Probably there is not a single person who does not like peaches. It is a pity that the peach is a thermophilic plant and you will not find it with fire in the cold season!
But peaches are not only tasty, but also useful.
Useful Properties of Peaches
- Peaches have glucose, sugar, fructose, pectins, malic, citric and tartaric acid.
- Peaches are rich in vitamins C, B, A.
- Thanks to peaches, fatty foods are digested faster.
- Peach juice is recommended for heart rhythm disorders, stomach disorders, with low acidity, and for constipation.
- Peaches, especially hollow fruit nectarines, are rich in compounds of phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, silicon.
Which peaches can be frozen
Ripe but not soft peaches are suitable for freezing. The taste of peaches also matters. After all, if fresh peaches are sour, tasteless or bitter, then in a frozen form, these qualities will only increase.
For example, the early Kiev variety possesses good taste and juicy pulp. But when overripe these peaches are bitter. And the bone is bad from the pulp is separated.
American peaches of the Beautiful variety (Belle of Georgia) have medium dense white flesh with high sugar content. In these peaches, the bone is well separated from the pulp.
Elbert's peaches are different in appearance. They are heavily pubescent, so they recommend removing the skin before freezing.
Yubileiny peach variety is considered a dessert canned variety. It has a white, dense, cartilaginous consistency pulp, which also has good taste.
Preparing peaches for freezing
Hollow peaches - nectarines - are washed in cold water, spread on a towel and dried, gently soaking with paper napkins.
- It is desirable to remove the peel from the pubescent peaches. To do this, a cross-cut is made on the skin of a peach, then they are in turn dipped in boiling water for several seconds with the help of a skimmer, and then immediately placed in cold water. Quickly peel off.
- Then the peaches are cut in half with a sharp knife and the bone is removed.
- Halves cut into slices or left as is.
- The flesh of peaches in the air most often darkens. To avoid this, slices of peaches are immediately immersed in acidified water (10 grams of citric acid per 1 liter of water) and kept for about a minute. Then spread on the sieve and wait until all the water is drained.
How to freeze sliced peaches without skin
- Slices of peaches are laid out on a tray covered with parchment or polyethylene so that they do not touch each other.
- The tray is sent to the freezer for a few hours. During this time, slices of peaches will harden.
- Frozen peaches are packaged in batches into packages, without fear that they will stick together, and put them in the freezer.
How to freeze halves of nectarines
- Nectarines are washed and gently wiped with paper napkins.
- Fruits are cut with a sharp knife and the bone is removed.
- If the slight darkening of the peach pulp does not embarrass, then the peaches can be not processed in a solution of citric acid. Moreover, not all of it is shown. Some hostesses use ascorbic acid or even aspirin instead of citric acid. But after all, aspirin is a medicine, and even in low concentrations it can cause unpleasant consequences. Therefore, it is best to leave the peaches in their natural form.
- So ... The halves of nectarines are laid out on the tray with the pulp upward at a short distance from each other and sent to the freezer for the initial freezing.
- Then the frozen peaches are packed in plastic bags, the air is released from them, tied up and put away in a freezer.
How to freeze peaches with sugar
- Prepared peaches are cut into slices and put into plastic containers, sprinkling each layer with a small amount of sugar.
- Then close tightly with lids and clean to freeze.
How to freeze peaches in sugar syrup
Peaches are suitable for freezing in the syrup, which slightly overhanged or let in the juice during cutting.
- First, prepare a syrup at the rate of 300-400 grams of sugar per 600 ml of water.
- Sliced peaches (with or without skin, treated with citric acid or in its original form) are laid out in small containers and filled with syrup, not topping up to the edge by 1 cm.
- Peaches are kept in syrup for several hours (if you don’t have time, you can skip this moment), close with lids and place in a freezer.
How to freeze peach puree
If peaches are perespered and not suitable for freezing slices, they can be frozen in a mashed potatoes.
- Pure peaches free from seeds.
- If the peaches are pubescent, then before that it is necessary to remove the skin.
- Then the peaches are ground in a blender, sugar is added to taste and poured into batch containers.
- Containers are capped or tied with polyethylene and put into the freezer.
How to freeze whole peaches (nectarines)
If the nectarines are strong, without damage and sweet, then you can freeze them entirely.
Some housewives clean and well dried peaches are wrapped in white paper - each peach separately. Then the peaches packed in this way are folded in a plastic bag and put into the freezer. Hostesses believe that after slow defrosting in the refrigerator, and not completely, such peaches are no worse than fresh ones.
How to defrost peaches
Peaches are thawed just like any frozen products — in the refrigerator or at room temperature, avoiding quick defrosting.
If slices of peaches are needed for the filling, then such peaches are best used frozen.
