Freezing vegetables allows you to save a large crop and at the same time facilitate homework for cooking. At the right moment, you simply take out a portion of the freeze and use the prescription. Does the pumpkin freeze? Yes, they are freezing. And it can be done in different ways.
Frozen pumpkin is very convenient. It can be used for the first feeding, cooking porridges, casseroles, meat, stews, soups. Pumpkin thanks to its delicate valve and neutral sweet taste is good in any dish and goes well with various spices.
Pumpkin Freeze - General Cooking Principles
Sweet varieties, such as nutmeg, are best used for desserts and sweet cereals. Less sugary crops are suitable for cooking meat dishes.
There are three main ways to freeze pumpkin:
• raw diced;
• ready (boiled, fried, baked) in the form of mashed potatoes;
• raw grated.
Before freezing the pumpkin must be washed and peeled. This can be done with the help of a special knife for cleaning vegetables or ordinary kitchen leather. The core is thrown away: it is not suitable for freezing.
Peeled pumpkin pieces are ground according to the frozen recipe. You can simply cut into small cubes of about 2-3 cm, and you can grate on a fine grater. However, it is important to understand that a large amount of water in a fresh vegetable will remain, and after thawing, the pumpkin pieces will be watery, flabby. In addition, pumpkin, frozen pieces, takes up more space in the freezer than grated or mashed.
To remove excess moisture, the pumpkin can be baked in the oven, and then turned into a puree. Keep it convenient portions. In addition, the finished pumpkin becomes more tasty and sweet, does not require additional cooking. It can be immediately added to the main dish.
Freezing Fresh Pumpkin
A simple and very fast way to prepare a large number of pumpkins for the winter. If the house has a large freezer or several refrigerators, then this method will help to preserve the crop and does not require much time. Ingredients:
• ripe pumpkins - how much you want to freeze.
Cooking Method:
Peeled pieces of pumpkin cut into small cubes with a side of about 2.5 cm.
First, they need to freeze separately from each other - so that the pieces are not in contact with the parties. For this, either a special compartment in the freezer, a baking sheet or a cutting board will do.
The surface of the compartment in the freezer covered with cling film so that the pumpkin does not freeze to the surface.
If a baking sheet or board is used, it must be ensured that their surface is completely dry.
Spread the pumpkin pieces in one layer, making sure that the edges do not touch each other.
Freeze the pumpkin for two hours at a temperature of minus 18 ° or below.
Then, the frozen pieces should be packaged in plastic bags or put into food plastic containers and sent to the freezer for storage.
Freeze baked pumpkin in the form of mashed potatoes
One of the most convenient ways to freeze already finished pumpkin is mashed potatoes. You can simply add it to porridge or dough to get a wonderful, beautiful and healthy dish. How to freeze the pumpkin in this way? First bake in the oven, and then mash.
Ingredients:
• pumpkin weighing 2-3 kilograms;
• tablespoon of vegetable oil.
Cooking Method:
Cut the pumpkin with the peel into “watermelon” slices no more than 3 cm thick.
Cover baking sheet with baking paper, lightly grease with vegetable oil and spread the pieces of pumpkin.
Bake at 160 ° for an hour.
Take out the soft baked pieces of pumpkin and sue a little.
Remove the skin from pumpkin slices, mash them with a blender.
Spread portions into any suitable container. These can be baking or freezing ice, small plastic containers or disposable plastic cups (they can be “sealed” with a piece of foil ”).
After the final freeze, the mashed potatoes can be removed and packaged in packages.
Freeze grated fresh pumpkin
Does the pumpkin freeze freshly shabby? Despite the fact that it turns out a lot of juice, this way of winter harvesting allows you to save a lot of vitamins and not to spoil the appearance of the main dish. Frozen grated pumpkin is an excellent basis for the preparation of healthy cereals, delicious meat pies, sweet pastries. From the mass, you can cook as complex culinary masterpieces, as well as the simplest pumpkin pancakes. How to freeze the pumpkin in such a simple way? Ingredients:
pieces of peeled pumpkin weighing 1-2 kilograms.
Cooking Method:
Prepared pumpkin pieces grated on a grater by hand or using a special nozzle in a meat grinder.
Spread freshly mashed potatoes in plastic bags or plastic containers.
Freeze at low temperature.
Millet porridge with frozen pumpkin
Sweet milk porridge with frozen pumpkin is sure to become a favorite dish not only for kids, but also for adults. Even those who treat a pumpkin with coolness can hardly resist the taste of this simple, rich and beautiful dish.
Ingredients:
• a glass of millet groats;
• two glasses of drinking water;
• two glasses of milk;
• half a cup of frozen pumpkin puree;
• tablespoon butter;
• two tablespoons of sugar;
• half a spoonful of salt.
Cooking Method:
Remove freshly pumpkin or pumpkin puree from the freezer.
While the pumpkin is thawing, boil milk millet porridge. To do this, rinse the millet with cold water and pour into a thick-walled pot or cauldron. (If there is a slow cooker, cook porridge as stated in the instructions for the device).
Pour the millet with the norm of hot water and bring to a boil over medium heat, without closing the lid.
Remove the formed foam, salt the porridge, stir, tightly close the lid and cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes.
Put the pumpkin to the pshenka, mix and simmer for ten minutes under the lid.
Pour the milk, stir and bring to a boil.
As soon as the milk boils, put the butter, turn off the heat and leave the porridge under the lid for 15 minutes.
To make porridge better, you can wrap the pot with a warm towel.
Cottage Cheese Casserole with Frozen Pumpkin and Apples
If the child does not want to eat cottage cheese in any way or does not like pumpkin, try to combine both components and cook a sweet curd-pumpkin casserole with an apple. Such a dish will also be useful in that it needs a sparing diet food or is watching for a figure. The recipe is given for baking in a slow cooker. Ingredients:
• a pound of pumpkin;
• 260 grams of cottage cheese;
• two eggs;
• one apple;
• teaspoon of starch;
• three tablespoons of sugar;
• teaspoon sesame;
• tablespoon of vegetable oil.
Cooking Method:
Remove the finished pumpkin puree from the freezer and defrost.
Cottage cheese rubbed through a sieve or washed with a blender.
Beat the eggs in the foam with sugar.
Combine tender cottage cheese, sweet eggs and pumpkin puree, beat everything again.
Fresh apple grate on a fine grater.
Put starch and applesauce in the curd base, mix everything.
Lubricate the bowl of the multicooker with vegetable oil and pour out the dough.
Sprinkle with sesame.
Bake in baking mode for 45 minutes.
After turning off the device, leave the casserole in the bowl for another 15 minutes without opening the lid.
Remove using steaming grate.
Cut into portions and serve with sour cream, jam or honey.
Meat soup with frozen pumpkin
Delicious, easy and very beautiful in serving pork soup with slices of frozen pumpkin - just the right dish for a cold winter. Instead of pork, you can take beef or poultry.
Ingredients:
• two hundred grams of pork lean flesh;
• two hundred grams of frozen diced pumpkin;
• two liters of water;
• medium bulb;
• two tablespoons of vegetable oil;
• medium carrot;
• three potatoes;
• fresh or dried herbs;
• two cloves of garlic.
Cooking Method:
Meat wash, dry and cut into small pieces of 1.5 -2 cm.
Bulb shred.
Grate carrots on the coarse side of the grater.
Heat the oil in a skillet and toss the onion.
Fry for three minutes, then add carrots. Fry the onions and carrots together for another three minutes.
Put the meat in the frying. Stir for five minutes, fry the pork pieces, then pour half a glass of water, cover with a lid and simmer for twenty minutes.
To boil water.
While the water boils, peel and chop the potatoes.
In boiled water, throw potatoes, meat, frozen pumpkin cubes.
Wait for the second boil and cook the soup until the potatoes are ready. Finely chop the dill and parsley.
Crushed peeled garlic cloves with a knife.
Toss the greens and garlic into the finished soup, let it stand for 10 minutes and serve.
Freezing Pumpkin - Tips and Tips
For freezing, only perfectly healthy fruits without black spots are suitable. If they are purchased, pay attention to the presence of the tail. The fact is that the pumpkin starts to rot from this side, so sellers can simply cut off the tail to hide the damage.
Does the pumpkin freeze in other ways than those listed above? Yes, you can freeze the blanched pieces. We must act according to the first recipe, but before the primary freezing on a flat surface the pumpkin prepared cubes need to be put in a colander and immersed in boiling water for two minutes. Then dry and freeze according to the main recipe.
Pumpkin seeds do not need to throw away, they are very useful. Pumpkin seeds can be washed, blotted with a napkin and dried in the oven at 50 °.
Frozen pumpkin stored for a year.
To give the finished baby puree, the pumpkin must be thawed in the refrigerator. For example, get out of the freezer in the evening, leave overnight, and feed in the morning or afternoon. Preheat before feeding.
