Content
- 1 How to properly freeze pumpkin for the winter
- 2 How to freeze diced pumpkin in the freezer for the winter
- 3 Freezing pumpkin, cut into large cubes, in the freezer for the winter
- 4 Freezing blanched pumpkin for the winter in the freezer
- 5 How to freeze grated pumpkin at home for the winter
- 6 Freezing pumpkin for the winter in the form of puree
- 7 Freezing pumpkin with carrots and zucchini for complementary feeding
- 8 How to Freeze Sugar Pumpkin for Desserts
- 9 Some tips for cooking frozen pumpkin
- 10 Conclusion
- 11 Reviews
Freezing vegetables and fruit storage is becoming increasingly popular, since this is one of the least labor-intensive ways to preserve fruits and berries for the winter. In addition, all useful substances are preserved. So freezing pumpkin for the winter at home is not very difficult. But you don’t have to worry about the safety of huge fruits, and the appearance for further use is more convenient.
How to properly freeze pumpkin for the winter
It seems that the only difficulty when freezing pumpkin in the freezer for the winter is to free it from the peel and seeds and cut it into pieces. But as a result, you want to get a ready-made semi-finished product that can be used to prepare various dishes, even without defrosting. Therefore, it is necessary to consider in detail all the nuances of the freezing process.
Pumpkin is rich in nutrients: vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fiber, glucose, fructose and much more.It contains even more protein than poultry eggs, and in terms of carotene content it is ahead of carrots. And all these beneficial substances are completely preserved in frozen pumpkin. Only the consistency of the product is lost; after defrosting, pumpkin pieces may spread and lose density and elasticity. And then - this only applies to pumpkin frozen raw.
If the pumpkin is baked or subjected to other heat treatment before freezing, then both the taste and consistency of the product will be completely preserved when defrosted.
Absolutely any type of pumpkin can be frozen. You just have to take into account that dessert varieties with thin skin are easier to process. On the other hand, they are a little more capricious in storage, so any housewife will prefer to deal primarily with them.
To ensure that the work of freezing pumpkins for the winter at home is not in vain, you must:
- deal only with fully ripened fruits;
- make sure that there is no damage or rotten parts on them.
Regardless of the freezing method used, the pumpkin must first be washed in cool water before use. Then cut into 2 halves and scrape out the inner fibrous part where the seeds are concentrated.
Further actions depend on the chosen freezing method.
How to freeze diced pumpkin in the freezer for the winter
Cutting pumpkin into cubes is the easiest way to freeze vegetables for the winter.Only raw pumpkin can be frozen in this form, so it is necessary, first of all, to remove the peel. You can do this with a sharp knife, placing half of the vegetable vertically. You can also use a special vegetable peeler if the thickness of the peel allows this.
The resulting pulp is first cut into slices, 1 to 3 cm thick, and then into small cubes.
Therefore, they take portioned bags, the size of which is chosen so that their contents can be used at a time. Place pumpkin cubes inside the bags and freeze them. It should be understood that when frozen, the cubes can increase in volume due to the liquid they contain, so you need to leave some free space in the bags so that they do not burst.
Small pumpkin cubes (with sides 1-1.5 cm) are ideal for preparing the filling in manti, as well as for some desserts. They can also be used without defrosting for pumpkin porridge, vegetable stew or pie filling.
Freezing pumpkin, cut into large cubes, in the freezer for the winter
It’s even easier to freeze pumpkin in relatively large pieces or cubes. The preparation technology is absolutely similar, but here you can no longer pay attention to the correct cutting shape. The size of the blocks can be from 2-3 cm to 8-10 cm in length.
After defrosting, pumpkin cut into such cubes will necessarily be boiled or stewed, followed by chopping, so consistency, shape and size do not matter much.
Such cubes are good for making porridges, pureed soups, sautés, stews of meat and vegetables and other side dishes.
Freezing blanched pumpkin for the winter in the freezer
Still, the best way, as mentioned earlier, is to pre-blanch the pumpkin cubes or pieces in boiling water before freezing. Although this method will take a little more time and effort, the taste and consistency of the defrosted vegetable will be more attractive.
- After 2-3 minutes in boiling water, the pumpkin pieces are placed in cold water for a couple of minutes and then on a paper towel to dry.
- After which the pumpkin pieces are placed on a tray or baking sheet so as to avoid their contact. Otherwise, it will be difficult to unhook them from each other later.
- The baking tray with the cubes is placed in the freezer for a couple of hours to harden.
- After the pieces have hardened, remove the baking sheet and fill portion bags with pumpkin cubes, where they will be stored until use.
All of the above dishes can be prepared from this pumpkin; besides, the cubes can be quite tasty in warm salads and casseroles.
How to freeze grated pumpkin at home for the winter
If you still don’t want to bother with blanching the vegetable, then you can find another way to quickly and conveniently prepare pumpkin for freezing for the winter at home.
The peeled pulp can simply be cut into large pieces, and grate each of them on a coarse grater, or use a food processor for these purposes.
The pureed pumpkin is distributed into portioned bags, not forgetting to leave a small free space at the top. To ensure that the bags fit compactly in the freezer, they are given a flat shape and placed in the freezer for storage.
The pureed vegetable can be used to make pancakes. It can be added to dough when baking bread, muffins, cookies and other confectionery products. Fillings for pancakes, pies and pies, cutlets - pureed pumpkin comes in handy everywhere in these dishes. And lovers of dietary vegetable side dishes and various soups will appreciate the beauty of pumpkin fibers in their signature dishes.
Freezing pumpkin for the winter in the form of puree
According to numerous reviews, the most delicious pumpkin puree for freezing for the winter comes from a baked vegetable. You don't even have to peel the pumpkin to bake it. Simply cut the vegetable into two parts and remove all the seeds. If the fruits are small, they can be baked directly in halves. Otherwise, each half is cut into several wide slices.
Pumpkin slices or halves are placed in an oven preheated to 180-200 °C and baked for about an hour. The pumpkin should become soft. After cooling, it is easy to scrape the pulp out of the peel with an iron spoon and grind it into a puree in a blender.
If you don’t have an oven, you can pre-boil the pumpkin slices in their skins.
It can be done:
- in boiling water;
- in the microwave;
- over the steam.
In any case, an additional time of about 40-50 minutes will be required. Then, after cooling, the pulp is also easily separated from the peel and turned into puree using a fork, masher or blender.
It is most convenient to place pumpkin puree in small containers or molds for freezing ice.In this case, they are placed in the freezer, waited for freezing, after which they are removed from the molds or containers and transferred to thick plastic bags for storage. This method allows you to get an almost ready-to-eat dish after defrosting. Therefore, pumpkin puree is added to the dish at the very end of cooking.
Frozen baked pumpkin puree is an excellent addition to baby's diet. It can also be added to a variety of baked goods, made into caviar, cutlets, soufflé and jam. You can make jelly from pumpkin puree and make a variety of drinks, such as smoothies.
Freezing pumpkin with carrots and zucchini for complementary feeding
For baby food, it is ideal to use frozen vegetable puree, which, after defrosting, only requires heating. After all, you can freeze not only pumpkin for the winter, but also almost any other vegetables.
You can prepare assorted vegetables according to the following recipe:
- Cut the pumpkin into large chunks.
- Wash the carrots, peel them and cut off the tail.
- Cut the zucchini into two parts.
- Place the vegetables in a preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes at 180°C.
- Cool, separate the pulp from the pumpkin and zucchini, and mix them in approximately the same proportion with the carrots, mash them into a puree using a blender.
- Divide the vegetable puree into portioned yogurt cups and place in the freezer.
How to Freeze Sugar Pumpkin for Desserts
Pumpkin puree is also convenient because you can add various spices to it before freezing, thereby determining its further purpose.
For example, by adding 200 g of sugar to 500 ml of puree, you can get an almost ready-made dessert that can be used independently or for preparing almost any sweet dishes.
You can also add salt, ground black pepper and other spices to the puree to obtain the desired taste, and then use it for any savory dishes.
Some tips for cooking frozen pumpkin
To prepare most hot dishes, frozen pumpkin preparations do not even require special defrosting.
The pieces are simply placed in boiling water, milk or broth and thus brought to readiness.
The only type of frozen pumpkin that often requires thawing is puree. Sometimes you need to defrost grated pumpkin to make the filling. It is better to defrost them in the microwave or in the refrigerator.
Frozen pumpkin can be stored in a freezer at a temperature of -18°C for 10-12 months.
Conclusion
Obviously, freezing pumpkin for the winter at home is not difficult. A wide variety of freezing methods will make it easy to prepare almost any dish from pumpkin in winter, spending a minimum of time.
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