Content
Fresh fruits and vegetables are the most accessible source of microelements and vitamins in the summer-autumn season. But unfortunately, after ripening, most garden and vegetable products lose their quality and become unsuitable for consumption. Many housewives try to preserve their harvest by canning. The method really allows you to store food for a long time, but after such processing there are no vitamins left at all. But how to preserve the quality and usefulness of vegetables at home? There is, perhaps, the only correct answer to this question: freeze them. Freezing vegetables for the winter at home allows you to create a storehouse of fresh, healthy and tasty products that will always be on hand during the winter. We will talk further in the section about which vegetables can be frozen and how to do it correctly.
Basic rules for freezing
If your house has a spacious freezer, then, without a doubt, the best way to prepare vegetables for the winter is to freeze them.You can freeze various vegetables, subject to certain characteristics of a particular product. But there are also general rules that you need to know and remember when preparing any product by freezing:
- Only mature, firm vegetables without damage can be frozen;
- Before freezing, the products are washed and dried so that no moisture remains on their surface. Otherwise they will stick together during freezing;
- vegetables with coarse and dense pulp or skin should first be blanched by dipping them in boiling water for a few minutes, then quickly cooling with ice water;
- Products must be stored in tightly sealed bags or containers. This will prevent the product from drying out during storage;
- at a temperature of 0…-80Vegetables can be stored for 3 months. Temperature -8…-180C allows you to store food throughout the year;
- It is better to freeze vegetables in portions of 250-300 g.
By following these simple rules, you will be able to efficiently freeze vegetables for the winter and store them for a long time without loss of quality, taste and usefulness. Moreover, each individual type of product requires an individual approach, which we will try to describe below.
What vegetables can be frozen
Almost all vegetables from the garden can be frozen. The only exceptions are turnips, radishes and radishes. The easiest way to freeze root vegetables. For example, carrots and beets are peeled, washed and chopped. They can be cut into cubes or grated, packed tightly in a bag and frozen. Things are much more complicated with vegetables such as tomato, eggplant, cucumber and some other “delicate” products.
Tomatoes
In any season, tomatoes are a desirable product on the table.They are widely used in the preparation of first and second courses, sauces, and salads. You can freeze the vegetable whole, in slices or as a puree. Only small tomatoes are frozen entirely; large fruits must be cut into slices and placed on a baking sheet. After freezing, the slices are placed in a sealed plastic bag.
An example of how to freeze tomatoes for the winter and how to use the product after that is shown in the video:
cucumbers
Using a technology similar to tomatoes, you can freeze cucumbers. This vegetable is cut into small slices or cubes, grated and smooth, placed tightly in a plastic container, and then frozen. The vegetable can be stored in this state for no more than 6 months. The product can be used, including for preparing salads and okroshka.
Three different ways to freeze cucumbers are demonstrated in the video:
bell pepper
Sweet bell peppers can be frozen for the winter in several ways. The choice of one method or another depends on the subsequent purpose of the product. For example, for subsequent stuffing, the vegetable is washed, the seeds are removed from it, making a characteristic cut on top. Vegetables peeled in this way are placed one on top and sent to the freezer. Of course, such a “matryoshka” will take up a lot of space in the freezer, but stuffed peppers made from it will not only be tasty and healthy, but also very cheap. Having made this preparation, you will no longer need to buy peppers in winter at a high cost for stuffing.
You can use chopped frozen peppers to prepare vegetable stews, salads and other dishes.In this case, the vegetable is cut into cubes or oblong slices and placed in containers, bags, and then frozen.
Eggplant
Before as freeze eggplants, they must be blanched for 5-10 minutes, dried and cut into cubes or slices.
Green peas and milky corn
Green peas and unripe corn kernels are usually frozen in bulk. To do this, the product is scattered in a thin layer on a baking sheet, which is placed in the freezer. After freezing, the product is poured into a plastic bag and sent to the freezer for further storage.
Cabbage
Different types of cabbage are frozen in different ways:
- The most famous white cabbage is simply chopped and placed in bags in small portions.
- It is customary to blanch cauliflower. Selected inflorescences are dipped in boiling water with the addition of lemon juice for 3 minutes. Blanched pieces of cauliflower are dried with a paper towel, then placed in plastic bags and placed in the freezer.
- Before freezing, broccoli is divided into inflorescences, washed, dried and placed in containers and bags.
- Brussels sprouts are blanched for 2-3 minutes, then dried and laid out on a flat dish for freezing in bulk. The frozen product is poured into a bag.
More often, it is “tender” types of cabbage that are stored in freezers: Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli. White cabbage can be stored well in cool conditions without canning or freezing for a long period of time. However, in the absence of the necessary storage conditions, you can resort to the method described above.
Zucchini, squash, pumpkin
All these vegetables are cleaned before freezing: the skin and seeds are removed. The pulp is cut into cubes or slices, blanched for 10-15 minutes, then cooled, dried and packaged in bags and containers.
Green beans
This type of product is quite easy to freeze. To do this, you need to wash the pods and cut them into pieces 2-3 cm long. In this form, the beans are poured into a plastic bag and sent to the freezer.
During the winter, you can store not only individual types of vegetables, but also mixtures of them. This is convenient to use, since all vegetables are in a certain quantity and half-prepared. To prepare the dish, you just need to pour the prepared vegetable mixture into a frying pan and simmer or fry it.
Vegetable Mix Recipes for Freezing
With your own hands at home, you can prepare a mixture similar to the one offered to the buyer on store shelves. Only it will be many times healthier, tastier and, of course, cheaper.
Beginners and experienced housewives may be interested in the following freezing recipes:
Paprikash
This name hides a mixture of vegetables consisting of sweet peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and green beans. Before freezing, all ingredients must be chopped and blanched, then spread in a thin layer on a baking sheet, frozen and packaged in bags, after mixing all the vegetables.
Country-style vegetables
This mixture is used for frying and stewing. It is based on the use of potatoes, which are peeled, washed, and cut into cubes.Potatoes are added to this mixture with green beans, broccoli, corn, sweet peppers and carrots. It is recommended to blanch all ingredients except broccoli for 10-15 minutes before freezing. During cooking, it is recommended to add fresh onions to the vegetable mixture.
Lecho
Frozen lecho consists of tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, sweet bell peppers and onions. All ingredients are blanched and cut into cubes before freezing.
Mixture "Spring"
To prepare the “Spring” mixture, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and Chinese cabbage, as well as potatoes, peas, carrots and onions are used.
Hawaiian blend
This vegetable platter combines corn with green peas, sweet bell peppers and rice. It is worth noting that to prepare the “Hawaiian mixture”, the rice must first be cooked until half cooked.
All of the above mixtures can be cooked by steaming or in a frying pan by adding a small amount of oil. It is also convenient that the pre-prepared mixture does not need to be defrosted beforehand. This speeds up the process of preparing healthy and tasty food.
Surprisingly, you can freeze not only vegetable mixtures for preparing main courses, but also mixtures for making soups. Thus, a popular borscht recipe is one in which beets, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, onions and potatoes are frozen at the same time. The chopped frozen ingredients just need to be added to the broth and wait until they are ready.
Conclusion
Thus, freezing vegetables for the winter at home is not only useful, but also very convenient.After all, there is nothing easier than coming home from work to prepare dinner from already peeled, chopped and six-month-old vegetables. Frozen vegetables can be a godsend for mothers who care about the health of their student children located somewhere far away, because even a schoolchild can cook borscht according to the above recipe. Having worked once during the summer season, when the garden is full of vegetables, you can make a colossal supply of food and vitamins for the entire winter season for yourself and your loved ones. The only limitation for freezing fresh food is the size of the freezer.
