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In summer, the garden is full of fresh vegetables and herbs. They are present in different dishes every day. And in winter, people lack vitamins, so they rush to the stores to buy something. As a rule, fresh vegetables, including zucchini, “bite” in winter.
If you have a lot of zucchini, you can freeze them, thereby preserving all the nutrients and vitamins. Our article will focus on how to freeze zucchini for the winter at home. We will offer you different options and ways to avoid mistakes.
What vegetables are suitable for freezing?
You can use zucchini at any age for freezing. Vegetables should have healthy skin without damage or rot. Many housewives are interested in whether it is possible to use pre-picked zucchini for freezing. No, this cannot be done, because they have already withered and lost their elasticity.
Vegetables with dull skins are also not suitable, since their pulp is coarse and does not store well when frozen.
General rules for preparing vegetables
Regardless of how you freeze fresh zucchini in the refrigerator freezer, the preparation rules are always the same:
- Since the fruits are lying on the ground, there will definitely be dirt on them. Therefore, they are first washed in several waters directly with the peel. Then the stalk and the place where the flower was are removed.
- Place the vegetable preparation on a clean napkin to dry.
- When asked whether it is possible to freeze zucchini with seeds, the answer is no. The vegetable needs to be peeled not only from seeds and pulp, but also from the hard and dense peel.
That’s probably all you need to know about preparing zucchini for freezing for the winter.
Freezing rules
Freezing zucchini for the winter is an ideal option for preserving fresh vegetables. They can be used to prepare various dishes, including baby food. After all, zucchini has long been considered a dietary product.
Important rules:
- Washed zucchini is cut in a certain way.
- Remove excess liquid.
- Blanch if necessary.
- Place them in different containers - plastic containers, plastic bags for freezing zucchini, from which excess air must be removed.
Slicing methods
You can cut the barrel-shaped vegetable in different ways. Everything will depend on what you will cook from zucchini in winter.
- If you fry, make complex sandwiches or prepare pizza, it is better to cut the zucchini into rings for freezing. They should be no more than 1 cm thick. There is no need to cut too thin.
- If you dream of vegetable stew or cooking caviar, cut into cubes.
- It is more convenient to prepare pancakes, caviar, and baby puree from frozen zucchini, grated.
Now let's figure out whether it is possible to freeze zucchini for the winter without blanching. As a rule, this is the decision of the hostess. But to make sure when vegetables look more attractive and “edible”, experiment.
Prepare a small batch of zucchini by cutting them the same way. Just put one batch in the freezer, and the second after blanching. After a day or two, take out the frozen food and taste it. This is the most reliable choice.
Freezing methods
In circles
If you want to surprise your guests in winter, fry zucchini. They turn out just as tasty and appetizing if the vegetables were frozen correctly.
How to properly freeze zucchini slices for the winter:
- Cut the zucchini pieces into boiling water for about 5 minutes, then place in a colander to drain the liquid. The cooled dry circles are laid out in one layer on a board or immediately in a bag and sent to the freezer. When the workpiece is frozen, you can quickly put it in a container or freezer bag. It is not recommended to put all the zucchini into the container at once, otherwise they will stick together.
- If you do not use blanching, then you can remove excess liquid from the zucchini using salt. Place the circles on a board and lightly add salt. Remove any excess moisture with a towel. Place the circles in containers and freeze.
Cubes or sticks
Freezing zucchini into cubes is an ideal semi-finished product that can be used in winter for preparing first and second courses.
After cutting the zucchini into the desired shape, you can simply put it in a container in the freezer. Fast and easy.But in winter, housewives are often disappointed because the vegetable becomes rubbery and tasteless. What is the mistake?
It turns out that when freezing vegetables at home it is necessary to remove excess moisture. Let's figure out how to properly freeze zucchini for the winter in cubes or cubes:
- Place the workpiece in a container and sprinkle with regular table salt. Per kilogram of chopped zucchini - 2 tablespoons. After a quarter of an hour, liquid will appear on the pieces. It is blotted with a clean, dry cloth, cubes or sticks are placed in bags and frozen. Do not rush to place the cubes; if they are not dried well, they may stick together. But it’s best to freeze fresh zucchini for the winter, so that each cube is separate. To do this, lay the blanks on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer. After freezing, the zucchini is placed in a container or bag.
- Of course, this method is more time-consuming, but reliable. Blanch the cubes for about three minutes, then lower them in a colander into very cold water. You can get it using ice cubes. Blanched zucchini is dried and cooled on a towel. After this, put it in the freezer. If you freeze zucchini in the freezer, cut into cubes or cubes, you can add chopped herbs or other vegetables (peppers, carrots, tomatoes).
Freezing grated vegetables
We figured out how to freeze zucchini for the winter in the freezer for preparing first and second courses. But our readers are interested in whether it is possible to freeze pancakes, and if so, how.
Freezing zucchini this way is the simplest. Just take the prepared fruit and grate it. Leave for a while and squeeze out the liquid thoroughly. All that remains is to put it in bags and put it in the freezer.
Zucchini puree
You can make zucchini puree at home. Diced vegetables should be boiled until fully cooked. After discarding the boiled pieces in a colander to drain the water, grind them with a blender. After cooling, the finished zucchini puree is placed in plastic containers.
This kind of freezing is very convenient if there are small children in the family. Doctors recommend zucchini puree. In stores it is sold in jars. Why buy vegetable puree at a high price if you can prepare it for free at home!
You will get convenient mini-portions for one time.
Zucchini frozen:
Use Cases
As we have already said, vegetables frozen at home can be used to prepare all kinds of dishes, for example, squash caviar.
Vitamin and low-calorie food will be ready within 30-40 minutes. Therefore, it can be prepared immediately before dinner or the arrival of guests. The appetizer is prepared without vinegar, since it is not intended to be stored.
What you will need to prepare squash caviar:
- frozen zucchini slices - half a kilo;
- fresh carrots – 1 piece;
- onion – half;
- green sour apple – 1 piece;
- tomato paste – 1 large spoon;
- garlic – 1 clove;
- salt and sugar to taste.
Cooking instructions:
- Having taken out a portion of frozen zucchini slices, pour boiling water over them directly in the bag and immediately place the workpiece in a colander to drain the liquid.
8 - Grate the onion and carrots and lightly fry them in oil for no more than five minutes.
- Add zucchini, grated apple without peel and seeds, pasta and chopped garlic to the pan. You need to simmer over low heat without a lid while constantly stirring the mass.
- After a third of an hour, add salt and sugar. Taste it.
- Take a blender and beat in the prepared frozen squash caviar.
Conclusion
We tried to talk in detail about different options for freezing zucchini in the freezer for the winter. Of course, to say that these are all ways would be dishonest to housewives. After all, each of them is looking for their own options for preserving vegetables for the winter, so that the family has vitamins.
We hope that they will share their secrets with us and you. We are waiting for your feedback and suggestions.
