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To preserve vitamins and nutrients, the optimal method for preparing vegetables is freezing. In this case, all the benefits and nutrients are preserved as much as possible. To freeze beets storing it in the freezer for the winter means preparing the root vegetable for the entire cold period for use in a variety of dishes.
Is it possible to freeze beets for the winter?
In order to have access to the benefits of the product in winter, freezing is the best option. You can freeze beets, grated, for the winter or the whole root vegetable. Another advantage of freezing is the significant time savings. When harvesting using canning, the housewife can spend a huge amount of time on heat treatment and preparing beets for storage.
If you save the vegetable without any heat treatment, but simply lay it out to the cellar or basement, then over time the crop will wither and lose its appearance.
It is important to select the right product for freezing. It must be a healthy vegetable, without signs of mold, rot, and without external damage. You can freeze beets for the winter to have access to vitamins all year round.
What containers are best to freeze beets in?
For ideal preservation, it is optimal to freeze the beets in the freezer in portioned containers. Then you won't have to freeze and defrost several times. vegetables. This negatively affects the preservation of nutrients. Therefore, a plastic container for freezing is considered optimal, as well as a plastic bag that will hold exactly one portion for one use.
What is the best way to freeze beets: boiled or raw?
The best way to freeze beets in the freezer for the winter depends on what they are intended to be used for. For example, for borscht it is better to prepare the root vegetable in grated form, raw, and for vinaigrette - immediately cut into cubes and boiled.
If there is no exact information about how the root vegetable will be used, then it is optimal to freeze it whole and raw. You can also freeze boiled beets, and then take them out in the winter and quickly cut them as needed for a salad or other culinary masterpiece. In any case, it’s faster than canning vegetables.
How to freeze raw beets
There are several ways to freeze raw food. But in any case, you first need to peel and wash the root vegetable. Only then can you choose exactly how to freeze the raw vegetable.Freezing boiled beets for the winter includes a large number of recipes.
How to freeze beets, cut into strips, at home for the winter
To freeze in the form of straws, you need to wash and peel the root vegetable. Then it should be cut into thin strips. This can be done using a knife, as well as a special attachment in a food processor. This will significantly save the housewife’s time and effort.
After this, all the straws must be placed in a bag with a special lock and as much air as possible must be released. In order not to confuse the preparations in winter, it is recommended to write “raw beets” on the bag, as well as put the exact date of packaging and freezing.
Is it possible to freeze beets whole?
You can freeze raw and boiled beets in the freezer whole. But in this case, it is recommended not to peel the product, not to cut off the tops and tails, this way the vegetable will be better preserved and will not waste its nutrients.
If you take out such a root vegetable in winter and boil it in an acidified liquid, the color will be preserved, and you can also give it the cut shape that the dish suggests. It can be frozen entirely if the housewife does not know exactly where it can be placed later.
Is it possible to freeze grated beets for the winter?
Many housewives prefer to immediately prepare grated root vegetables. This is very convenient, especially for borscht. It is important to maintain proportions and freeze exactly as much vegetable in one bag as is used at a time. Most housewives rub the workpiece when freezing. If the harvest turns out to be large, then you can use a food processor to grate for freezing.This technique will allow you to grate a large amount of root vegetables and at the same time keep your kitchen work area clean. When grinding a root vegetable through a grater, numerous splashes may occur.
To prevent your hands from turning a bright beet color, it is better to grind the vegetable while wearing disposable or medical gloves. It is also recommended to cover all cutlery where splashes may occur during rubbing. In this case, after preparation, you won’t have to wash the kitchen or do general cleaning.
Is it possible to freeze boiled beets?
For freezing, not only fresh root vegetables are used, but also boiled ones. This is very convenient if the vegetable is going to be used in the preparation of salads, vinaigrettes, as well as New Year’s herring under a fur coat. You can freeze boiled beets if you don’t want to spend a lot of time preparing the dish. But such a preparation can only be used in those dishes where the product is cooked and only in the cut in which the vegetable was prepared. It is often more profitable to freeze the boiled root vegetable whole, so that you can then cut it as needed.
Freeze as puree
First of all, the root vegetable must be boiled. To prevent it from losing its color, you should not cut off the rhizomes, as well as the tops. Only after cooking can the product be peeled and cut into pieces. This is the best option for those who do not want to tinker separately just before preparing a dish. A cooled boiled vegetable is different in that it is much easier to clean.
It is better for families with children to preserve boiled vegetables in the form of puree. Freezing red beets is convenient for preparing children's vegetable dishes. Often this dish, especially with the addition of garlic, is also liked by adults.To prepare the puree, you need to boil the root vegetable and then peel it. Then you will need a blender to prepare the puree.
After the entire vegetable has been processed into puree, it must be put into bags and the packaging date must be signed. The next step is to put it in the freezer.
Is it possible to freeze boiled beets whole?
If desired, freeze the boiled vegetable whole. To do this, you need to follow a simple algorithm:
- Select healthy root vegetables.
- Wash them thoroughly with a brush.
- Boil in acidified water.
- After checking readiness, cool the root vegetable.
- Divide into freezer bags.
- Sign and put in the freezer.
In winter, you can simply take it out of the refrigerator, defrost it, and cut it as desired for a ready-made dish.
Is it possible to freeze boiled beets for vinaigrette?
Preserving the product for vinaigrette differs only in how it is cut. All other stages of the preparation remain the same: wash, boil, cool, and then freeze. For vinaigrette, the vegetable must be cut into cubes before freezing.
Is it possible to freeze boiled beets, grated?
In this way, the preparation for some salads is frozen. The cooking process is still the same, starting with washing. Then the root vegetable is boiled, although you can bake the whole thing in the oven. After cooking, the vegetable should be cooled and peeled. Only then is the root vegetable grated using a coarse or medium grater, depending on the housewife’s preferences.
How to defrost beets correctly
Defrosting methods depend on the type in which it was frozen:
- Boiled version. The product must be thawed at room temperature immediately before adding to a dish or before consumption.The plus section of the refrigerator is also excellent for defrosting.
- Raw look. If the product subsequently requires heat treatment, then it must be boiled without defrosting. This is due to the fact that a frozen product cooks much faster. Therefore, it is better to cook a whole raw frozen product immediately after the freezer, without subjecting it to the defrosting process. But to preserve the color, you still need to add citric or acetic acid to the water.
But in any case, the product cannot be defrosted several times, since this way it loses its valuable nutrients. That is why it must be frozen in portions, so that everything that is defrosted can be used at one time.
Terms and rules for storing frozen beets
According to the rules, the shelf life of frozen beets is 8 months. This means that if the freezer is of sufficient size, the family will be supplied with vitamins until next year, for the entire cold period. It is important that the product is packaged in portions and does not have to be defrosted. Then 90% of all nutrients will be preserved. Freezing beets in the freezer will help preserve all their nutritional value and extend their shelf life. The best option would be to store it in a quick freezer. In this case, the camera should be turned on a couple of hours before placing the packages with the workpiece there. Then the effect will be much more noticeable.
Conclusion
You can freeze beets for the winter in the freezer in any form. It all depends on the preferences of the housewife and how the product will be used in the winter. In any case, initially you need to take healthy, small root vegetables, with tops and roots. It is not recommended to take a product with a lot of hairs - it is considered too harsh.After freezing, you should remember that in order to preserve nutrients, it is necessary to defrost the product correctly and strictly use everything that is defrosted.
