How to freeze the pumpkin for the winter at home is correct: slices or in the form of mashed potatoes?

A pumpkin is not only an integral element of design and decor on the Halloween holiday and an improvised attribute from which the fairy godmother can conjure a carriage to Cinderella.

It is a useful and nutritious product, which also has a long shelf life even in room conditions.

Best of all, this vegetable is stored in a dark, protected from light (5-15 ° C) and spacious room (pumpkin fruits are quite large, and it is advisable to store them so that they do not touch each other), for example, in a cellar.

Is it possible to freeze the pumpkin in the freezer? The smallest storage method is dried and dried pumpkin. Dried in the oven at a temperature of 50-60 ° C or an electric dryer, pieces of pumpkin are stacked in an airtight container, put on parchment paper, and can be stored for almost a year.

On the possibility of storing pumpkins at home, read on our website. But The most popular method of harvesting pumpkins for the future is freezing.

Training

How to freeze the pumpkin for the winter at home? One of the stages of preparing pumpkins for storage, of course, is harvesting. Choosing a ripe fruit without visible damage. Carefully washed vegetable cut in half and remove the seeds (and then dry the seeds separately or fry them in the oven, turning it into a useful treat). Next, we act depending on the chosen method of freezing.

If you decide to freeze raw (slices or grated strips), you must first clean the pumpkin.

The peel of this vegetable is quite dense, so first cut off the top and bottom of the fruit with a knife, and then, setting it vertically on a cutting board, completely peel off the skin.

Peeled vegetable can also be blanched for a couple of 7-15 minutes.. And if you cook mashed potatoes (tastes best from baked pumpkin), then it is better to separate hard peel from tasty pulp after baking (the pulp is easily scraped with a metal spoon).

Ways of cutting

Very small pumpkins can be cut into quarters or even halves. Large fruits are cut into slices 3 centimeters thick (they can be frozen in this form, or used for further preparation of mashed potatoes) or cubes. Next, cut into cubes with a side of 1-2 centimeters or grind grated.

When frozen in slices, chopped pumpkin is placed in a single layer on a flat surface (baking sheet, cutting board, or polyethylene laid directly in the freezer) so that the pieces do not touch each other, otherwise they stick together. After a couple of hours, when the cubes are well frozen, you can dump them in a container for further storage (plastic container, plastic bag).

Packaging and storage

How to freeze the pumpkin for storage? There is nothing difficult in this procedure, the main thing is to choose containers that are convenient for storage.

Usually handy containers are used.:

1. Plastic containers (special containers, yogurt containers, sour cream, etc.).
2. Plastic bags, ordinary or special with a latch.
3. Any suitable size can be used.

If we pack up mashed potatoes, then it is very convenient to put the bag in any container with hard sides (for example, a plastic bucket) before filling, and then transfer (or pour) pumpkin purée into a bag that is shaped like a spoon.

The bucket reliably supports the shapeless bag and it becomes much more convenient to place flowing mashed potatoes in it.

Then we let the air out of the bag, leaving some space for a possible extension of the pumpkin, knot it, pull it out of our form and attach a flat shape to the knotted bag. So its contents will freeze faster and will be stored more compactly.

Prepared and cooled pumpkin puree is also pre-frozen.:

• Freezing ice cubes or silicone for baking. After curing, the resulting frozen portions are placed in a large bag or container for long-term storage.
• Plastic cups. After freezing, their contents can be removed and folded into a common large container or package. Or cover each cup with foil and then keep it in this form.

Prepared packaging for convenience sign, indicating the name of the product and the date of packaging. And then placed in a freezer and stored until use. Can I keep a pumpkin in the freezer for a long time?

One way to freeze pumpkins for the winter in this video:

For baby food

Is it possible to freeze the pumpkin for the winter for baby puree? Pumpkin has a pleasant sweet taste and therefore like kids. It is well absorbed and especially useful in the treatment and prevention of constipation.. Contains vitamins of group B, magnesium, beta-carotene, iron, and also phosphorus, silicon, vitamin C, carotene, glucose, and of course, vitamin D, preventing the occurrence of rickets.

How to freeze a pumpkin for feeding? Pumpkin for prikorma can be frozen both separately and as part of a vegetable mixture by adding diced zucchini, broccoli, carrots (we cut it smaller than the other ingredients, since it is cooked a little longer). Having defrosted, it will be possible to make mashed potatoes from such a mixture, and then, when the child is older, vegetable stew with the addition of meat and fish.

Is it possible to freeze the pumpkin for the winter baked? From the baked pumpkin you can immediately make mashed potatoes and freeze in separate portions. This is especially convenient in order to save time, since no further processing of the product after defrosting is required.

Frozen pumpkin for the winter is a great addition to cereals, especially oatmeal, millet, rice and even semolina (we add pumpkin cubes during cooking without defrosting, and put puree at the very end of cooking), a good baking ingredient (cakes, muffins, muffins, cookies, various fillings).

Grated pumpkin is good to add in casseroles and stews, soups, borscht, burgers. Just cooked from the pumpkin pudding. Pumpkin can be dried, and dried pumpkin seeds are also very useful.

You can find out how to dry the seeds and dry the pumpkin on our website.

So that the pumpkin slices do not become too watery and flabby after defrosting, Before freezing, you need to give them a little dry in the open air, and even better to dry them in the oven. In this case, they will become sweeter.

The most compact storage option for pumpkins is mashed potatoes, frozen in layers in bags. In addition, this product after defrosting will no longer require processing.

It is possible to freeze in the form of mashed potatoes for baby food not only pumpkin, but also various other vegetables. For example, zucchini, rhubarb, celery, green peas, cauliflower, broccoli, spring carrots, spinach.

As well as fruits: apricots, peaches, plums, pears, apples. And you can cook and a combined mashed potatoes, for example, apple with the addition of blueberries, strawberries, currants or raspberries.

Recipes

Pumpkin frozen raw (quarters, slices, cubes, grated) or pre-thermally treated (stewed, blanched or boiled), most often chopped to a state of mashed potatoes.

Freeze mashed potatoes:

1. We cut the vegetable in half, and then into slices, which we bake in the oven at 180-200 ° C for about an hour.
2. Metal spoon, scrape the baked flesh and grind. Sugar, salt and other spices are not added.
3. When the pumpkin cools down, spoon it in portions for freezing.

How to freeze pumpkin for the winter pieces? Freeze cubes for storage:

• Put the pumpkin into slices of the same size on a flat surface in a single layer so that the pieces do not touch each other.
• Place for a couple of hours in the freezer.
• Frosted to a solid state, vegetable cubes poured into prepared plastic bags.

Is the pumpkin frozen for the winter grated, and how? Freeze the grated pumpkin as follows:

1. We clean the vegetable, cut into large bars, and then grind them on a grater.
2. We pack up with a spoon in portion packages.

This pumpkin is particularly suitable for baking.

Useful tips:

1. Dishes served in a pumpkin look very impressive.
2. To get rid of excess moisture when frying, you can pre-salt the prepared pieces of pumpkin and leave for a couple of hours, and then blot with a paper towel.
3. In pumpkin dishes it is useful to add milk and butter, contributing to better absorption of fat-soluble beta-carotene, which pumpkin is rich in.

Is it possible to freeze the pumpkin for the winter wet? Vacuum freeze raw pumpkin in this video:

Pumpkin is beautiful, tasty and healthy. Great for baby and diet food.. In Russia, this vegetable imported from America has been known since the 16th century, 300 years earlier than potatoes. And won himself an excellent reputation.

If you do not know what can be cooked from frozen pumpkin, we will help you. We have prepared for you a series of recipes for tasty and healthy pumpkin dishes: pancakes, pancakes, muffins, casseroles, first courses and saute, vegetable and meat stews, cereals and salads, as well as fillings for pies and various sauces.

So, the stock, albeit small, of this wonderful vegetable is needed in every home.

Watch the video: Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe (May 2024).