The freezer is one of the best inventions of the 20th century. Berries picked in the summer, boxes of herbs, and meat purchased for future use are stored in it at a temperature of −18 degrees Celsius. Even soups and broths are frozen by zealous housewives. But very often, irreparable mistakes are made during long-term storage of products. We tell you what not to do when storing frozen food.

Boxes

There is never enough freezer. And I really want to cram more berries into it for winter fruit drinks, another portion of cutlets and several large fish. But remember not to stuff the drawers so much that they can barely close. Food in the freezer should lie freely, and there should be free space in the drawers for air circulation. Otherwise how to cool?

Package

Regular plastic bags and cling film will not work. In the freezer they will crumble and break from the cold. We need dense polyethylene. These can be special bags, such as these are now sold, or simply dense bags, for example, soft milk packaging often gets a second life in the freezer.

Lots of air in the package

You can't just stick a piece of meat in a bag and put it in the freezer. First you need to pack it tightly so that as little air as possible remains in the package. Then the product will freeze faster and be stored better. Tightly sealed packaging ensures that your meat will not absorb the odors of the frozen fish lying nearby.

Large portions

It is best to pack food for freezing in small bags and containers. Then you will be able to get the amount of greens you need for a dish, for example, rather than defrosting a large package in order to take just a little.

Wrong Products

Not all foods can be stored in the freezer. Some only deteriorate due to frost:

Strawberries, watermelon, melon, papaya and all fruits with high water content. Firstly, in the cold they can crack (after all, the liquid expands). Secondly, after defrosting they will lose their taste, shape, and aroma.

Cabbage, celery, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsnips, chicory, radishes, radishes. They also contain a lot of liquid and only lose their taste when frozen.

Potato. Raw root vegetables become limp, watery and sweet after defrosting.

Eggs. After freezing, they acquire an unpleasant taste, and bacteria penetrate inside through the cracked shell, which makes this product completely unsuitable for consumption.

Kefir, yogurt, cheese. The beneficial properties and pleasant taste of fermented milk products deteriorate, and due to low temperatures they can curdle.

Cream, sour cream, milk sauces, custard, mayonnaise. Once frozen, you can throw them away - they will separate and become watery and lumpy.

Ready-made pasta, spaghetti, rice. These side dishes lose texture and flavor when frozen. Cunning

Shelf life

And finally, the most important point. The fact is that no product can be stored in the freezer for many years. The maximum is 1 year. And in most cases even less.

It must be remembered that during storage, even in a frozen state, the quality of the product deteriorates. This is especially true for fatty foods - fatty fish, for example, loses a lot of taste if stored frozen for more than 2-3 months.

To avoid mistakes with shelf life, you can stick labels on each product with the date of freezing. It is best to also sign what is in the package so as not to unwrap the package again.

So, the maximum can be stored:

Bird- 9 months

Beef, pork, lamb, horse meat— 4-6 months

Fish: oily - 2-3 months, everything else - 6 months

Seafood— 3-4 months

Semi-finished products(dumplings, dumplings, cutlets, pancakes, cabbage rolls, minced meat, etc.) - 3-4 months

Ready meals, including broths and soups, sauces, cutlets - 2-3 months

Vegetables and fruits up to 1 year, except for tomatoes (2 months), peppers (3-4 months), zucchini and pumpkins (10 months), apples (4 months), apricots (6 months), peaches (4 months)

Mushrooms: boiled up to 1 year, raw - 8 months

Berries Usually stored for six months.

Greens and herbs— 6-8 months

Ice cream stored for 2 months

Margarine and butter- about 9 months

Bread and other baked goods— 2-3 months

When it comes to preparing healthy home-cooked meals, many of us underestimate the value of frozen foods. The freezer helps not only to stock up on seasonal products - fruits, berries, and quickly perishable vegetables. It also allows you to save leftovers from dishes that have been cooked in too many quantities and can sometimes save time by saving owners from an unnecessary trip to the store. However, in your quest to stock up on food, the main thing is not to overdo it, remembering which foods are best not frozen due to a significant loss of quality.

What should not be frozen

Strawberry, watermelon, melon, papaya. Due to the high liquid content, after defrosting, juicy fruits and berries will resemble a shapeless mass that has lost its taste and aroma.

Cabbage, celery, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsnips, chicory, radishes, radishes. After defrosting, these vegetables become limp, watery, and lose color, aroma and taste.

Potato. Raw root vegetables become limp, watery and sweet after defrosting. Fried potatoes and other foods lose their crispness and begin to taste bitter.

Eggs. After freezing, they acquire an unpleasant taste, and bacteria penetrate inside through the cracked shell, which makes this product completely unsuitable for consumption. Hard-boiled eggs also have no place in the freezer - the whites become soft, tasteless and rubbery.

Kefir, yogurt, cheese. The beneficial properties and pleasant taste of fermented milk products deteriorate, and due to low temperatures they can curdle. However, “just in case,” you can still keep some milk in the freezer in paper or plastic bags - although its nutritional value decreases, here it can be preserved for weeks.

Cream, sour cream, milk sauces, custard, mayonnaise. After freezing, they can be thrown away - they are completely unsuitable for food, since they separate, become watery and lumpy.

Ready-made pasta, spaghetti, rice. These dishes lose texture and taste, so it is better to completely avoid cooking them in large quantities.

What can you freeze?

Fresh vegetables, legumes and herbs can be stored in the freezer for about 8-12 months. Pickled and salted vegetables (cucumbers, cabbage, etc.) can also be frozen without much loss of quality - although they are perfectly preserved in brine even without a refrigerator. Fruits and berries will also last in the freezer for about a year.

Raw mushrooms can be stored in the freezer for 9-12 months, and cooked mushrooms can be stored for no more than 1 month. Of course, at -20°C any food can be stored for as long as desired and remain safe for health, but the nutritional properties, taste and texture will no longer be the same.

Ice cream, which seems to have a permanent residence in the freezer, will actually live there for no more than a month, and then lose its taste. However, this only applies to homemade ice cream (in store-bought treats, milk is most often absent altogether and replaced with palm fat).

Cottage cheese and other dairy products can be kept in the freezer for 1-2 months - if there is such a need, for example, as a filling for dumplings.

Raw dough is stored in the freezer for 3 months, and about the same time for raw minced meat - so uncooked dumplings, which can be found in almost every refrigerator in the country, can be stored there for one season.

Bacon, ham, and sausages should not be stored for longer than two months. Raw meat - 4 months (small pieces) or 12 months (large pieces), and cooked meat - 2-3 months. Raw chicken - 9 months (pieces) or 12 months (whole), and cooked poultry - 4 months. Ready-made dishes (soups, broths, stews) - 2-3 months.

Raw fish and seafood can be kept in the freezer for a year, and cooked - for 1 month. But smoked fish can be stored in the freezer for a very long time and, if necessary, cut like sliced ​​fish (but only really smoked fish, and not soaked in “liquid smoke” - it is not only toxic, but also completely raw).

Bread should not be kept in the refrigerator due to moisture and the risk of mold growing, but in the freezer it feels good and can last 2-3 months. After defrosting, it will still be fresh, just remember to cut it into slices in advance.

Pies, muffins, and rolls are also perfectly preserved in the freezer. Wrap them tightly in foil or plastic to keep air out and place them in the refrigerator until appropriate. When you need it, without defrosting, heat it in the microwave in a sealed container or in the oven - and no one will believe that they were not just baked. True, this advice does not apply to pies with onions, cabbage, eggs - freezing only worsens the taste of these fillings.

Freezing rules

Only good quality products must be selected for freezing. We must never forget that cold only helps preserve the nutritional and taste qualities of the product, but cannot improve them. To ensure that food retains its nutritional value and appearance, it only needs to be frozen once.

In order for frozen food to keep well, it must be properly processed before freezing. Wash animal products with cold water, and rinse vegetable products with boiling water. Remove all excess, then dry and divide into small portions - later you won’t have to defrost the entire stock in order to use only a part.

Packaging plays a big role: it must be waterproof, odorless and airtight. All containers must have lids, or the products must be carefully wrapped in paper to avoid changes in structure, color and the formation of ice crystals. When freezing liquid, you cannot use ordinary glass, as it will inevitably burst.

Freezing food should occur as quickly as possible. During slow freezing, large ice crystals form, which tear the tissues - and after defrosting, juices flow out, nutritional and gastronomic properties, color and taste deteriorate.

To avoid health problems, animal products (meat, poultry, fish, seafood, milk) should be frozen and stored at temperatures below -18˚C. Freezing must be complete throughout the entire depth of the product, and not just outside.

In this article we will talk about how to prepare vegetables and fruits for the winter by freezing, how to rationally allocate storage space and other secrets of freezing.

I want to enjoy the generous gifts of nature in the form of vegetables, fruits and berries not only in summer, but also in winter. In supermarkets in winter, of course, you can buy, if not all, then almost all types of fresh vegetables, berries or fruits, but their quality will not be the best.

You can also prepare pickles, compotes, jam and other types of preparations in jars for the winter. However, this option is not suitable for everyone. Some housewives do not like to tinker in the kitchen for a long time, others do not have time. Also, pickles may not work out; many people know that cans of preserves sometimes explode. In addition, many simply do not have space to store cans of preserves. And the very last argument is that it will not be possible to preserve all vitamins in their original form.

Homemade vegetables

Many housewives prefer freezing vegetables. Having a large freezer, you can prepare a lot of healthy and tasty vegetables. However, it would be a good idea to learn about the tricks of freezing, so as not to accidentally end up with an unappetizing mush instead of healthy vegetables.

So, list of vegetables that can be frozen:

• Black Eyed Peas
• Broccoli
• Pumpkin
• Cauliflower
• Zucchini or zucchini
• Brussels sprouts
• Sweet and/or bell pepper
• cucumbers
• Tomatoes
• Corn
• Green pea
• Eggplant
• Mushrooms

Turnips, radishes, and lettuce cannot be frozen.

Most vegetables need to be blanched before freezing, that is, immersed in boiling water for a short time and then cooled quickly. For example, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, green beans, green peas, corn needs to be blanched.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, mushrooms no need to put it in boiling water. Little ones Cherry tomatoes You can store them whole, just make a few punctures so that the fruit does not burst from frost. Large tomatoes can be cut into slices or pureed. Cucumbers should also not be stored whole; cut them into small cubes or strips.

How to properly freeze vegetables?

You can also freeze potatoes, onions, carrots, and beets. But it’s worth thinking about, will this be rational? The freezer is usually small in size, and seasonal vegetables cost mere pennies and are stored for a long time without refrigeration. It's better to freeze what you can't buy in winter.

Vegetable mixtures for the winter in bags: recipes

Vegetables must be washed and dried before freezing. Sealed containers or bags are suitable as containers. The seal will prevent the absorption of foreign odors from nearby products. For example, dill gives off a strong odor that can be absorbed into other vegetables or berries.

It is convenient to freeze vegetable mixtures so that you can prepare different dishes later. It is better to freeze mixtures in small portions, so as not to break off a piece from the frozen mass later, but to take the finished portion at a time.

Vegetable mixture options:

1. Corn, peas, bell pepper.
2. Carrots, peas, green beans, red beans, corn, celery, peppers, corn.
3. Onions, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes.
4. Tomatoes, onions, peppers.

Important: Frozen vegetables and fruits can be stored in the freezer for no longer than a year.

Delicious mixture of vegetables

Vegetable seasonings for soups, salad, pasta, main courses: recipes for the winter

You can also freeze greens, which you can then add little by little to soups, salads or main courses.

• Wash and dry the greens thoroughly beforehand.
• Then finely chop it.
• First, freeze the greens in bulk, that is, spread them in a thin layer on the surface and freeze.
• Once the greens are frozen, place them in a tightly sealed bag.

Greens can be frozen in a combination of several types. For example:

1. Dill+parsley for soups
2. Dill+sorrel+onion feathers for green borscht
3. Cilantro+parsley+basil for salads

Important: Greens should be stored separately. Do not mix greens with other vegetables, otherwise the flavors will mix.

Sorrel for the winter: how to freeze

For soups The following vegetable mixture will work:

• Green peas, carrots, onions, potatoes
• Carrots, onions, potatoes, cauliflower
• Cauliflower, corn, potatoes, carrots, onions
• Sweet peppers, carrots, potatoes, onions

The same mixtures can be added to other dishes, such as risotto, stew, vegetable casseroles.

Video: How to freeze greens for the winter?

Freezing Vegetable Mix for Stew: Recipe

You can enjoy this healthy stew by freezing it:

• Zucchini, zucchini
• Bell pepper
• Green pea
• Cauliflower
• Tomatoes
• Greenery

Also, potatoes, onions, carrots, and white cabbage must be added to the stew.

A stew is a mixture of different vegetables, so you don't have to stick to a strict recipe. If you don't have one ingredient, you can easily replace it with another. The main thing is that the dish contains several types of vegetables.

Important: Many people are interested in the question: Do you need to defrost vegetables before cooking? No, you can't do this.

If you defrost vegetables, they will lose their shape when cooked and turn into mush. Therefore, place vegetables from the freezer into the pan immediately. This way they will remain fragrant, beautiful and healthy.

Freezing vegetable mixtures

Recipes for borscht dressings for freezing for the winter

Borscht in winter will be much tastier and healthier if you take care of the dressing in advance.

Recipe for borscht dressing:

• Sweet pepper in thin strips
• Onion diced
• Carrots, julienned or grated
• Beets in strips
• Tomato puree

It would be useful parsley And dill as spices, you just need to store the greens separately.

Wash all ingredients, dry, cut, grate and mix. Pack the dressing into separate bags for one use.

This method will help not only prepare aromatic borscht in winter, but also save the family budget.

Dressing for borscht for the winter

How to freeze stuffed peppers with vegetables?

Stuffed pepper- a tasty and healthy dish, but you can fully enjoy it only during the season, that is, in the fall. But if you freeze peppers, you can prepare your favorite dish at any time of the year.

Some housewives stuff the peppers and then put them in the freezer. This method is good, but it takes up a lot of space in the freezer.

There is another way:

1. Wash the peppers and dry with a paper towel
2. Remove the stem and seeds from the fruit
3. Insert the fruits one into the other
4. Place the peppers in columns, carefully wrapping them in bags.

Pepper slices are suitable for salads, stews, soups and other dishes. It is much more convenient to store it in this form than whole.

Pepper for the winter

What vegetable mixtures can be frozen in the freezer to feed a baby for the winter?

If there is an infant in the family, or a new addition is expected, the young mother should consider preparing homemade vegetables for complementary feeding.

Complementary feeding should be introduced at 5-6 months of the baby’s life if the child is breastfed. If the child eats an adapted formula, then complementary foods should be introduced earlier - in the 4th month of life.

If this period falls in winter or spring, then frozen vegetables will become a lifesaver during the introduction of complementary foods.

To feed your baby you can freeze the following vegetables:

1. Cauliflower
2. Zucchini
3. Broccoli
4. Pumpkin

After the baby begins to eat pureed vegetables, light vegetable soups can be introduced in small quantities. To do this, freeze in advance:

• Potato
• Carrot

Vitamins and naturalness - this is the most important advantage of freezing vegetables for complementary feeding. Provided that you are sure that the vegetables have not been treated with chemicals, or that you grew them in your own garden.

Vegetable puree for complementary feeding

What fruits and berries can be frozen in the refrigerator freezer and freezer: list

You can freeze any fruits and berries:

• Strawberry
• Strawberries
• Blueberry
• Blackberry
• Cowberry
• Plums
• Apricots
• Peaches
• Apples
• Currant
• Gooseberry

Frozen berries

Do I need to wash fruit before freezing?

In addition to vegetables, you can freeze fruits and berries. Before putting them in the freezer, thoroughly wash and dry the fruits and berries.

Fruits and berries cannot be re-frozen. Firstly, they will turn into mush, and secondly, they will lose all their beneficial properties.

How to freeze fresh fruits and berries for the winter?

You can puree the berries and freeze them as is, with or without sugar - your choice.

Another way to freeze is dry. Place the prepared berries or fruits in a thin layer on a surface, for example, on a board. Freeze this way, then place the berries in a bag, releasing the air from it.

It is advisable to store delicate berries such as strawberries and raspberries in a container so that the berries are not damaged.

Apples can be cut into slices. Store small and fleshy fruits (plums, apricots, cherries) whole and with the pit.

Recipes for mixtures of fruits and berries for the winter

From frozen fruits and berries in winter you can prepare aromatic compotes, fruit drinks, or add fruit to yogurt or porridge.

Remember that ripe and undamaged fruits should be frozen. Make small portions of berries and use one bag per preparation.

Mixtures of fruits and berries:

• Strawberry, blackberry, raspberry
• Plums, apricots, apples
• Apples, apricots, raspberries
• Cherry, apple, strawberry
• Cherries, currants, raspberries
• Strawberries, currants, cranberries

Important: Most modern refrigerators do not require defrosting, but if you need to do this, wrap the container with frozen vegetables and fruits in a thick blanket so that the products do not have time to defrost. In winter, the freezer can be taken outside or onto the balcony.

How to freeze fruit

Freezing fruits, berries and vegetables is a profitable and quick way to get all the healthy vitamins in winter and enjoy the taste of summer. But do not forget to follow the rules of freezing in order to preserve vitamins and taste. You can watch a video on this topic and learn a lot of useful information about freezing vegetables and fruits.

Video: How to properly freeze greens, vegetables and fruits?

For several years in a row, I have preferred freezing vegetables, fruits, berries and other delicacies for the winter in the form of vegetables, fruits, berries and other delicacies: the freezer helps preserve the maximum amount of nutrients, and the technology of cooking at home helps save the family budget. Let's talk about how to properly freeze food for the winter, and what you can put in the freezer to enjoy delicious, colorful food on cold evenings.

What can you freeze in the freezer?

The list of winter preparations in the freezer can be made endlessly. However, not all housewives are happy owners of a freezer, limiting themselves to four drawers in the refrigerator.

Before deciding what to freeze for the winter, decide:

• what is in great demand in your family (maybe you can’t live without broccoli or mushrooms);
• what products are available in the winter season (for example, I do not recommend freezing carrots or beets);
• how much space are you willing to allocate for vegetables and fruits?

To prepare, buy seasonal products, the prices of which are lower than ready-frozen ones. For example, frozen sea buckthorn and blackberries in our region are cheaper than fresh ones, which means there is no point in freezing these berries yourself.

Freezing rules and technology

Basic cooking requirements frozen vegetables, herbs and berries:

Freezing vegetables for the winter will be of better quality if you blanch them before going into the freezer. To do this, place a colander with pieces in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, and then dry.

Try to pack food in portions so as not to break the seal of the package and not expose an extra portion of fruit to defrosting.

Shelf life

By observing frozen storage times, you maintain your health.

Frozen fruits and vegetables can be stored for no more than a year at temperatures below - 18 C, up to – 8 C no more than three months.

Re-freezing is excluded: if you have thawed a bag of mushrooms, use the entire volume of products.

What is frozen for the winter?

Almost any fresh food can be stored in the freezer without loss of vitamins and taste.

Vegetables

You can freeze any vegetables for the winter. It is not recommended to store in the freezer only:

• cucumbers;
• rutabaga, turnip;
• lettuce leaves;
• raw potatoes.

What vegetables can be frozen?

Tomatoes. It is better to take fleshy, non-watery fruits (for example, lady fingers) or cherry tomatoes. Small tomatoes are frozen whole, after removing the skin from them. You can make tomato puree (useful for making pasta, soups, sauces).

frozen tomatoes

If you prefer to freeze tomatoes sliced, place them in a sieve to drain excess liquid into a tray.

how to freeze tomatoes

Broccoli and cauliflower. Disassemble the heads of cabbage into small inflorescences, rinse and blanch for 1 minute. Place into bags and place in the freezer.

Pepper. Cut into half rings and freeze in small portions (useful for soups, vegetable stews).

Zucchini, eggplant. Cut into circles or cubes, removing the skin. You can blanch vegetables, freeze them in trays, and then carefully place them in containers or bags.

frozen eggplants

Vegetable mixtures. We take peas, corn, cut peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and eggplants - pack them in portions and freeze them.

frozen pumpkin

Berries and fruits

According to research, frozen berries contain only ten percent less vitamins than fresh ones, which means that delicacies collected in summer can benefit the body in winter.

It’s easy to freeze berries by following simple rules, which I already talked about in the article about how you can store in the freezer:

• blueberries;
• blueberries;
• strawberries and wild strawberries;
• apricots and peaches;
• melon;
• plums;
• cherries;
• black and red currants;
• gooseberry;
• pears;
• grape;
• blackberry;
• chokeberry.

You can include any seasonal berries and fruits in the list of winter preparations in the freezer, the main thing is that they are fresh, without mold or rotten fruit. However, I would not recommend freezing:

1. Watermelon - when frozen, it becomes watery and tasteless.
2. Bananas: I find that they are more expensive in the summer, but the yellow treat is available all year round. However, chopped frozen bananas can be blended into ice cream (by mixing them with berries or chocolate), and it is worth freeing up space in the freezer for this purpose.
3. Kiwi and apples. Just like bananas, they are affordable all year round, and it’s not worth wasting your freezer space on green fruits.
4. Citrus. When defrosted, they lose their taste, becoming sour and watery. The exception is frozen lemon, which is easier to grate when cold, for example, if you need the zest or pulp for a lemon pie.

Milk products

I like to freeze butter (I usually don’t use a whole packet at once) and fresh country cottage cheese. It is recommended to store dairy products in the freezer for no more than two months.

Mushrooms

Greenery

The technology for freezing greens in the freezer is simple - parsley, dill, basil, cilantro should be washed and finely chopped.

I use special scissors for cutting greens. These can be bought with three blades and five. The tool allows you to carefully and quickly prepare seasoning for the winter.

Greenery scissors are easy to clean, do not damage the skin of your hands and are safe to use.

greenery scissors

greenery scissors

Greens should be frozen in small portions so as not to open the bags, breaking their seal: dill and parsley quickly absorb foreign odors and begin to emit an unpleasant aroma.

Blank ideas

Experienced housewives know that you can save time and not harm your family’s health by using home-cooked semi-finished products:

1. Preparation for borscht or cabbage soup. Finely chop onions, carrots, peppers, beets, potatoes, blanch and freeze in small bags. We store no more than a month.
2. Stuffed peppers. We clean the peppers, wash them, stuff them with minced meat and put them in containers. All that remains is to simmer the almost finished dish.
3. Meat and fish products. We form cutlets and meatballs from the minced meat, cut the pieces into goulash and freeze them first on trays, and then put them in bags for freezing.
4. Casserole
5. In my family, I’m the only one who eats cottage cheese casserole, so I usually freeze half of it, cutting it into portions. I heat it up for 2 minutes in the microwave and get a delicious dish for breakfast or afternoon snack.
6. Pancakes and dumplings
7. We bake pancakes, wrap the filling in them (it is better to use ready-made minced meat or cottage cheese), freeze them on a tray, and then put them in freezer bags.

Semi-finished products at home may also look like:

• cooked rice;
• boiled vegetables;
• barley;
• frozen meat or vegetable stew;
• boiled buckwheat.

When there is no time to cook, such preparations for a month in the freezer help out the housewife. Hurry up to stock up on healthy vegetables and fruits: frozen foods in supermarkets are several times more expensive than homemade ones.