The easiest way to make preparations for the winter is to freeze them. At the same time, vegetables and fruits retain the maximum of their useful properties, and there are much more ways to cook them in the cold season. What rules should be followed to properly freeze food?
Cooling
Before freezing fruits, berries and vegetables, they should be thoroughly washed, dried, processed, sliced in portions and placed in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
Pre-freeze
Juicy fruits require more than just cooling. But also preliminary freezing. Place the berries in the freezer for 3-4 hours, then take out and sort, separate from each other and only then put them in containers and return to the freezer for complete freezing.
The right dishes
Food is usually frozen in plastic bags. If they have been pre-chilled or frozen, this option is very convenient. It is also important to use plastic containers with lids, the main thing is that they are designed for low temperatures. Metal dishes, foil are absolutely not suitable for freezing food. Also, do not store vegetables and fruits without packaging – they will become frayed and saturated with foreign odors.
Defrosting
Defrosting correctly is equally important. To prevent the food from flowing after freezing, they should first be placed in the refrigerator for several hours, and only then taken to a room with room temperature.
Water-rich vegetables and fruits cannot be frozen. When defrosting, all the lights will turn into a shapeless puree, and it will be impossible to cook anything from them. These are products such as apricots, grapes, plums, tomatoes, zucchini. They will also lose all flavor when frozen.