Pumpkin is a unique vegetable in its chemical composition. It contains a lot of vitamins and minerals, does not cause allergies, and therefore it is recommended to introduce it into the child’s diet from the age of 5 - 6 months. In addition, this product is low in calories and can be consumed by people who monitor their weight. Large orange fruits are perfectly stored in a cool room or basement, but is it possible to freeze a pumpkin? The answer to this question and procurement methods will be described below.
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Is it possible to freeze a pumpkin in a freezer for the winter
It is permissible to store pumpkin not only in fresh form, but also in freezing. So it will not lose its beneficial properties for about a year, provided that the temperature is maintained no higher than -18 degrees.
To make the workpiece tasty, it is important to choose the melon crop for storage in the freezer.
A suitable vegetable has the following symptoms:
- small size and elongated shape (rounded fruits for freezing are better not to take);
- smooth skin without cracks, darkening and dents;
- dried tail;
- pulp, painted in a bright orange color;
- nice smell.
Attention! For freezing, you need to acquire whole fruits, not cut into pieces. In this case, the flesh winds and loses most of its beneficial properties. And if a vegetable is picked in its garden, it should lie down for several days before freezing.
After choosing a suitable vegetable, it is important to prepare it correctly. Fresh pumpkin will need to be peeled and removed from the core fiber and seeds. It is impossible to place the whole melon culture in the freezer, even if it is very small.When the fruit is peeled and “viscera”, it is frozen in one of the following ways.
How to freeze raw pumpkin in slices
It is permissible to freeze large pieces of small pumpkins in large pieces.
To do this, do the following:
- Wash the fruit, wipe with a towel and cut off the top where the tail is located.
- Remove the peel with a sharp knife, split the pumpkin in half and remove the fibers and seeds from the core.
- Cut the pulp into slices so that their thickness does not exceed 25 - 30 mm.
- Lay out the blanks on a tray and send to the freezer. When the slices freeze, they should be packaged in bags or plastic trays of a suitable size.
On a note. It is not recommended to put all frozen slices in one bag, as they may stick together during storage. It is better to place them in separate containers and defrost as necessary.
Freezing Chopped Raw Pumpkin
Pumpkin pulp can be cut into small cubes or frozen grated pumpkin in the freezer.
The work must be carried out in the following order:
- Wash the fruit, peel and remove the seeds.
- Dice the pulp and place it on a flat pallet so that they do not touch each other.
- Send the workpiece to the freezer, and when the slicing becomes hard, pack in suitable containers.
When a pumpkin ground on a grater is frozen, it is immediately laid out with a spoon in trays or bags and sent for storage.
Before freezing raw pumpkin in sliced or grated form, you should determine which dishes will be prepared from it later, and arrange it in packages in the volume necessary for a single use. Otherwise, the surplus will have to be thrown away, as the melon crop cannot be re-frozen.
Methods of freezing the finished vegetable
It is permissible to freeze a pumpkin for the winter, not only fresh, but also after heat treatment.
You can harvest gourds in the following ways:
- Cook. To do this, chopped pulp is placed in a pot of boiling water and kept on fire for a quarter of an hour.
- Spray steam. In this case, the pieces are folded into a colander, which must be held over boiling water for 10 minutes, and then cooled under a tap.
- Put out. First, pumpkin slices are fried for several minutes, and then added some water and simmer under the lid until the product becomes soft.
- Bake in the oven. To do this, gourds are cut into slices without peeling, put in the oven for 45 - 50 minutes, and then cool and clean.
- Cook in the microwave. The chopped pulp must be folded into a glass dish with high sides, add a little water and cook at high temperature for a quarter of an hour, taking small breaks every 5 minutes.
After heat treatment, the pumpkin needs to be completely cooled before packing. Freezing even a slightly warm vegetable is prohibited.
How to freeze for baby food
Pumpkin is perfectly absorbed by the children's body and allows its cells to be enriched with B, C and D vitamins, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and beta-carotene. Based on this vegetable, you can prepare milk porridge for buckwheat, oatmeal, semolina, barley and rice for your child, depending on what the baby likes.
It is necessary to freeze gourds for baby food by first turning the pulp into mashed potatoes.
To do the procurement should be as follows:
- Wash the fruit, get rid of the "insides", and then cut into slices without removing the peel.
- Put the slices on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 45 - 50 minutes.
- Cool the pumpkin slices, peel and puree in a blender.
- Pack mashed potatoes in small containers and send to the freezer.
Tip. Since the kids can’t prepare food in advance, and only need freshly prepared food to feed the kids, a very small amount of pumpkin will be needed to cook the porridge.
In such cases, when freezing mashed potatoes, it is better to use ice molds or small flu-sachets with a fastener in the upper part.
Pumpkin Defrosting Process
Methods for defrosting a pumpkin depend on how it was frozen:
- sprinkled with large slices of vegetables, sprinkle with a small amount of salt and leave on a tray, and when the flesh is slightly softened, it is wiped with a paper towel and chopped as needed;
- fruits, sliced or chopped on a grater, are sent to cook immediately, without defrosting;
- the preparation in the form of mashed potatoes before cooking any dish is placed on the middle shelf of the refrigerator or heated in the microwave;
- Baked pumpkin is placed in dishes before cooking immediately after removing from the freezer.
If you choose, prepare and freeze this gourd, you can enjoy various pumpkin dishes all year round without fear of harming your health.
