Freezing fresh and pickled cucumbers for the winter in the freezer: reviews, videos, recipes

It is very difficult to preserve the taste, structure and aroma of such a difficult product as cucumbers after freezing. Before starting the process, you need not only to find out how to freeze cucumbers for the winter, but also to find out what preparatory work needs to be done. Only in this case, you can count on an excellent result.

Is it possible to freeze fresh and pickled cucumbers for the winter

Freezing is one of the most popular harvesting methods, as it allows you to save a maximum of vitamins and beneficial micronutrients. However, it is with cucumbers that housewives often have difficulties.

The fact is that cucumbers are a vegetable that is 96% water, and this factor greatly affects when trying to keep the product in the freezer. And yet, as practice shows, it is possible to freeze cucumbers. The main thing is to do it right.

Freezing preserves vitamins and macronutrients

First you need to decide on the type of future blanks. Much attention should be paid to the appearance of the product, its quality, cut shape and storage. Freshly frozen vegetables are used for salads, first courses and sauces, that is, where the consistency is not critical.

In addition to fresh cucumbers, you can freeze pickled vegetables for the winter. They are also used in the preparation of pickle soups, salads or roasts with meat. The principles of their preparation are not much different.

What cucumbers are suitable for freezing

The choice of raw materials is crucial in a process such as freezing.

The requirements for vegetables are very simple, they must be:

• fresh;
• young;
• small size;
• strong and elastic;
• healthy.

Before freezing, you need to carefully inspect the vegetables for rot, browning, yellow spots, traces of insects and pests. As for the variety, universal varieties will go, but it is better to refuse salad and hybrid species, since their pulp is friable.

You only need to defrost cucumbers before adding them to dishes.

For freezing, the following varieties will be the best choice:

1. Murom.
2. Far Eastern.
3. Nezhinsky.
4. Droplet.
5. Courage F
6. Phoenix.

Preparing Cucumbers for Freezing

In order to properly freeze fresh cucumbers for the winter, it is necessary to correctly carry out the preparatory work. Freshly harvested raw materials are thoroughly washed before use. This is necessary not only to remove pollution, but also to get rid of various substances remaining after treatment for diseases and pests (colloidal sulfur, Bordeaux mixture, insecticides).

The purchased product is pre-soaked for 1-2 hours in cool water. Then the raw materials are dried with paper napkins or a towel, but it is better if the vegetables dry naturally after 40-50 minutes.

It is better not to freeze cucumbers with a bitter taste, but to use them in hot preservation

Then the cucumbers are checked again for damage, rot or spoilage, after which they are cut from two ends. A substance called cucurbitacin is responsible for the bitter taste. It is synthesized as a result of improper care or unfavorable growing conditions. Bitter cucumbers should not be used in freezing, but can be used in hot preservation. In this case, after a properly conducted heat treatment, the bitter aftertaste will go away.

Next, you should bring the cucumbers into the form in which you plan to freeze them, that is, cut, grate or squeeze the juice.

How best to freeze cucumbers for the winter

Vegetable preparations are frozen for the winter, as a rule, in 4 ways: whole, in circles, cubes and in the form of juice. In rare cases, cucumbers are cut into strips or grated. The freezing method is chosen depending on what kind of application awaits the product in the future.

entirely

You can freeze whole cucumbers, but is it necessary, that is the question. After defrosting, even partial, the vegetable loses its appearance significantly: the skin wrinkles and slides, and the pulp becomes too liquefied. In this state, it cannot be cut or rubbed.

Whole vegetables are not recommended to be frozen, they are too difficult to defrost and cut later.

To avoid this to the maximum, it is necessary to choose the appropriate grade and size of raw materials. Cucumbers should be strong, healthy and small.

The work algorithm will look like this:

1. Wash and dry the product thoroughly.
2. Cut off the ends and check the cucumbers for bitterness.
3. Place the product in the refrigerator for a while (30-40 minutes) to make it easier and more convenient to cut.
4. Peel cucumbers.
5. Remove the raw materials in a plastic bag or a special bag for freezing.
6. If possible, remove all excess air from the packaging.
7. Put the cucumbers in the freezer.

circles

Frozen cucumber circles are often added to winter salads, and are also used for cosmetic procedures at home. This mask moisturizes and tightens the skin, providing a lifting effect.

Can be added to salads, sandwiches and used to decorate dishes

The procedure for preparing for freezing will look like this:

1. Wash cucumbers well and dry naturally for 1 hour.
2. Test for cucurbitacin (bitterness) by cutting off the ends.
3. Chop vegetables into 3mm thick slices.
4. Arrange them on a tray in 1 layer.
5. Leave everything to dry for 30-40 minutes to get rid of excess cucumber juice.
6. Cover the workpiece with cling film, put it in the freezer for 8-10 hours.
7. Remove the vegetables, transfer them to a container or bag and put them back in the freezer.

A cutting board, a baking sheet, or a piece of thick cardboard can be used as a tray.

Cubes

Most housewives prefer to freeze cucumbers in the form of cubes. So it is most convenient to add them to salads and okroshka.

Cubes frozen in cubes can be added to salad, okroshka and vinaigrette

The algorithm of actions in this case is not much different from the previous instructions:

1. Wash fresh vegetables well and dry naturally for 40 minutes.
2. Check for possible bitterness by trimming the ends.
3. Remove skin from product.
4. Cut into medium sized cubes.
5. Carefully lay out the blanks on the tray and leave to dry for 30-40 minutes.
6. Cover with a bag or cling film and put in the freezer for 6-8 hours.
7. Get the finished product, decompose it into bags (removing excess air) or boxes and send it to the freezer for storage.

Experts recommend removing the peel not only from purchased vegetables, but also from their own grown ones.

grated

Grated cucumbers do not freeze so often. In most cases, housewives prefer to prepare cubes or juice. The grated product can be used to prepare sauces based on sour cream and yoghurt, as well as adding them to cosmetic masks.

Grated cucumbers do not need to be thawed, but immediately added to dishes

Freezing grated cucumbers is very simple. You need to do the following:

1. Wash fresh vegetables well.
2. Dry the cucumbers naturally (40-50 minutes).
3. Trim the ends to check for bitterness.
4. Peel cucumbers.
5. Grate on a coarse grater in a bowl with a tray.
6. Arrange the pulp in an ice-freeze mold, filling the cells by ⅔.
7. Top up the juice that came out during rubbing into the section.
8. Send to the refrigerator for 6-8 hours.

In the same way, you can freeze cucumber juice or gruel made with a blender.

Cucumber juice can be obtained in 2 ways. The easiest is to use a juicer. However, in its absence, you can extract the juice manually. To do this, cucumbers are rubbed on a fine grater, and then the resulting pulp is squeezed through cheesecloth. At the same time, you can freeze both the juice and the dehydrated pulp itself.

Cucumber juice contains many vitamins that are beneficial for the skin. It is indispensable for inflammation, acne or acne. On a mature dermis, it demonstrates its tightening effect. Women use ice cubes to wash their faces and also add them to freshly squeezed juices and smoothies. Cucumber ice cubes pair especially well with healthy fruit and vegetable smoothies.

Salty

You can also freeze pickled cucumbers without any problems. Almost every hostess faced a situation when, after opening a 3-liter jar, pickles remained uneaten, for some reason. In order not to throw away a quality product, you can freeze pickles in the freezer.

Salted vegetables can be added to pickle, vinaigrette and olivier

Make it simple. For this you need:

1. Wash vegetables from excess brine and lightly dry them with wet wipes.
2. Cut the product into circles 2-3 mm thick, spread everything on a tray and leave it to “dry” for 40 minutes, otherwise a large amount of released juice will cause the cucumbers to stick together.
3. Cover the blanks with cling film and put in the freezer for 2-3 hours.
4. Remove from the freezer and carefully transfer to a special box or bag.
5. Send for storage in the freezer of the refrigerator.

It is not necessary to chop cucumbers in circles. If desired, you can cut the raw material into cubes. Cucumbers after such processing will not lose their taste or smell. They can be used for vinaigrette or pickle. The main condition is to add them to the dish in a non-defrosted state.

Another way to freeze cucumbers is to send them to the freezer right in the brine. Thus, products are harvested mainly for pickles. To do this, the cucumbers are finely chopped, after which they are placed in large silicone ice molds and poured with brine. Then sent to freeze. After 8 hours, the molds are taken out, put in a separate bag and stored until use, adding them to soups without prior defrosting.

Terms and conditions of storage

The shelf life of frozen foods is 6-8 months. This applies to both fresh and salted preparations. Store vegetables in the freezer at a temperature of -18 ° C to -24 ° C.

Experts do not recommend re-freezing thawed vegetables, as they will not only lose their appearance and structure, but also lose some of the beneficial vitamins.

How to defrost properly

A feature of such blanks is their use in frozen form. This is how they are added to salads and soups, where they thaw on their own, and at the same time not really losing in appearance. However, this does not mean that they cannot be defrosted under any circumstances.

Fresh cucumbers can be placed in cold water, then carefully drained to get rid of excess liquid, and after that, use the blanks at your discretion. Subject to all the rules of freezing and thawing, cucumbers will practically not lose their taste and smell, and even retain a crunchy feeling.

Most housewives note that in winter, a frozen summer product from their own garden is significantly different from purchased vegetables with an unexpressed aroma and grassy taste.

How to use frozen cucumbers in winter

The scope of frozen vegetables in winter is quite wide. Blanks in the form of cubes can be added to a variety of salads (olivier, vinaigrette), soups (okroshka, pickle, beetroot) and main courses (azu, roast). It should be noted that salty frozen foods are most often used in hot meals.

For hot dishes, pickles are more often used.

Cucumbers in the form of circles are perfect for sandwiches, summer salads and decorating other dishes. Shredded vegetables can be used to create delicious sauces suitable for both meat and fish. For example:

• tar-tar (mayonnaise, lemon juice, chopped dill, pickles);
• sour cream sauce with herbs (green onions, parsley, sour cream, mustard, wine vinegar, spices, fresh cucumbers);
• apple (sour cream, mustard, grated apple and cucumber, lemon juice, herbs);
• Greek Tzatziki sauce (natural yogurt or sour cream, fresh grated cucumber, chopped dill, garlic, olive oil, spices).

You can cook sour cream sauce with herbs and cucumbers

The grated product, together with cucumber juice, can be added to yogurt (unsweetened) or make a morning smoothie that meets all the principles of proper nutrition.

Recommendations from experienced housewives

It is more expedient to freeze cucumbers for a soup set immediately with herbs (parsley, dill, cilantro, green onions). You can also add other types of vegetables to the mixture, such as green peas or bell peppers.

For okroshka, cubes of vegetables can be frozen directly in whey. So they are better preserved, and they can be used immediately in the process of preparing the first course.

Frozen vegetables should also be kept separate from other foods such as fish or meat. In the process of preparation, do not add spices to the preparations and, especially, salt, as it provokes the separation of the liquid. Freeze cucumbers should be in small portions “on time”. So it will be more convenient to use them and vegetables will not be re-frozen.

Conclusion

It is possible to freeze cucumbers for the winter. Moreover, you can also send salted preservation to the freezer, which is later very convenient to use in the process of preparing pickles and vinaigrettes. The right approach and competent preparation will preserve all the taste, aroma and structure of the product.

Reviews of frozen cucumbers for the winter

There are many reviews on the Internet about whether it is possible to freeze cucumbers for the winter. Most users believe that it is not only possible, but also necessary.