3 Ways To Properly Freeze A Pumpkin In The Freezer, Including For Feeding A Baby: Puree, Pieces Or Grated

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

3 easy ways to freeze pumpkin for the winter

Pumpkin is one of those large fruit crops that you cannot eat at one sitting, even if everyone in the family, without exception, is a fan of cereals, casseroles and other dishes from this product. An easy way to get rid of leftover pumpkin is to freeze it. With the right approach, you will get a healthy, fresh, always ready-to-use product.

Content

• 1 About the benefits of pumpkin

• 2 Freezing methods

  • 2.1 Puree

    2.1.1 Cooking pumpkin puree step by step - photo gallery

  • 2.2 Chunks, raw
  • 2.3 Grated
• 3 Cooking Tips
• 4 Reviews of pumpkin blanks
• 5 Frozen pumpkin puree - video

The benefits of pumpkin

Pumpkin is a large and colorful vegetable that many associate with fertility and autumn harvest. Growing it on the site is easier than ever, but later the question often arises: what to do with it? The main thing is to understand that pumpkin is very useful, it is definitely worth eating. Grown in our own garden, which means it is 100% environmentally friendly, it contains a variety of vitamins - A, C, D, E, B vitamins, the rarest vitamin T, which helps the absorption of food and fights obesity, vitamin K, which is responsible for health blood and bone tissue, and is simply absent in other vegetables. It contains trace elements, sugars, and carotene with pectins. So pumpkin and immunity will strengthen, and give vigor, and fight cholesterol, and regulate the metabolism.

Pumpkin pulp contains a complex of essential vitamins, in particular A, C, D, E, B, T

You can use it in the form of juices and preserves, cereals and casseroles, pies and pancakes, mashed soups and much more. It all depends on your imagination. For some cooking methods, only fresh pumpkin will work, but for most, frozen will work. The beneficial properties of the vegetable are preserved when freezing and baking, therefore such a semi-finished product will in no way yield to a fresh product, but it will significantly save time and facilitate the cooking process.

Freezing methods

Puree

This method will take a little longer than the others, but it's worth the effort. First, you will get rid of the snowiness and wateriness of the pumpkin by pre-baking. Secondly, such a frozen semi-finished product, without additional processing, will allow you to cook a puree soup, casserole, porridge or pie in a matter of minutes. You just take out the prepared puree and add to the desired dish. Thirdly, mashed potatoes are several times more compact compared to pieces, which means they will take up much less space in the freezer.

The pumpkin has a dense and tough skin, so prepare a large knife and a cutting board.

Cooking method:

1. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds.
2. Make baked or boiled pumpkin puree (see below for all methods) using a blender, pusher or fork. The puree should be homogeneous, without lumps.
3. Place the puree in the prepared containers. Containers, plastic cups, ice cube trays will do. To increase the shelf life of the semi-finished product and avoid airing, choose molds with lids. Molds without lids can be wrapped with cling film, foil or placed in a tightly tied plastic bag.

Pumpkin puree retains its beneficial properties when frozen

Choose the size of the mold according to the dishes you intend to cook later. Ideally, the form should be portioned. For example, a 200 ml container is enough to make one pumpkin cake.

Options for preparing pumpkin for mashed potatoes:

• peeled in the oven. Carefully remove the peel, cut the flesh into 3x3 cm cubes. Place them in one layer on a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 140 ° for 1 hour. Check the pumpkin for softness (it should knead well with a fork), if necessary, keep it in the oven for a while;
• unpeeled in the oven. Cut the unpeeled pumpkin into 3 cm slices. Place one layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Bake in a hot oven until the pulp softens (about 1 hour). Cool the pumpkin and peel off the peel, it should easily come off the pulp;
• in the microwave. Peel and cut the pumpkin into wedges. Place in a microwave-safe bowl and add some water. Microwave on maximum power for 10-15 minutes. Repeat the procedure several times until the pumpkin is soft;
• boiled. Peel the pumpkin, cut into cubes, dip in boiled water and boil until soft. The finished pumpkin should be easily pierced with a fork;
• for a couple. Place the peeled pumpkin cut into small cubes in the steam basket and place in a double boiler with boiling water for 30-40 minutes. You can use a pressure cooker, a multicooker with a steam function.

Making pumpkin puree step by step - photo gallery

Cut the pumpkin, peel and seed

Cut into cubes

Place the sliced pumpkin on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven

Bake until soft

Make mashed potatoes

Place in a freezer container

Raw chunks

Pumpkin puree is not suitable for all dishes. If you need pumpkin cubes or pieces, freeze them without cooking.

1. Cut the peeled pumpkin into small pieces or slices.
2. Dry with a paper towel.
3. Sprinkle in a single layer in a freezer container.
4. Place in the upper freezer as low as possible.
5. After a few hours, take out the frozen pumpkin, pour it into a storage container with a lid (or a bag) and send it to the freezer for long-term storage.

The pieces frozen in this way will not stick together.

Grated

For the preparation of pumpkin pancakes and pies, grated pumpkin will come in handy. Grate the peeled vegetable on a medium or coarse grater, place in a bag, release the air from it, close tightly and send to the freezer.

Frozen grated pumpkin is perfect for making pancakes

Cooking tips

1. Not all varieties are equally tasty and nutritious, some are rather decorative. Choose a pumpkin with a bright orange flesh and a matte, hard skin. The rind of a ripe fresh pumpkin can be washed only with great difficulty. The ponytail will be completely dry.
2. Distinguish varieties: summer (light, soft) are suitable for stewing, manti and soups, winter (dense, sugar) - for cereals and baking.
3. The best pumpkin varieties for cooking: Acorn, Harlequin, Butternat, Divo, Gribovskaya, Kherson, Gileya, Bylinka, Muscatnaya.
4. Prepare pumpkin as a side dish for meat dishes: it helps the digestion of difficult-to-digest foods.

Reviews of pumpkin blanks

Frozen pumpkin puree - video

youtube.com/watch?v=LvaFFyL3A_Q

Most winter pumpkin varieties are stored safely until spring. But when you open a fruit weighing 5 kilograms, you will not be able to eat it quickly. Then tips on freezing will come to the rescue. The prepared semi-finished products will preserve vitamins and the freshness of a healthy vegetable and will come in handy when preparing various dishes.