I have cut a ton of swiss chard from the stalk - will blanch and
freeze all the greens. No problem. But what to do with the stalks
(aside from compost)? I have read that they don't freeze well and
have picked up a hint that they might be fermented. I will end up
with a huge trash bag full of stems. Any ideas? (I have plenty of
relish so I will likely not go that route either).

Thanks,

Eric

We always had a white/cream sauce on our stems cut into 1" or so chunks.
Blanch and freeze the stems or steam & add cream sauce and then freeze.
It all depends on your taste. For that matter, I've frozen slices of
zucchini and just had them steamed with butter in the winter. Amazing
what you can appreciate with a short walk through the produce isle ;-)
-- Buddy

Eric wrote:
> I have cut a ton of swiss chard from the stalk - will blanch and
> freeze all the greens. No problem. But what to do with the stalks
> (aside from compost)? I have read that they don't freeze well and
> have picked up a hint that they might be fermented. I will end up
> with a huge trash bag full of stems. Any ideas? (I have plenty of
> relish so I will likely not go that route either).
>
> Thanks,
>
> Eric

er, aisle that is.

Buddy wrote:
> We always had a white/cream sauce on our stems cut into 1" or so chunks.
> Blanch and freeze the stems or steam & add cream sauce and then freeze.
> It all depends on your taste. For that matter, I've frozen slices of
> zucchini and just had them steamed with butter in the winter. Amazing
> what you can appreciate with a short walk through the produce isle ;-)
> -- Buddy
>
> Eric wrote:
>> I have cut a ton of swiss chard from the stalk - will blanch and
>> freeze all the greens. No problem. But what to do with the stalks
>> (aside from compost)? I have read that they don't freeze well and
>> have picked up a hint that they might be fermented. I will end up
>> with a huge trash bag full of stems. Any ideas? (I have plenty of
>> relish so I will likely not go that route either).
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Eric

Eric wrote:

> I have cut a ton of swiss chard from the stalk - will blanch and
> freeze all the greens. No problem. But what to do with the stalks
> (aside from compost)? I have read that they don't freeze well and
> have picked up a hint that they might be fermented.

You mean something like chard kim chi? That might work. Salt for a few
hours, rinse, then ferment with green onions and garlic, like spinach.

Chard cider? Not so much.

B/

On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 10:11:05 -0500, Eric
> wrote:

>I have cut a ton of swiss chard from the stalk - will blanch and
>freeze all the greens. No problem. But what to do with the stalks
>(aside from compost)? I have read that they don't freeze well and
>have picked up a hint that they might be fermented. I will end up
>with a huge trash bag full of stems. Any ideas? (I have plenty of
>relish so I will likely not go that route either).
>
>Thanks,
>
>Eric

If they are not fresh, compost. Next time chop the stems into small
pieces that will cook at the same time as the leaf. I do not know of
any reason that they wouldn't freeze just fine.

Saute some onion and garlic in oil, add the chard cut into small
pieces, salt & pepper and any other herb that you like.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974

I've been growing chard for years and the stems make good compost and
that's about it.


George

Eric wrote:
> I have cut a ton of swiss chard from the stalk - will blanch and
> freeze all the greens. No problem. But what to do with the stalks
> (aside from compost)? I have read that they don't freeze well and
> have picked up a hint that they might be fermented. I will end up
> with a huge trash bag full of stems. Any ideas? (I have plenty of
> relish so I will likely not go that route either).
>
> Thanks,
>
> Eric

George Shirley wrote:
> I've been growing chard for years and the stems make good compost and
> that's about it.
>
>
> George
>
> Eric wrote:
>> I have cut a ton of swiss chard from the stalk - will blanch and
>> freeze all the greens. No problem. But what to do with the stalks
>> (aside from compost)? I have read that they don't freeze well and
>> have picked up a hint that they might be fermented. I will end up
>> with a huge trash bag full of stems. Any ideas? (I have plenty of
>> relish so I will likely not go that route either).
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Eric
>
Odd, we never ate the leaves for years and still prefer to eat the
stalks. If I want leaves, I grow spinach, beet greens, collards or kale,
and that's about it ;-) -- Buddy

Thanks for the advice. I think I will chop and blanch and freeze some
of it to use in a Chard Gratin recipe I have but will compost the
rest. I am intrigued to ferment them but have no recipe to adapt and
am not real comfortable with the process. I made sauerkraut once and
have a 5 gallon food grade bucket but don't know where to go from
there.

Eric

Eric wrote:

> Thanks for the advice. I think I will chop and blanch and freeze some
> of it to use in a Chard Gratin recipe I have but will compost the
> rest. I am intrigued to ferment them but have no recipe to adapt and
> am not real comfortable with the process. I made sauerkraut once and
> have a 5 gallon food grade bucket but don't know where to go from
> there.

Kim chi/chee, not sauerkraut.

Salt the stems and weight them for about 4-5 hours or until the liquid
rises.

Then rinse. Then add chopped green onions, red pepper flakes (the
actual kim chi pepper is more like a hot paprika than a chile, though),
and chopped garlic. Add water and let ferment for a few days. Stick in
the fridge and let it age for a couple weeks.

B/

Brian Mailman wrote:

> Eric wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the advice. I think I will chop and blanch and freeze some
>> of it to use in a Chard Gratin recipe I have but will compost the
>> rest. I am intrigued to ferment them but have no recipe to adapt and
>> am not real comfortable with the process. I made sauerkraut once and
>> have a 5 gallon food grade bucket but don't know where to go from
>> there.
>
> Kim chi/chee, not sauerkraut.
>
> Salt the stems and weight them for about 4-5 hours or until the liquid
> rises.
>
> Then rinse. Then add chopped green onions, red pepper flakes (the
> actual kim chi pepper is more like a hot paprika than a chile, though),
> and chopped garlic.

Oh, and ginger. I forgot the ginger.

> Add water and let ferment for a few days. Stick in
> the fridge and let it age for a couple weeks.
>
> B/