Shock is the best way to freeze

Currants and mushrooms, bell peppers and eggplants, raspberries and cranberries – how we want to keep this variety for the long winter. Luckily there are refrigerators with large freezers in which you can freeze all that. But sometimes when you take out a frozen bag with something inside it in winter you are disappointed: you dreamed about something totally different… And in order to preserve both vitamins and appearance of food you should learn how to freeze and thaw them properly, moreover there is nothing complicated about it.

Every vegetable has its place

The best freezing results can be obtained by following certain rules for freezing foodstuffs. Here are some of them.

General rules

– It is necessary to freeze very quickly – at temperatures below -25 ° C, and to defrost slowly..

– The initial temperature of the food is of great importance for the speed and quality of freezing. The optimum value is 0 ° C. For this reason it is advisable to chill them in a refrigerator as much as possible before freezing.

Berries

They need to be washed except raspberries and strawberries , and then evenly spread out on a towel that absorbs moisture well. Freeze dried fruit in an even layer on a tray, freeze in the “quick freeze” mode and then put them in a bag or put them in a container.

But to defrost berries, if you want to preserve their appearance, it’s better to do it in the fridge at +3 … +4 °C. If you are going to make a morsel, you can add sugar, a little hot water to the frozen berries, beat everything with a blender and add cold boiled water to the berry mass.

If you want to use berries for decorating the cake, it is better not to defrost them, but spread them directly on the cake. It soaks up all the juice and becomes even more delicious.

Fruit

Need to remove pips from apricots, peaches and plums. If necessary, cut the fruit into pieces of the size that will be needed for eating. But don’t grind them too much: more juice will leak out and the result will be worse.

Dip them in boiling water for 30-40 seconds, then immerse in cold water for a minute and pat dry on a towel. Then it’s business as usual: cool, freeze quickly – preferably on a pallet, transfer to bags or containers, sign – and go until winter!

Mushrooms

Food bags that are sent to the freezer should be signed, preferably with an indelible marker. Do not forget to put the starting date of freezing! These simple steps will make your life a lot easier in winter and allow you to eat all the summer goodies in time.

You can freeze almost all types of edible mushrooms, both raw and boiled, stewed or fried.

Fresh mushrooms can be frozen both whole and sliced, the main thing is that they should be washed, cleaned and dry.

To freeze raw mushrooms it is better to use a special pallet, and then carefully put the frozen mushrooms in a bag or a container.

It is better to freeze stewed mushrooms: they take up less space during storage, and you can cook them in winter faster. But they have a shorter shelf life than raw mushrooms.

To freeze stewed mushrooms: put them portion by portion in small containers or thick bags small portions freeze faster and better, and it’s easier to prepare portioned briquettes , cool in the refrigerator, and then freeze.

No need to defrost: preheat a pan with oil, turn the heat down, put the frozen mushrooms in it and cover the pan.

Vegetables

It is recommended that vegetables berries and fruits can also be blanched before freezing – put them in boiling water for a few minutes. This will not only make it more compact to put, for example, bell peppers in the freezer, but will also preserve color, flavor, and nutritional properties.

Beets are best frozen in boiled form, then they need to be peeled, sliced or grated you can freeze them whole, if they are small . Refrigerate and freeze in a small, narrow container.

First, Dollars the eggplants with salt, leave them for half an hour, pour off the liquid that has formed, cut them into circles or large squares, fry them in butter, cool them, freeze on a pallet, and then put them into containers, sign them and put them away.

Terms of storage of frozen food in the freezer compartment

Apricots, cherries, currants, gooseberries, plums, rhubarb, raspberries, strawberries – 8-12 months.

Tomatoes – 3-6 months.

Peppers – 4-6 months.

Cauliflower – 6-8 months.

Raw mushrooms – 6-12 months.

Green peas, beans – 8-12 months.