A pumpkin is not bad frozen, if done correctly.
How to prepare a pumpkin for freezing
You can freeze any kind of pumpkin. The main thing that the pumpkin was ripe, but not overripe.
To freeze you need to take a whole pumpkin, and not the cut piece, which for some time lay on the counter or in the refrigerator (even cut off by the hostess herself).
Pumpkin should be without damage, spoiled barrels or rotted (even slightly) tail.
First, wash the pumpkin thoroughly. Then they are cut in half and the internal soft part is scraped out together with the seeds, leaving only firm flesh.
Further act depending on the method of freezing.
How to freeze raw pumpkin
Pumpkin freeze, cut into pieces, which are needed in the process of cooking. For example, if a pumpkin is frozen for manti, then it is cut into small cubes. And if the pumpkin is needed for cooking and further grinding, then it is cut into larger pieces.
Therefore, after the pumpkin is cleaned from the inner inedible part, it is cut off thick skin. Then the pumpkin is cut into plates, and they, in turn, cut into cubes.
Sliced pumpkin laid out on the table and give it a little dry. Then packaged in bags - “at one time” - and put into the freezer.
But this method is not as popular as freezing blanched pumpkin.
How to freeze a blanched pumpkin
Prepared pumpkin cut into cubes.
A small portion of the cut is placed in a colander and dipped in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Then the colander is immediately moved to the pan with cold water for the same time. After this, the pumpkin is laid out on a towel and dried well.
So that the pumpkin pieces are not stuck together in one big lump during freezing, they can be frozen in two steps. First, blanched pumpkin pieces are laid out on a tray in a single layer and placed in a freezer for pre-freezing.
When the pumpkin freezes, it is packaged in small sachets, air is released and sealed. Pumpkin bags are removed in the freezer, not forgetting to sign them before, as the pumpkin can be easily confused with a carrot.
How to freeze pumpkin chopped on a grater
Such a pumpkin is well suited for making fritters or various fillings.
Washed pumpkin peeled, cut in half and remove the seeds with the pulp that surrounds them.
Then the pumpkin is cut into pieces, each rubbed on a medium grater.
Rubbed pumpkin packaged in sachets. In each bag put as much as expected to be used in the preparation of dishes.
Packages tightly closed, give them a flat shape so that they quickly froze through, and put in the freezer.
How to freeze baked pumpkin puree
This puree will appeal not only to children, but also to adults. It can be used for baby food, as well as for the preparation of various dough products, such as muffins or pumpkin buns.
Pumpkin for baking washed, cut in half and remove the soft inside with seeds.
Pumpkin straight with the peel cut into wide slices (like a watermelon) and spread on a baking sheet peeled down. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake the pumpkin for about an hour at a temperature of 180--200 ° C. During this time, the pumpkin will be soft.
Pumpkin get out of the oven and, slightly cooled, free from peel.
The resulting pulp is ground in a blender to a puree state.
Mashed potatoes are laid out in small containers (yoghurt cups, sour cream) or ice cream freezers. Put in the freezer and freeze. When the mash is frozen, it can be taken out of the molds and put into dense plastic bags, tied well and put back into the freezer.
In the same way, mashed potatoes can be prepared from boiled pumpkin. But mashed baked pumpkin turns out much more tasty.
How to thaw frozen pumpkin
Pumpkin puree can be defrosted in a microwave or in a refrigerator.
Pumpkin, cut into pieces, without defrosting, put in boiling water, broth or milk and cook until done.
Since the baked pumpkin is almost a ready dish, it is put in a porridge or other dish at the very end of cooking. Or simply thawed in the microwave, adding to taste sugar, salt, butter or milk.
Frozen pumpkin stored in the freezer for 8-10 months.
