We prepare zucchini for the winter baby: freeze or mash for future use. Is it possible to freeze zucchini for the winter at home: the best recipes with herbs and eggplant.

The benefits of frozen vegetables, fruits, berries are incomparable with the properties of canned or greenhouse ones. This is especially important in the vitamin-poor cold season. Many housewives prepare fruits for the winter with their own hands. Among home-made semi-finished products, zucchini occupy a worthy place.

Is it possible to freeze zucchini in the freezer

There are many ways to preserve the beneficial substances of fruits. Some gifts of summer: fruits of certain types, mushrooms - it is really better to dry. Moisture will evaporate, vitamins and minerals will accumulate under the skin. But it is more correct to freeze onions, carrots, sweet peppers, green beans, eggplants. Can this list be expanded? Is it possible to freeze zucchini along with other vegetables? Experienced housewives say that the freezer is the best place to preserve these fruits. The main thing is to know how to freeze zucchini correctly.

How to freeze zucchini for the winter at home

There is no universal recipe for freezing zucchini in the freezer. It all depends on the purpose for which you need this product in winter. To prepare soups, stews, feel free to load the freezer with fresh fruits. If you can't deny yourself the pleasure winter evening feast on fried zucchini or tender casserole, blanch the pieces before storing them.

Clear requirements apply to the fruits themselves, intended for freezing:

Choose only small, young zucchini with little or no seeds.
Peel fresh vegetables prepared for boiling or stewing before placing them in containers or bags. It is better to keep the skin on blanched.
Zucchini should be selected and prepared for storage in the freezer according to the same rules as zucchini.

Freezing zucchini cubes

Before you freeze zucchini cubes in the freezer, decide what dishes the workpiece is intended for. This depends on the size of the pieces. Intend to cook casseroles and caviar? Cut into pieces no larger than a centimeter cubed. Do you love vegetable soups? Prepare larger cubes. The very algorithm for preparing squash pulp for storage is as follows:

Select young unspoiled fruits, wash them, dry them with a towel, remove the stalk, peel if necessary.
Cut the vegetables into cubes of the desired size, fill them with containers or bags, one serving in each container, and place in the freezer. Every few hours, take the blanks out of the freezer and shake so that the pieces freeze evenly and do not stick to each other.

Blanched in circles

Even far from all experienced housewives know whether it is possible to freeze zucchini for subsequent frying. Will the dish turn out juicy and appetizing? Practice shows: there is no reason for concern. If zucchini rings are defrosted, rolled in flour with spices and fried in butter, they will taste no different from those made from fresh fruits. The main thing is to blanch the circles before freezing. The procedure is as follows:

Wash young unspoiled fruits, blot with a towel, remove the stalk.
Boil water in a medium saucepan, reduce heat to low.
Cut the fruits into slices at least 1 cm thick. Blanch them for no more than three to five minutes. Carefully remove the finished circles from the pan. Throw them on a sieve, allowing excess water to drain.
Arrange the cooled circles on the shelves of the freezer, separating the layers from one another. Check periodically to see if they are stuck together.
After the zucchini is frozen, divide them into portions in bags and place in the freezer.

Freeze recipe with vegetables and herbs

Mexican mix is an excellent base for soups, casseroles, stews, side dishes for meat dishes. Preparing it is as easy as preparing vegetables separately. The composition can be any fruit - it all depends on the preferences of your family. The main thing to remember is that some foods need to be blanched before being frozen, while others are sent fresh to the freezer. The preparation steps are:

Pre-hold three to five minutes in boiling water, it is recommended that zucchini, carrots, green beans, green pea, corn. Onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, greens do not need heat treatment.
Sort vegetables and greens, wash, peel, cut into pieces of the desired shape and size.
Blanch fruits requiring heat treatment.
Arrange the prepared vegetables and herbs on spread towels, allowing the water to drain.
Mix dry pieces, fill portion bags with the mixture and place them in the freezer. Shake the bags occasionally to separate the vegetables from each other.

Semi-finished product for squash fritters

The peculiarity of preparing the basis for squash fritters is that only late overripe fruits are used: they are less juicy. Freezing the base for future pancakes is very simple:

You can freeze only vegetables or immediately mix them with herbs, chopped onions and garlic, spices (any, except for salt: it releases additional juice from the fruit, and it will be much more difficult to prepare such a semi-finished product for storage).
Wash zucchini, peel, remove seeds, cut into pieces.
Grate the prepared vegetables, squeeze the juice, spread the pulp on towels to drain the remaining liquid.
If necessary, mix the zucchini base with additional ingredients, arrange in bags and send to the freezer.

How to freeze zucchini for baby food

Do not trust store-bought baby food, and the baby's feeding period falls on the cold season? Make your own vegetable and fruit purees! Before you freeze zucchini for a child in the freezer, first prepare the product correctly. So you can be sure that the puree contains all the vitamins and minerals your baby needs. How to freeze baby food in the freezer:

Peel young fruits from the peel, seeds, stalk. Cut into small pieces.
Boil water.
Dip the vegetables in boiling water for four to five minutes, remove them with a slotted spoon, let the water drain.
Puree the prepared pieces with a blender, arrange portionwise in small containers and place the finished food on the shelves of the freezer.

How long does frozen zucchini keep?

Knowing how to freeze zucchini in the freezer, you can easily prepare for the winter. How long can they be stored? The time limit is nine months for vegetables frozen fresh or blanched. Nothing prevents you from keeping the fruits for a longer period. But under this condition, it is possible that vegetables will acquire an unpleasant smell and taste. The main rule of storage is to prevent re-freezing of blanks. Do not take them out of the refrigerator unnecessarily. Thawed vegetables should be used as soon as possible.

Video recipe: how to freeze fresh zucchini for the winter

There are a lot of ways to freeze zucchini for the winter. In our article today, we will describe in more detail each existing method of freezing zucchini.

Although in our time in large supermarkets a huge assortment of frozen vegetables is presented. But still, freezing zucchini for the winter at home is much more profitable and easier. Therefore, with the onset of zucchini season, make such blanks in your freezer.

Zucchini can be used in winter to prepare various dishes: roasts, stews, vegetable pancakes, you can add to soups and make casseroles. Therefore, we will freeze zucchini in different ways: in circles (for casseroles and frying in winter), finely chopped (for stews and vegetable soups) and grated (for fritters).

General rules for freezing zucchini for the winter

Many housewives are wondering if it is possible to freeze zucchini for the winter. Our answer is yes, and it is very easy to do, especially if you follow the recommendations below.

For the freezing process, young zucchini are most suitable, which have juicy pulp, thin skin and small seeds inside each fruit. Old zucchini are not suitable for freezing, they are best used for preparing other preparations for the winter.

So that after the process of freezing and their further thawing, zucchini does not become an incomprehensible mass, by any convenient means, as much liquid and enzymes (enzymes) as possible should be removed from vegetables. Because they make zucchini and other vegetables tough and almost tasteless. There are a great many ways to eliminate excess liquid - blanching, steaming or pouring vegetables with salt. We will discuss all these methods in the article below.
Another important rule that concerns how to freeze zucchini for the winter in the freezer is the removal of all air with bags of blanks. Unfortunately, you will not be able to remove excess air from plastic containers without a special tool. Therefore, it is better to use special plastic bags for freezing.
To preserve all the beneficial vitamins in these vegetables, stress-freeze them. To do this, immediately place the pre-prepared zucchini in the freezer with the lowest possible temperature.

How to freeze zucchini for the winter in the form of circles for frying in winter

Such vegetables are simply unrealistic to distinguish from fresh fried zucchini. Read all the subtleties of freezing zucchini for the winter in the article below. Squash and light zucchini are most suitable for the freezing process, since these varieties of vegetables contain the least amount of water than, for example, zucchini zucchini.

What we need:

zucchini;
pot;
pure water;
plastic bags.

Cooking:

If you want to know how to freeze fresh zucchini for the winter, then the first step is to rinse the fruits several times in running water. Carefully cut off both ends. Cut the remaining zucchini into fairly thin circles, as you do for frying them.

Take a large bowl or saucepan and fill it halfway clean water. Place all contents over medium heat and bring to a boil. Place all chopped zucchini in boiling water. In this case, you need to ensure that the fire on the stove is moderate. Continue blanching for no more than 5 minutes, and after the specified time, discard the vegetables in a sieve or colander.

Wait until the zucchini is completely cool, and excess liquid drains. Arrange the finished zucchini circles in suitable plastic bags or plastic containers. Try to expel all the air from plastic bags, close them immediately. Store cooked vegetables in the freezer.

If you have such a device as a double boiler in your kitchen, then it is better not to blanch the zucchini, but to steam it. The time for steaming vegetables is the same.

How to freeze zucchini for the winter in the freezer in the form of cubes

If you like to cook mashed soups and vegetable stews in winter, then it is better to freeze zucchini for the winter in this way. From zucchini that have been cut in this way, you can prepare the filling for pies or use vegetables for baby foods. In addition, zucchini can simply be marinated in winter and served as a savory snack.

What is necessary:

zucchini;
large bowl;
paper towels;
colander;
freezer bags or containers.

Cooking:

Rinse and pre-dry all fruits. Cut young zucchini into small cubes using a food processor or a regular knife. The size of the cut cubes can be different, it all depends on your preferences.

Put all chopped vegetables in a deep bowl, and sprinkle with kitchen salt on top. Mix all contents thoroughly with your hands. Leave the vegetables like this for about 15 minutes. During the specified time, a sufficient amount of juice should stand out, which just prevents the juice from freezing properly.

All chopped vegetables should be thrown into a colander and wait until all the liquid has drained. And so that the process of preparing such a blank goes much faster, it is better to blot the zucchini with paper towels.

Divide the cut vegetable cubes into several servings, so you do not have to defrost and freeze vegetables several times. To prevent the cubes from sticking together, take a tray and place one serving of zucchini on it and place it in the freezer.

After about 20 minutes, vegetables can be taken out and packaged in bags. All the same must be done with all the remaining taverns. If you think that the zucchini cubes will stick together into one lump, then freeze several containers or bags at once.

How to freeze fried zucchini for the winter

Some housewives will be surprised, but fried zucchini can also be prepared for the winter. Before serving to everyday or festive table zucchini will only need to be thawed with microwave oven. In addition, you need to prepare a special sauce for fried zucchini in advance. It turns out the same delicious dish as from fresh zucchini.

How to freeze zucchini for the winter at home:

Rinse young fruits and dry in advance using paper towels. Cut into fairly thin slices. Sprinkle with ground pepper and coarse salt.

Dip each slice of zucchini on both sides in flour. Saute vegetables until tender and golden brown.

Cool the fried vegetables completely and can be transferred to bags or plastic containers for further freezing. And so that the fried zucchini does not stick together, shift each layer of vegetables with polyethylene.

How to freeze zucchini for cooking vegetable pancakes in winter

For lovers of vegetable pancakes, you will surely like this method of harvesting zucchini for the winter. This is not at all difficult to do, the most important thing is to follow all the instructions below.

How to freeze zucchini:

Grind the pre-washed and dried zucchini with a medium or large grater. Sprinkle chopped vegetables with salt on top and wait for 15 minutes.

The juice formed during this time must be drained, and the vegetable mass must be squeezed out by hand. If desired, a little finely grated carrots can be added to the zucchini mixture, so the finished zucchini pancakes will look more attractive.

Our preparation is almost ready, spread the chopped squash mixture into plastic containers or plastic bags and place in the freezer for further freezing.

To cook delicious pancakes in winter, the finished semi-finished product must be thawed in advance, squeezed out the juice with your hands and drained. It remains to add the standard ingredients that you usually add to zucchini pancakes to the resulting mixture. Put the prepared dough with a spoon into boiling oil and fry on both sides until cooked.

By itself, zucchini does not have a pronounced taste, which is why it is a successful ingredient in all kinds of side dishes, soups, pastries, and even sweet preservation. In addition, this healthy vegetable is popular with baby food manufacturers, because it is recommended to be used as complementary foods for infants. But many mothers prefer to make fruit, vegetable or meat purees for their children on their own, because homemade dishes are much healthier and tastier. Therefore, we believe that it will be useful for many housewives to learn how to freeze zucchini for feeding a child or simply for preparing delicious meals for their home. No matter how tasty canned zucchini is, they are only good as an appetizer, because you can’t cook the main dish from them. Therefore, let's take a closer look at how to freeze zucchini for the winter at home.

From frozen, as well as from fresh zucchini, you can cook the sea delicious dishes. We invite you to familiarize yourself with some photo recipes:

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How to freeze zucchini at home so that they retain their shape and nutrients as much as possible? First of all, for freezing it is necessary to choose only ripe vegetables, without damage to the hard shiny peel. Overripe or unripe fruits with damaged skin or with traces of rot should not be used in any case, especially if you plan to freeze zucchini for babies. Also, do not freeze too small zucchini with a thin skin or too large "thick-skinned" fruits - this also indicates low palatability and violation of storage conditions.
So, we have decided which zucchini can be frozen, now let's deal with the main methods of freezing.

A cube is an almost ideal form for freezing zucchini. From such a preparation, you can cook stews, pies, mashed potatoes, caviar, snack cakes and many more options for snacks, side dishes and savory pastries. The disadvantage of this form of slicing is that it will not work to fry or grate such frozen zucchini. But in most cases this is not required.

Before you freeze zucchini for the winter, first prepare ripe beautiful vegetables, wash them well and wipe them dry. Cut into even neat cubes. The size of the cubes may vary depending on what dishes you plan to add them to. For example, small cuts are suitable for soups, and coarser cut vegetables for mashed potatoes. After cutting the zucchini, sprinkle them with salt. Let the sliced zucchini sit for 10-15 minutes to absorb excess moisture, then pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Our goal is to leave as little liquid as possible in the zucchini, so that when defrosted, they retain their shape better. After that, divide the zucchini into small portions that you will need to prepare a certain dish for 1 time, since you cannot re-freeze already defrosted zucchini. Arrange the sliced zucchini in 1 row on a large platter or tray, place in the quick freeze compartment, then pack the completely frozen slices in a tight sealed container (small bags or containers with a lid) and place in the freezer for storage.

Frozen diced zucchini can be added to, stews and other dishes without defrosting.

Another popular way of slicing zucchini are rings, which are usually used to cut zucchini for frying. If you plan to treat your family to fried zucchini in the winter, then be sure to prepare several servings of frozen vegetables in rings. To do this, you need to do the same manipulations as in the case of cubes, only cut the zucchini into rings 1.5-2 cm thick. Do not forget to thoroughly blot the zucchini rings from moisture, because otherwise they will deform during frying. Defrost before frying, blot with water, roll in flour or dip in batter. You can try freezing already fried or baked zucchini, but be prepared for the fact that they will not retain their shape when defrosted, although they will remain very tasty.

Wash the zucchini and cut off the skin, then cut into cubes. Greens (dill is best combined to taste), wash and chop. Arrange the zucchini cubes in 1 row on a wide platter, cutting board, or other surface that can fit in the freezer compartment, and sprinkle with dill. Then freeze. Divide frozen zucchini with herbs into containers and store in the freezer until winter.

There are no special features in how to freeze zucchini for babies. YOU can freeze vegetables in cubes or rings in small portions, and then defrost and make your child tasty and healthy vegetable puree for feeding. But we want to emphasize again that before you freeze baby zucchini, make sure they are ripe enough, free of defects, and grown without chemicals.

How to freeze zucchini and eggplant?

You can also freeze zucchini with other vegetables, such as eggplant. This vegetable mixture is very convenient to use for stews, soups or mashed potatoes. To prepare zucchini and eggplant by freezing, repeat the procedure for freezing zucchini with a cube, adding chopped eggplant to them. Eggplants also contain a lot of liquid, so be sure to sprinkle them with salt, just like zucchini.

You can also freeze the base for making zucchini pancakes. To do this, grate the zucchini on a fine grater, sprinkle with salt, drain the juice and squeeze the mass well. You can add to the zucchini and grated carrots. The resulting mass is decomposed into containers and frozen. Before cooking fritters, defrost the semi-finished product, squeeze it again, add eggs, pepper, salt, flour, garlic and other ingredients as desired, form small cakes and fry in vegetable oil until cooked.

Prepare useful and delicious zucchini for the future, to be able to cook vitamin vegetable dishes for yourself and your family in winter!

Posted by: mayusik89
Date of: 22.07.2014 / 21:37

Zucchini is such a versatile vegetable that it goes well with almost any food. Moreover, having a neutral taste, it absorbs the aroma of those vegetables with which it was cooked during the cooking process.

Zucchini is added to first courses, side dishes, used in pastries, salads, and even jam is made from them!

In summer and autumn, zucchini are inexpensive, but in winter you can’t approach them, as they are sold by the piece, like exotic fruits.

But if you stock up on zucchini for future use in advance, then in winter you can treat yourself and your loved ones to a delicious zucchini casserole or home-made squash caviar.

All you need to do is freeze the zucchini!

Freeze zucchini in a variety of ways. Here the fact for which these zucchini will be frozen is taken into account. They are frozen in cubes, slices, straws, in the form of mashed potatoes, mix with other vegetables, and even fried.

Preparing zucchini for freezing

Both young zucchini squash and more mature ones with a thick skin are suitable for freezing. True, preparing zucchini different kind slightly different from each other. And this will be discussed below.

But both those and other zucchini should be without damage, stains, spoiled places. Also, they should not be lethargic from lying for a long time after picking.

Wash the zucchini, cut off the stems.
Dry with a paper towel, as excess moisture is not needed during freezing.
Zucchini can be frozen both with the skin (it is thin and tender in these zucchini), and without it.
If the zucchini is still very young, then they do not yet have seeds, so the middle of such zucchini is not removed. If the seeds still appear, then the zucchini is cut lengthwise into two halves, the pulp is taken out along with the seeds. Or cut the zucchini across into several pieces and cut out the middle with seeds with a knife.
Zucchini, whose skin is thick, must be peeled. Then the pulp with seeds is removed, using the same method as in the preparation of zucchini.

How to freeze zucchini in cubes or sticks

Prepared zucchini is cut into cubes or cubes convenient for further use.

Method 1

Sliced zucchini are blotted with a paper towel, removing droplets of juice that have come out on the slices.
Lay out in portioned plastic bags, remove air from them and close them well (tie up).
Give the bags a flat shape (for faster freezing and easy storage) and clean in the freezer.

This method of freezing is the easiest, but it has a small minus. Some housewives complain that ready-made such zucchini are tasteless, even rubbery. And they don't have that zucchini flavor that fresh zucchini has.

Method 2

Sprinkle chopped zucchini with salt and leave for fifteen minutes.
Then the juice that stands out is drained, and the zucchini is blotted with a paper towel.
Packed in portioned plastic bags, remove air from them, tie up (close with a zip fastener) and put in the freezer.

If the pieces of zucchini were not dried enough, then during freezing they can freeze to each other. For some housewives, this is not important. But if you want the cubes to be separated from each other, they are frozen in two stages.

First, the chopped zucchini is laid out on a tray in one layer, cleaned in the freezer. When they freeze a little, they are poured into bags, packed and put away for storage in the freezer.

Method 3

Prepare two pots: one with boiling water, the other with cold water.
Cut zucchini in small portions are placed in a colander, which is dipped in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.
Then the blanched zucchini is immediately immersed in cold water.
And then laid out on a towel to dry. Stage c cold water many skip, but then the zucchini needs to be well cooled and dried.
Then the zucchini is packaged in portion bags, closed or tied and put into the freezer. Before a thorough freezing, zucchini can be laid out in a single layer on a tray and slightly frozen. Then they will not stick together into one big lump during storage.

How to freeze a mix of zucchini and other vegetables

Prepare separately zucchini and other vegetables. Cut into comfortable pieces. Everything is mixed and packaged, as in previous recipes.

Instead of other vegetables, you can take greens. The greens are well washed, dried on a towel and finely cut. Mix with chopped zucchini and freeze in the usual way.

How to freeze zucchini slices

Young zucchini with thin skin and no seeds are suitable for freezing zucchini in circles.

Wash the zucchini, remove the stalks.
Then the zucchini is cut into slices.
The circles are dried with a paper towel and packed in plastic bags.
So that the circles do not stick together, they are first laid out in one layer on a tray and put in the freezer for an hour. And only after that they are packaged in bags for final freezing.

For those who do not like the taste of zucchini frozen in this way, it is recommended that the zucchini slices are first blanched in boiling water for about three minutes, and then put on a towel and cool well.

The circles are laid out in plastic bags, laying each layer with cling film. This method will not allow them to stick together during freezing. Then the package is closed and put into the freezer.

How to freeze roasted zucchini

Zucchini is cut into circles, salted to taste, rolled in flour and fried in vegetable oil.
Spread on a sieve or paper towel to drain excess fat.
Cool down.
Packed in portioned sachets or plastic containers, close or tie well and put in the freezer.

How to freeze grated zucchini

These zucchini are good for cooking squash fritters or cutlets.

Zucchini is washed, cleaned of rough skin. If there are seeds, then remove them.
Courgettes are rubbed on a medium grater.
Then the juice is squeezed out.
The squeezed pulp of zucchini is laid out in bags and put into the freezer.

How to freeze zucchini puree

This method is used to prepare baby purees.

Prepared zucchini is cut into cubes, dipped in boiling water and boiled until almost cooked.
Then the zucchini is laid out in a colander to drain the water.
After that, the zucchini is crushed with a blender into a puree.
Puree is laid out in small plastic containers (once), covered with lids or film and put in the freezer.

How to store frozen zucchini

Frozen zucchini is stored in the freezer.
They cannot be re-frozen.
Shelf life 8-10 months.

How to defrost frozen zucchini

Most often, frozen zucchini is not thawed before cooking.

Fried zucchini is almost ready to eat. They can be heated in the microwave.

If you need to defrost zucchini, thaw them in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

The separated liquid is drained off.

Puree is also thawed in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Zucchini, cut into circles, are taken out of the freezer, slightly thawed, rolled in flour or dipped in batter and fried.

Although zucchini does not look very presentable, it is eaten with pleasure all over the world and hundreds of different dishes are prepared from it. But the most important thing is that it is very useful. Zucchini is one of the most dietary foods, as it normalizes the water-salt balance, helps to remove excess fluid from the body, its calorie content per 100 grams of product is only 24 kcal. Although its season runs from May to October, fresh zucchini can be difficult to find during the winter months. Therefore, many are interested in whether it is possible to freeze zucchini for the winter. Of course you can. You just need to know some secrets.

How to freeze zucchini

The most important thing is to choose them correctly. For freezing, it is best to choose medium-ripe zucchini. Young ones contain too much liquid, while mature ones have large seeds and a rough skin. And, of course, they should not be spoiled. For freezing, only high-quality fruits are left.

It is also important to know whether it is possible to freeze zucchini just like that, without additional processing. After the vegetables are selected, they must be washed and dried on a towel. And only after that you can proceed to the next part. Depending on how they are planned to be used further, zucchini is cut into cubes or rings, and also rubbed into cereals. noah grater.

Already prepared vegetables should be divided into single portions, laid out in clean and dry bags. From them you need to remove the air as much as possible, tie it up and send it to the freezer. Instead of plastic bags, special containers can be used. They are not only more convenient to freeze, but they also save space in the freezer. Do zucchini still freeze somehow? Yes, you can, for example, lay out the rings on a board, put them in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, and only then put them in bags.

Frozen semi-finished products from zucchini

But experienced housewives are already asking a slightly different question, is it possible to freeze zucchini so that they can be used for cooking without preparation? Indeed, at home you can make such semi-finished products. The simplest thing is to grate the zucchini along with the carrots. Then in winter it will be possible to cook delicious pancakes from this mixture, only by adding garlic, flour, eggs and spices to taste. And if you add chopped greens to diced zucchini, then they can be used to make soups and stews.

Another interesting option for such a semi-finished product is to peel the fruits, cut into rings and fry on both sides in vegetable oil. Dry on a towel to remove excess fat. Then, r

lay out on a board, freeze and put in a container. At any time, they can be taken out, heated in the microwave and served with yogurt sauce. And they will be no different from freshly fried.

Conclusion

Of course, knowing how to do this, the question will no longer arise whether it is possible to freeze zucchini. You will only need to decide on the right amount of vegetables and serving size. But most likely, no matter how many of them are frozen, this will not be enough. After all, after defrosting zucchini, the taste practically does not differ from fresh ones.