How to freeze beets for the winter correctly
Frozen beets retain a maximum of vitamins and significantly save the housewife’s time. How to freeze beets properly? How much can you store in the freezer and how to use it?
Before freezing beets, you need to properly prepare them.
To freeze boiled beets, they are first washed thoroughly, the tops are cut off without affecting the root crop. The tail must be left. If you cut it off, the beets will lose a lot of juice during cooking and become pale.
You need to cook in a little water with the addition of vinegar. This will keep the color beautiful.
The water does not have to cover the vegetables, the top ones are steamed under a closed lid.
Pour cold water over the finished beets, allow to cool and remove the skin. After that, you can cut it in any way or grate it. Divide in portions into bags, remove air from them and place in the freezer.
Boiled beets are thawed only when used in salads, they are put frozen in borscht at the very end of cooking.
How to freeze beets without boiling
To freeze raw beets, you need to prepare them:
- Wash the beets thoroughly;
- Cut off the skin;
- Cut into cubes, cubes or grate on a coarse grater;
- Arrange in bags or trays, removing air from them to the maximum.
If your freezer has a blast or quick freeze function, you must turn it on before placing the beetroot bags. This will preserve the vitamins and taste of the product.
Vegetables can be stored frozen for up to 8 months without being thawed or re-frozen.
Raw chopped beets, intended for borscht, are not thawed, but immediately placed in a saucepan. If the beets are frozen whole, they must first be thawed at room temperature.
It is very convenient to freeze raw beets in the borscht mix, along with carrots and bell peppers. All vegetables are cut, first frozen in separate bags until hardened, and then mixed, laid out in portioned bags.
You can also make ready-made vegetable frying for borscht. For this, chopped onions, carrots, peppers and beets are fried in a pan. You can add finely chopped tomatoes if desired.
The cooled roast is laid out in bags and frozen.
You do not need to defrost the mixture before use, but immediately put it in a saucepan at the end of cooking.
Knowing how to freeze beets for the winter and observing all the nuances of the process, you can preserve the color and taste of these healthy vegetables for a long time and make the cooking process easier.