch first.
 

jsheffield

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I think I'm going to try and dehydrate dandelion and plantain greens, then freeze them to stretch the shelf-life.

Jamie
 

gneesy

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I've not tried this myself but I remember reading a post a long while back from someone who had frozen dandies and they found that the leaves became mushy when defrosted. Maybe if they were separated with kitchen paper they would do better - perhaps you could experiment with a couple of them.
I'm the world's worst cook so don't know how blanching would affect them them, would they lose their colour and goodness?

Haha, I believe *I* am the world's worst cook. Just not sure if the cooking by blanching affects the dandelion's nutritional value or safety for the tort and I am already in protective pet mom mode. Little guy doesn't even arrive until Thursday!
 

gneesy

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I think I'm going to try and dehydrate dandelion and plantain greens, then freeze them to stretch the shelf-life.

Jamie
That sounds like a wonderful idea. I am just looking for something quick and easy to try and do, hope that works for you!
 

goReptiles

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I think I'm going to try and dehydrate dandelion and plantain greens, then freeze them to stretch the shelf-life.

Jamie

Once you dehydrate, I don’t think you need to freeze. Freezing could put moisture back into the dehydrated foods. Someone with more experience on this could help you, but I’ve been told to keep dehydrated items at room temperature.

I also used to dehydrate fruits for my son, and if I remember everything says to leave at room temperature.
 

goReptiles

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I read online that dandelion leaves can be frozen and good for 10-12 months, as long as you blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes before freezing.

Has anyone tried this? Does the blanching affect how safe it is to feed to the tortoises?

Freezing makes them mushy when thawed. I accidentally had some on the top shelf in my fridge and they froze. It was gross. They’ll keep fresh in the veggie drawer of the fridge for weeks though.
 
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