Freezing zucchini for the winter

Frozen vegetables are a good alternative to canned foods: vitamins are best preserved in this form, so their role in the winter is huge.

Freezing zucchini for the winter

Consider how to pour zucchini for the winter at home. We reveal the secrets of experienced housewives.

The benefits of frozen zucchini

Zucchini is very useful for normalizing the water-salt balance in the body by removing excess liquids. Due to the content of a large number of irreplaceable elements and vitamins, it is used for many diseases.

Proper freezing of zucchini for the winter will ensure that the fruit remains healthy until spring.

Nutritionists conducted numerous studies, during which it turned out that they are one of the most inexpensive and reliable sources of important substances for the body during the winter: vitamins A, B1, B2, C, PP, trace elements minerals (including potassium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, zinc, sodium).

Important information

Frozen zucchini can only be harmful to the body one case – during thawing and repeated freezing. Once thawed vegetables deteriorate when exposed to air.

How to choose zucchini

Proper preparation for laying for winter storage is very important.

Of course, the best option for freezing there will be home-grown fruits, but if they are not, you need to make zucchini selection.

• They must be young – this can be seen by the thin peel, with small seeds inside.
• The color may be any: green, white, yellow. The main condition is that everyone should be fresh, whole, clean, with a shiny skin, without scratches, stains, rotted places.

Only in this case, the prepared vegetables will preserve vitamins and form in a freezer on throughout the winter.

Sluggish, long-harvested vegetables are not good, the same applies to immature or overripe.

The next step for proper selection is to pierce the peel: if zucchini is good, the peel is soft and easy to pierce.The hard and hard layer of the skin indicates too much fibrous flesh.

General rules for freezing

Vegetables for freezing must be prepared

To properly freeze zucchini, you need to prepare them:

• thoroughly wash;
• spread on a clean napkin and dry with a paper towel (excessive moisture on the surface is not needed) or wipe each fruit well;
• cut the tails.

There is another option blanching – hold the vegetables in boiling water for a couple of minutes. You need to put next to a pot of boiling and a container of cold water. Cut the zucchini into small pieces, put in a colander in boiling water, remove after 2 minutes and immerse in a container to cool. Spread the pieces to dry.

If someone doubts the taste of the workpieces obtained by this method, you can simply blanch the sliced ​​zucchini for about 3 minutes, spread out and completely cool them. Then they are ready to be packed and put in the freezer.

Useful tips

Young zucchini can be left in the skin for the winter. They usually don’t have seeds, but if they are found, the pulp will need to be removed.

If fruits with a thick and rough skin are caught, they must be cleaned, the pulp and seeds must be removed.

Methods of harvesting

You can freeze home zucchini for the winter in different ways: fresh and fried. Let’s consider the main ones.

In circles

This method is suitable for lovers of fried zucchini and casseroles.

Before final freezing, you must first prepare them: cover the board with plastic wrap, spread the rings 1-1.5 cm thick. Put in this form in the freezer until completely freezing.

This is done to preserve the shape of the circles so that they do not freeze to each other and break.

Pull out, pack in bags or containers, lay back until preparation.

Diced

Dice freezing is convenient to use

This preparation is convenient to use in the winter for soup and stew.

Cut the zucchini into cubes (1-2 cm). Before spreading into packets, blot the juice that appears on the slices with a paper towel.

Pack a little (in such portions that it is enough for once). You can put them in bags, tightly tying them, or in containers, closing them with lids. Place in the freezer.

There should be no air in the bags. Spread the bags into a flat layer – this will provide a quick cold coverage.

Grated

This method of freezing zucchini requires the use of a medium grater. Grate them, drain the escaping liquid, distribute in a container and put into the chamber.

You can mix with grated carrots – you get a ready-made mass for vegetable pancakes.

With rice

In combination with fiber of zucchini, rice is able to provide energy to the body.

Harvesting rules:

• 1 tbsp of washed rice, cook in salted water until half cooked .
• Heat oil in a cauldron, fry 1 kg of onion in it, add rice, 1 kg of fresh zucchini, cut into small pieces, add salt, spices to your preference.
• Stew for half an hour, with a lid.
• Put the completely cooled mass in a container, put in the freezer.

When fried

You can also stock fried zucchini. You’ll get a ready-made dish that remains to be heated in the microwave.

To do this, cut the vegetables into circles, add salt, dip in flour, and fry in vegetable oil. Put in a colander, drain excess liquid from vegetables. Leave to cool completely.

Pack in prepared containers, close tightly, tie, place in the freezer.

Puree

Puree from zucchini is good for babies

For a child it is best to freeze it in the form of squash puree: it is good for newborns, has a beneficial effect on the digestive tract.

Prepared vegetables are cut into cubes, blanched in boiling water until almost ready, spread on a colander to drain the liquid. Grind to the consistency of mashed potatoes in a blender.

Puree the mashed potatoes in portions into containers, tightly close, place in the freezer. In this form, mashed potatoes can be stored from 8 to 10 months. You cannot defrost and freeze again.

For babies it is advisable to prepare mashed potatoes separately, making it from the youngest vegetables – it will be more tender.

Entirely

Young, tender vegetables of small sizes are perfectly acceptable to use as a whole. Of course, they take up a lot of space in the freezer. This must be taken into account.

In regions where the temperature is kept below 10 ° C for a longer time of the year, you can store frozen products on the glacier, in the basement of the house, etc.

How to defrost properly

Many housewives generally prefer not to defrost vegetables, but to use them immediately in dishes.

If necessary, unfreeze a bag or container on a refrigerator shelf, in room.

In the process, the workpiece emits liquid – it needs to be drained. This is done with mashed potatoes, zucchini cubes, small cubes.

Vegetables are lightly loosened in circles and fried in the usual way, roll them in flour or batter.

Period of storage

If you freeze fresh zucchini for the winter, they will be perfectly stored in the freezer at -12 ° C; – 18 ° C and in the freezer at -24 ° C; –26 ° C. Billets can be kept for up to 10 months.

The only requirement is that you don’t need to repeat the procedure again.

For housewives who prepared supplies using canning only, freezing became even more popular in application.

Firstly, making them is much easier: it takes less time, effort, money.

Secondly, canned fruits retain much less beneficial properties. And frozen ones will provide vitamin organism mi and micronutrients.