How to Wash and Freeze Leeks 

Awesome, Tony! Now you know more about the leeks you were gifted! Thanks for watching and sharing :)

I'm glad the video was so helpful to you, Emma! Thanks for watching and sharing :)

Thanks so much for sharing your method for washing and freezing leeks! Sounds like you're a pro :) I'm glad the videos are helpful to you :) Best wishes to you and yours :)

@@JudiintheKitchen you become a pro when your husband plants a ton of them lol

@@Niamh07421 I'll bet! Good for you both!!

GOOD FOR YOU! You're very wise in washing produce very well, even if it says already washed. That's a very smart move! I do the same. I'm glad the video was helpful to you! Thanks for watching and sharing :) Keep up the good work!

You bet! Thanks for watching and sharing :)

I'm glad the video was helpful to you! Thanks for watching and sharing :)

Hi Enid! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts on leeks. I'm with you...I see no reason to not use the whole thing. It's all good to me. Thanks for sharing also about cilantro not going with leeks, and your pureed soup. THAT's interesting and a great tip to pass along to others. Happy cooking :)

Update: I have been making puree soup with the dark greens and chicken broth. It is my favorite ! So, I am going to start using the whole leek. And I still do prefer parsley over cilantro. To my taste cilantro is not a flavor match to the leek greens.

I don't like cilantro I will be using parsley too

You're welcome, Vivian! Thanks for watching and commenting :)

Hi Christien! I'm glad the video was helpful to you! Thanks for watching, commenting, AND sharing where you are in the world! It's always a thrill for me to hear from people so far away from where I am. The internet truly makes the world a smaller place. Blessings to you and yours :)

I also meant to add that, I did read or seen videos about marking the bags with the name of what it is I’m putting in the bag and the date. I just never did it, but I kept thinking lately that I should. I love the smell of leeks as I’m smelling them now. I’m not sure if I smelt them when I first got them, prob did but I love being in the present moment to capture nice smells. It’s just so neat seeing so many layers inside of the leek from your video as I’m truly amazed on the importance of leek as well as other veggies etc Back then I never ate certain things nor did I know the importance of what it can do for our body. The only thing I knew some about was carrots as a kid but I did try in my 20s, 30s to try new things but now I love learning the importance of what I’m buying as well as eating foods I never ate before, or giving other foods that didn’t agree with me another go & eating foods I didn’t like but like now. I did Google about Leeks But I did forget what family they came from until you mentioned it. It’s so amazing what family foods can come from. Also, as I was watching your video, I started thinking, I’ve always wanted to do video of some kind & thought in this situation I wouldn’t have anything new to share but then watching your video, ideas came to my mind. I think It would be so cool to actually have a soft brush to gently brush it in the water to remove the dirt. It could be another fancy easy way to clean it too. I usually call myself werid but I embrace it but others don’t like when I call myself werid, so I say I’m unique & others would imply that I am but I always put them together lol But I don’t know what it is, but call me Uniquely weird as I love to call myself🙂🙃but there’s something about cutting up leeks & green onions that I really enjoy & love like carrots, celery, cucumbers etc Leeks remind me of palms at Easter time. Anyways now I’m wondering if there is anyone else like that that enjoy cutting up leeks & green onions. I’m sure they’re are, since we live in a world with so many unique people who share similar interests like our own.🙂🙃 I just recently yesterday bought green onions. I realized I could’ve used the leeks instead. The other day I was making a recipe and I didn’t have any onions so I used green onions and it tastes good. So it’s good to have something on hand that’s similar to use. It’s also so neat to learn I can also put them in a salad so ty for that information. I also thought when I bought leeks for the first time, I thought wow that’s one giant green onion but it’s a leek. I find leeks much easier to cut bc they are more crunchy & plus with the knife I have, it’s more stubborn when cutting green onions bc green onions can be complicated to cut too at times bc they slide etc but leeks stay in place. I wish I had your chef knife bc I could cut it right away in chunks like you did with one cut. When it comes to onions that make me tear up I didn’t think leek could do the same lol Before I didn’t use that much so it didn’t at that time but since I’m cutting up a lot it did lol Anyways I also knew leaks can be frozen because I’m a googler which I love to do lol but I just didn’t know how to go about the process so thank you for explaining everything. I did read some thing before I seen your video that made me nervous to freeze them. It was talking about defrosting them safely & not defrosting them at room temperature which I’m not sure what they mean, unless they mean leaving them out on counter or fridge for them to be raw again I dunno so I don’t wanna do something wrong or what would happen but as long as I put them in recipes when it’s frozen and if I need it in other recipes that are raw I’ll just keep some in the fridge like you mentioned. But either way; you gave me ease to know that how to freeze them correctly. I’ve also read that it only could be stored for one or two months, but then it also said in the same sentence it can be stored for 6 months too but I’m so thankful that it can be stored longer with your information. I’m always happy when food can last longer. So sorry for the long rant, I didn’t expect it to be a much longer comment then I usually do but yah I’m just passionate about food etc Sending positive vibes your way. Thank you again beautiful soul. 🥰🫶🏻💕

@@xoxjunemariexox3104 No apologies needed! I too am passionate about food! To clarify one thing for you..."grit" can refer to more than one thing. In the leeks, the "grit" can refer to dirt embedded in the bottom layers of the leeks, as you have found out. "Grits" can also refer to corn grits, which are cooked and eaten in a variety of ways. They are delicious! Thank you for watching and sharing your experiences and thoughts! I'm glad the video was helpful to you! Blessings to you and yours :)

Oh my gosh, It was so nice to hear back from you as I seen how long the video was up for so I didn’t know id get a response but at the same time thought maybe I would. I didn’t know if I could get any notifications to my email so once I seen the notification I came in right away. Ahhh that’s probably where I’ve heard that term from because recently it was my first time buying corn on the cob & I wanted to know at the time if I can cook them & freeze them. I’ve read some information on Google & then seen video or videos. That’s probably where I’ve heard the term before & the meaning but then when I heard you saying that word again, I couldn’t remember the meaning until you clarified what it was. I didn’t know it meant something different in other foods so that’s very interesting to learn. Awee Your very welcome. Thank you for allowing me too, as I love to share my experiences, & thoughts. Thank you!!☺️🙏🏻Sending many positive energy, good fortune, kindness, love & good luck your way, to you and yours. 🥰🫶🏻💕

@@xoxjunemariexox3104 Thank you! You're a kind and loving soul :)

You're welcome, Shirlei! Thank YOU for watching and commenting :)

Ohhhhhh myyyyyyyyyy! Eek!! I'm so sorry for the gritty stew! NOW you know why! I sure hope this helped you so you won't have any future mishaps like THAT! Thanks for commenting :)

Thank you Misty for commenting! It's always refreshing to hear that I've helped someone in some way. I'm glad this helped make your life a little easier!

instablaster...

Hi Anna! Thanks for watching and asking. Blanching is simply placing vegetables in boiling water for a brief time, like 30 seconds to 5 minutes, depending on what it is and how big the pieces are. The food is quickly transferred to ice water to be chilled fast so the cooking process is stopped. The blanching process slightly cooks food, but the purpose is to stop enzyme activity (kill the enzymes) so the food will keep longer in the freezer. If you don't blanch a food, the enzymes will not be stopped by being frozen and the food will continue to age in the freezer, not lasting as long as expected. So blanching food is a preservation method that helps food keep longer in the freezer. Most vegetables should be blanched before being frozen. However, a few can be frozen without blanching, like onions, bell peppers, and celery. Today, some people are opting to freeze vegetables without blanching them first. This can be done, but again, the food will not keep as well in the freezer and will need to be used sooner for the best quality. I hope this helps! Happy cooking :)

@@JudiintheKitchen Dear Judi - Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my questions. I really appreciate it. I have some leeks that need to be frozen and as you said in your video you don't need to blanch leeks. Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it. God Bless. Anna Cuomo

extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/vegetable-blanching-directions-and-times-home-freezer-storage here is a information and times chart for blanching I do steam cause I can do larger batches and it saves me time. Less guess work as ton then times because the water never leaves the boil.

Hi Mellen! When leeks are frozen, then thawed (as would happen if adding them to a fresh salad), their texture would be limp and not the same as when they were fresh. Chances are they would be "less than desirable" in the salad. Yes, they would be edible, but certainly not the same as when they were fresh. That's why frozen vegetables such as bell peppers, onions, celery, and leeks are usually used in cooking applications rather than raw after having been frozen. They would be frozen in the same way as if they were going to be cooked. It's just the freezing itself that will alter the texture when they are thawed. Because of that, it's usually recommended that such vegetables be used in cooked foods after having been frozen. If in doubt, freeze and thaw just a little bit of leeks and test them out in a salad for yourself. If they are acceptable to you, then go for it. If not, well, then you'll know for sure. Thanks for watching and asking :)

@@JudiintheKitchen yes I already know what they taste like thawed.. not great but if I cut them very small and freeze, I was wondering if I could deal with them partially frozen in a salad. I’ll let you know. Anyway, I just learned how to grow my own inside so maybe I’ll never have to freeze again :)

@@mellen5598 Sounds like you have a good plan either way you go! Best wishes in your endeavors :)

Hi SchinnerNo1! Good question. I imagine you could wash them after freezing them, BUT they would be really soggy. Frozen onions of any sort, especially leeks and green onions, will get very soft after being frozen then thawed. That's why it's usually suggested that they be used in the frozen state and not thawed first. Washing them when frozen would thaw them and make them very soft. I think it's do-able though, if that's not a problem. Since I have not frozen them with the dirt on them, I can't say if the dirt would affect the quality of the leeks after being frozen. Although, I think it would make them a lot harder to wash and get all the dirt off. Washing them in advance would make them easier to work with when you go to use them later. Just my thoughts. Thanks for asking. I hope this helps.

Awesome! THANK YOU for sharing those tips! And thanks for watching :)

@Kat 7 You bet! Thanks for watching and commenting :)

Glad to help! Thanks for watching and commenting :)

I do eat the whole thing (minus the dirt). Yes, the tops can be a bit tough, but I just use them in cooking like they were onions, so the cooking helps to tenderize them. A lot of people don't eat the tops, but personally, I see nothing wrong with them. So, whether you eat them or not is really up to you. To me, the whole plant is just fine in cooking. Just for an experiment, try the tops sometime in cooking and test them out to see if you like them. If not, you'll know for sure!

Make vegetable stock with dark green part if not used in your initial dish.

WOW! 20 inches long! They ARE big!! I'm glad the video was helpful to you :) Thanks for watching and sharing :)

You're welcome, Colleen! Thanks for watching :)