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To preserve vitamins and nutrients, the best method of harvesting vegetables is freezing. In this case, all the benefits and nutrients are preserved as much as possible. Freezing beets for the winter in the freezer means preparing a root crop for the entire cold period for use in a variety of dishes.
Is it possible to freeze beets for the winter
In order to have access to the benefits that the product carries in itself in winter, freezing is the best option. You can freeze beets, grated, for the winter or the whole root crop. Another benefit of freezing is the significant time savings. When harvesting with the help of conservation, the hostess can spend a huge amount of time on heat treatment, preparing beets for storage.
If you save a vegetable without any heat treatment, but simply put it in a cellar or basement, then over time the crop will wither and lose its appearance.
It is important to choose the right product for freezing. It should be a healthy vegetable, without signs of mold, rot, and also without external damage. You can freeze beets for the winter to have access to vitamins all year round.
In what containers is it better to freeze beets
For perfect preservation, it would be optimal to freeze the beets in the freezer in portioned containers. Then you do not have to freeze and defrost vegetables several times. This negatively affects the safety of nutrients. Therefore, a plastic container for freezing is considered optimal, as well as a plastic bag, which will fit exactly a portion for one use.
How best to freeze beets: boiled or raw
How best to freeze beets in the freezer for the winter depends on what it is supposed to be used for. For example, for borsch, it is better to prepare the root crop grated, raw, and for vinaigrette – immediately cut into cubes and boiled.
If there is no exact data on how the root crop will be used, then it is optimal to freeze it whole and raw. You can also freeze boiled beets, and then pull them out in winter and quickly cut them as needed for a salad or other culinary masterpiece. In any case, it is faster than canning a vegetable.
How to freeze raw beets
There are several ways to freeze the product in its raw form. But in any case, you must first peel and wash the root crop. Only then can you choose how to freeze the raw vegetable. Freezing boiled beets for the winter includes a large number of recipes.
How to freeze at home for the winter beets, cut into strips
To freeze in the form of straws, it is necessary to wash, clean the root crop. Then it should be cut into thin strips. This can be done with a knife, as well as a special nozzle in a food processor. This will save a lot of time and effort of the hostess.
After that, all the straws must be placed in a bag with a special lock and let out as much air as possible. In order not to confuse the blanks in winter, it is recommended to write “raw beets” on the package, as well as put the exact date of packaging and freezing.
Is it possible to freeze whole beets
You can freeze raw and boiled beets in the freezer as a whole. But in this case, it is recommended not to clean the product, do not cut the tops and ponytails, so the vegetable is better preserved and does not waste its nutrients.
If in winter you pull out such a root crop and boil it in an acidified liquid, then the color will be preserved, and you can also give the shape of the cut that the dish suggests. You can freeze it entirely if the hostess does not know exactly where it can be determined later.
Is it possible to freeze grated beets for the winter
Many housewives prefer to harvest grated root immediately. This is very convenient, especially for borscht. At the same time, it is important to observe the proportions and freeze exactly as much vegetable in one package as is used at a time. Most housewives, when freezing, rub the workpiece. If the harvest turned out to be large, then you can use a food processor to grate for freezing. This technique will allow you to grate a large amount of root crop and at the same time keep the kitchen workspace clean. When grinding the root crop through a grater, numerous splashes can occur.
In order to prevent your hands from being painted in a bright beetroot color, it is better to grind the vegetable with disposable or medical gloves. It is also recommended to cover all cutlery where splashes can get when rubbing. In this case, after harvesting, you will not have to wash the kitchen and do a general cleaning.
Is it possible to freeze boiled beets
For freezing, not only fresh root crops are used, but also boiled ones. This is very convenient if the vegetable is going to be used in the preparation of salads, vinaigrettes, as well as New Year’s herring under a fur coat. You can freeze boiled beets if you don’t want to mess around for a long time to cook the dish. But you can use such a preparation only in those dishes where the product goes boiled and only in the cut in which the vegetable was prepared. It is often more profitable to freeze the whole boiled root vegetable, so that it can then be cut as needed.
Freeze in the form of puree
First of all, the root crop must be boiled. So that it does not lose its color, do not cut the rhizomes, as well as the tops. Only after cooking, the product can be peeled and cut. This is the best option for those who do not want to separately mess around just before cooking. A cooled boiled vegetable is different in that it is much easier to peel.
It is better to keep the boiled vegetable in the form of mashed potatoes for those families who have children. Freezing red beets is convenient for preparing children’s vegetable dishes. Often such a dish, especially with the addition of garlic, is also liked by adults. To prepare mashed potatoes, it is necessary to boil the root crop, and then peel it. Then you need a blender to prepare puree.
After the whole vegetable is processed into puree, it must be decomposed into bags and the date of packaging must be signed. The next step is to put it in the freezer.
Is it possible to freeze boiled beets whole
If desired, freeze the boiled vegetable and whole. To do this, you need to perform a simple algorithm of actions:
- Select healthy roots.
- Wash them thoroughly with a brush.
- Boil in acidified water.
- After checking readiness, cool the root crop.
- Divide into freezer bags.
- Sign and put in the freezer.
In winter, just pull it out of the refrigerator, defrost and can be cut as desired for the finished dish.
Is it possible to freeze boiled beets for vinaigrette
The preservation of the product for vinaigrette differs only in how it is cut. All other stages of the preparation are preserved in the same form: wash, boil, cool, and then freeze. For vinaigrette, the vegetable must be cut into cubes before freezing.
Is it possible to freeze boiled beets, grated
Thus, the preparation for some salads is frozen. The cooking process is the same, it starts with washing. Then the root crop is boiled, although you can bake it entirely in the oven. After cooking, the vegetable should be cooled and cleaned. Only then the root crop is rubbed on a large or medium grater, depending on the preferences of the hostess.
How to defrost beetroot
The methods of defrosting depend on the type in which it was frozen:
- Boiled variant. The product must be thawed at room temperature, immediately before being added to a dish or before consumption. The positive section of the refrigerator is also great for defrosting.
- raw look. If the product further requires heat treatment, then it must be boiled without defrosting. This is due to the fact that the frozen product is cooked much faster. Therefore, it is better to cook a whole raw frozen billet immediately after the freezer, without subjecting it to the defrosting process. But to preserve the color, you still need to add citric or acetic acid to the water.
But in any case, the product should not be defrosted several times, because in this way it loses its valuable nutrients. That is why it must be frozen in portions in order to use everything that is thawed at a time.
Terms and rules for storing frozen beets
According to the rules, the shelf life of frozen beets is 8 months. This means that with a sufficient size of the freezer, the family is supplied with vitamins until next year, for the entire cold period. At the same time, it is important that the product is packed in portions, and it does not have to be defrosted. Then 90% of all useful substances will be preserved. Freezing beets in the freezer will help preserve all of their nutritional value and extend their shelf life. The best option would be safety in a quick freeze chamber. In this case, the camera should be turned on a couple of hours before placing the bags with the workpiece there. Then the effect will be much more noticeable.
Conclusion
You can freeze beets for the winter in the freezer in any form. It all depends on the preferences of the hostess and how the product will be used in the winter. In any case, initially you need to take healthy, small root crops, with tops, roots. It is not recommended to take a product with a lot of hairs – it is considered too hard. After freezing, it should be remembered that in order to preserve nutrients, it is necessary to properly defrost the product and use strictly everything that is thawed.
