We prepare vitamins - freezing zucchini for the winter at home

You really need to know what method is best for freezing zucchini for the winter at home. There were small children in the family, our grandchildren, I want to prepare them vitamins for the winter. I even bought a freezer with my grandfather. One compartment is already completely filled with berries and fruits. Now I decided to try zucchini, although my neighbor assures me that they will not taste good later. Is this true, and maybe there is such a way to preserve the juiciness of the fruit?

Modern housewives have every opportunity to stock up on fruits and vegetables for the season thanks to the freezers. And if you won't surprise anyone with frozen carrots and peppers, then not all of the zucchini are decided to be prepared. And it is completely in vain, because freezing zucchini for the winter at home is an excellent and best way to preserve vitamins. Of course, squash caviar and other long fruit preserves are also delicious. But they are not suitable for everyone and not for all cases. And after heat treatment, most of the vitamins in them are lost. Whereas in the freezer, vegetables retain all their useful substances, which means both taste and useful properties.

Freezing zucchini for the winter at home - general recommendations

what zucchini can be frozen for the winter

Perhaps the main condition for using vegetables for freezing is their freshness and "youth". Zucchini should not be overripe, young and small, with firm skin. The variety does not play a role, juicy pulp and lack of seeds are important.

"Old" fruits with overripe pulp, rough skin and seeds are not suitable for freezing. Even if you peel them and remove seeds, after defrosting the vegetable will turn into a loose and sour "product". The only thing they can be used for is to freeze them in crushed form when the texture is not important.

No preliminary preparation is needed. It is enough just to wash the zucchini well and let it dry or dry it with a towel. Young fruits do not need to be cut off. Only two tips are cut off, with the stalk and where the flower was.

How to freeze zucchini for the winter

There are several ways to prepare a green vegetable in the freezer. Depending on what the zucchini will be used for in the future, you can:

Cut into circles. The thickness of the rings should be at least 0.5 cm so that they do not break. In winter, they are fried after defrosting.
Grind into small cubes, which is very convenient for further cooking soups and various second courses.
Cut into long sticks at least 1 cm thick. They can be used for vegetable stews.
Grate on a coarse grater, add a little salt. Strain the juice and place in trays. In winter, pancakes are made from zucchini shavings.
Make mashed potatoes. First, the fruits must be boiled until soft. Then grind with a blender and place in freezer containers. Such a preparation is ideal as complementary food for babies.

Fry as usual in flour, cut into circles or strips, and after cooling, put in bags and freeze. The semi-finished product is ready - in winter you just need to defrost it and you can eat it.

When freezing sliced zucchini, it does not matter, in cubes, sticks or rings, do not immediately pour them into the bag. It is better to first spread it in one layer, let it freeze, and only then put it in bags. Then it will be more convenient to get the zucchini and they will not stick together.

Some housewives even freeze whole zucchini. But the convenience of this method is debatable. Firstly, they take up a lot of space, and secondly, after defrosting, they are poorly cut and break. So it's more practical to grind the vegetables first. Although if you just have a huge freezer, then you can make kegs or boats from zucchini and freeze. In winter, they can be stuffed.

How to freeze zucchini