Freezing pumpkin for the winter at home - 4 ways

Tell me, is it possible to freeze pumpkin for the winter at home? The child loves her very much, both in porridge, and in pies, and simply baked to eat. But we live in an apartment, we have nowhere to store it. Unless in the fall to buy and freeze, just bought a freezer chamber. Will it not be too soft when it melts?

In winter, more than ever, you want and it is extremely important to replenish the vitamin supply in the body. The best sources of nutrients are fruits and vegetables like pumpkin. Freezing pumpkin for the winter at home is one of the best ways to preserve this delicious fruit, especially in the absence of a basement. Both vitamins and minerals remain in the frozen pumpkin. But so that after you take it out and defrost it, the workpiece remains tasty, it is important to know a few secrets.

Practical advice

One of the most frequent problems faced by housewives is that the pumpkin from the freezer is not juicy. Or it loses its shape and becomes too soft. To avoid this:

1. Use only fresh fruit for freezing. If the pumpkin was already lying, especially when cut, it lost some of the moisture.
2. If it is important to get even pieces, then cut the pumpkin right away. Do not put large slices or halves of fruit in the freezer. When they melt, they will soften, and it will no longer be possible to cut beautifully.
3. Another nuance - the thawed pumpkin becomes lighter. Pre-blanching will help to preserve the bright orange color as much as possible. In addition, after a short heat treatment, they keep their shape even better, they do not fall apart so much.
4. Choose those fruits that are well ripe, but not overripe. The latter are good only for preparing pumpkin puree.

Do not mix different varieties in one bag. Sort them out, especially if you come across summer light pumpkins. Leave them for cooking first courses and meat dishes. And for porridge and baking, freeze late winter pumpkin.

Freezing pumpkin for the winter at home - ways

There is no point in harvesting the fruits along with the peel. It is inedible, and more space is required. Therefore, first wash the fruits well, cut and peel them. Be sure to choose seeds and fibrous pulp.

Further, depending on the purpose for which you will use your blanks in winter, you can freeze the orange fruit in one of the following ways:

1. In pieces, first placing them on a baking sheet, and then sprinkling them into bags.
2. Blanched chunks. Cut the pumpkin into small cubes, place them in boiling water for 3 minutes, but no more. Otherwise, the pulp will become even softer and fall apart. Then cool and put in the freezer.
3. Shavings (grated). Divide into sachets and press down until flat.
4. In the form of mashed potatoes. Cut the vegetable into slices and bake in the oven for about an hour. Select the pulp and chop it until puree in a blender. Arrange in shapes. Instead of baking, you can simply boil it in water for 15 minutes.

Whichever method you choose, it is better to do the blanks at a time. Do not re-freeze the pumpkin.

How to freeze pumpkin for the winter