Freezing vegetables allows you to save a large crop and at the same time facilitate the homework of cooking. At the right time, you just take out a portion of the freeze and use it with a prescription. Are pumpkins frozen? Yes, they freeze. And you can do this in different ways.
Pumpkin freezing is very convenient. It can be used for the first feeding, cooking cereals, casseroles, meat, stews, soups. Pumpkin thanks to its delicate armature and neutral sweet taste is good in any dish and goes well with different spices.
Pumpkin Freezing - General Cooking Principles
Sweet varieties, such as nutmeg pumpkin, 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 cubes;
• finished (boiled, fried, baked) in the form of mashed potatoes;
• raw grated.
Before freezing, the pumpkin needs to be washed and peeled. This can be done using a special knife for peeling vegetables or ordinary kitchen leather. Throw out the core: it is not suitable for freezing.
The peeled pieces of pumpkin are ground according to the recipe for freezing. You can just cut into small cubes of about 2-3 cm, or 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, pumpkin slices will be watery, flabby. In addition, pumpkin frozen in slices takes up more space in the freezer than grated or pureed.
To remove excess moisture, the pumpkin can be baked in the oven and then mashed. It is convenient to store it in portions. In addition, the finished pumpkin becomes more delicious and sweet, does not require additional cooking. It can be immediately added to the main course.
Freezing Fresh Pumpkins
A simple and very quick 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 maintain the harvest and will not require much time.
Ingredients:
• ripe pumpkins - how much you want to freeze.
Cooking method:
Cut the peeled pieces of pumpkin into small cubes with a side of about 2.5 cm.
First they need to be frozen separately from each other - so that the pieces do not touch the sides. To do this, either a special compartment in the freezer, or a baking sheet or cutting board will do.
The compartment surface in the freezer is covered with cling film so that the pumpkin does not freeze to the surface.
If a baking sheet or board is used, make sure that their surface is completely dry.
Lay out pumpkin slices 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 lower.
Then pack frozen pieces in plastic bags or lay in food-grade plastic containers and send them to the freezer for storage.
Frozen baked pumpkin in the form of mashed potatoes
One of the most convenient ways to freeze a ready-made pumpkin is mashed potatoes. It can simply be added to porridge or dough to get a wonderful, beautiful and healthy dish. How to freeze a pumpkin in this way? First bake in the oven, and then mashed.
Ingredients:
• pumpkin weighing 2-3 kilograms;
• a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
Cooking method:
Cut the pumpkin and peel into “watermelon” slices no more than 3 cm thick.
Cover the baking sheet with baking paper, lightly grease with vegetable oil and arrange the pieces of pumpkin.
Bake at 160 ° for an hour.
Take out the soft baked pieces of pumpkin and sit a little.
Peel pumpkin slices and mash them with a blender.
Arrange portionwise in any suitable container. It can be molds for baking or freezing ice, small plastic containers or disposable plastic cups (they can be "sealed with a piece of foil").
After the final freezing, you can remove the mashed potatoes from the molds and pack them in bags.
Freezing grated fresh pumpkin
Are pumpkins frozen in freshly mashed form? Despite the fact that it turns out a lot of juice, it is this way of winter harvesting that allows you to save a lot of vitamins and not spoil the appearance of the main dish. Frozen grated pumpkin is an excellent basis for making healthy cereals, delicious meat pies, and sweet pastries. From the mass, you can cook both complex culinary masterpieces and simple pumpkin pancakes. How to freeze a pumpkin in such a simple way?
Ingredients:
pieces of peeled pumpkin weighing 1-2 kilograms.
Cooking method:
Grate the prepared pumpkin slices manually or using a special nozzle in a meat grinder.
Arrange freshly mashed puree in plastic bags or plastic containers.
Freeze at low temperature.
Millet porridge with frozen pumpkin
Sweet milk porridge with frozen pumpkin will certainly become a favorite dish not only for kids, but also for adults. Even those who are fond of pumpkin are unlikely to resist the taste of this simple, satisfying and beautiful dish.
Ingredients:
• a glass of millet groats;
• two glasses of drinking water;
• two glasses of milk;
• half a glass of frozen pumpkin puree;
• a tablespoon of butter;
• two tablespoons of sugar;
• half a teaspoon of salt.
Cooking method:
Remove grated fresh pumpkin or ready-made pumpkin puree from the freezer.
While the pumpkin is thawing, boil millet porridge. To do this, rinse millet with cold water and pour it into a thick-walled pan or cauldron. (If there is a slow cooker, cook porridge as described in the instructions for the device).
Pour millet with the norm of hot water and bring to a boil over medium heat, without closing the lid.
Remove the resulting foam, salt the porridge, stir, tightly close the lid and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
Put the pumpkin to the millet, mix and simmer for about ten minutes under the lid.
Pour in milk, mix 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 porridge better stew, you can wrap the pan with a warm towel.
Cottage cheese casserole with frozen pumpkin and apples
If the child doesn’t want to eat cottage cheese or doesn’t like pumpkin, try to combine both components and prepare a sweet cottage cheese-pumpkin casserole with an apple. Such a dish will also be useful because it needs sparing dietary nutrition or keeps an eye on your figure. The recipe is for baking in a slow cooker.
Ingredients:
• a pound of pumpkin;
• 260 grams of cottage cheese;
• two eggs;
• one apple;
• a teaspoon of starch;
• three tablespoons of sugar;
• a teaspoon of sesame;
• a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
Cooking method:
Remove the finished pumpkin puree from the freezer and thaw.
Rub the cottage cheese through a sieve or rinse with a blender.
Beat the eggs in a froth with sugar.
Combine tender cottage cheese, sweet eggs and pumpkin puree, beat everything again.
Grate a fresh apple.
Put starch and applesauce in the curd base, mix everything.
Lubricate the multicooker bowl with vegetable oil and lay out the dough.
Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Bake in baking mode for 45 minutes.
After turning off the appliance, leave the casserole in the bowl for another 15 minutes without opening the lid.
Pull out using the wire rack.
Cut in portions and serve with sour cream, jam or honey.
Frozen Pumpkin Meat Soup
Delicious, light and very beautiful pork soup served with slices of frozen pumpkin is just the dish you need for a cold winter. Instead of pork, you can take beef or poultry.
Ingredients:
• two hundred grams of pork lean meat;
• two hundred grams of frozen pumpkin cubes;
• two liters of water;
• medium onion;
• two tablespoons of vegetable oil;
• medium carrots;
• three potatoes;
• fresh or dried greens;
• two cloves of garlic.
Cooking method:
Wash the meat, dry and cut into small pieces of 1.5 -2 cm.
Chop the onion.
Grate the carrots on the large side of the grater.
Heat oil in a skillet and toss onions.
Fry for three minutes, then add carrots. Fry onions and carrots together for another three minutes.
Put the meat in the roast. Stirring, fry the pork slices for about five minutes, then pour half a glass of water, cover with a lid and simmer for twenty minutes on low heat.
To boil water.
While the water is boiling, peel and chop the potatoes.
Throw potatoes, meat, frozen pumpkin cubes into boiled water.
Wait for the second boiling and cook the soup until the potatoes are ready.
Finely chop dill and parsley.
Crush the peeled cloves of garlic with a knife.
Throw greens and garlic into the prepared soup, let stand for 10 minutes and serve.
Pumpkin Freezing - Tips and Tricks
Only perfectly healthy fruits without black spots are suitable for freezing. If they are purchased, pay attention to the presence of a tail. The fact is that the pumpkin begins to rot on this side, so sellers can simply cut off the tail to hide the damage.
Are pumpkins frozen in other ways than the ones listed above? Yes, you can freeze blanched pieces. You need to proceed according to the first recipe, but before the initial freezing on a flat surface, the prepared cubes must 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 be thrown away, they are very useful. Pumpkin seeds can be washed, blotted with a napkin and dried in an oven at 50 °.
Frozen pumpkin is stored for a year.
To give mashed potatoes to the baby, the pumpkin needs to be thawed in the refrigerator. For example, get it out of the freezer in the evening, leave it overnight, and feed it in the morning or afternoon. Warm up before feeding.
