Recipes for freezing beets for the winter at home in the freezer
Frozen beets retain a maximum of vitamins and other nutrients. Such preparation saves the hostess time when preparing the first courses not only in winter, but also in summer. The advantage of the frozen product is that you don't need to get your hands and dishes dirty again. It is enough to grate a lot of beets once, arrange them in bags and send them to the freezer. But at the same time, you need to know how to properly freeze beets for the winter.
Can beets be frozen for the winter?
A beet can be stored for a long time in the refrigerator or cellar, but despite this, housewives often freeze it. This saves the housewives' time on preparing the first courses and minimizes the amount of dirty dishes. When rubbing beets, the juice flies to the sides, getting on clothes and furniture. So why not grate a lot of vegetables at once and send the semi-finished product to the freezer?
It is worth immediately reassuring the housewives, who believe that there are no nutrients left in the frozen vegetable. With this method of storage, vitamins and minerals are preserved in their entirety.
Subtleties of freezing
Freezing beets is allowed raw and cooked.
In order for the product to retain useful substances, they adhere to the following recommendations:
- The vegetable is frozen in portions, in bags or plastic boxes. The volume of the product required for the preparation of one dish is placed in the bag.
- Do not re-freeze the product, as this will lose all useful properties.
- You can also freeze whole boiled beets. In this case, it is recommended to set the "Fast freeze" function.
- The vegetable should be stored for no more than six months.
- Vegetables are kept separate from meat and seafood.
- When freezing whole vegetables, they are pre-washed and peeled.
For freezing, beet varieties with dark pulp should be taken. Vegetables should be fresh and firm.
Preparing the refrigerator before starting the process
Before freezing vegetables, the freezer box is freed from excess food, washed and dried. Packages with beets are tightly placed in a dry box.
If the refrigerator is equipped with the "Quick Freeze" function, then set it up for a couple of hours.
In this case, the vegetable is frozen quickly and the nutrients are preserved in it. If the refrigerator is not equipped with such a function, then the product is frozen at 10-15 degrees of frost. This temperature is considered optimal.
Plastic containers are often used to freeze chopped vegetables.
Ways to freeze beets at home
You can freeze the root crop in different ways. It can be frozen whole, grated, diced, or cut into strips.
Fresh beets
Many housewives store fresh beets in the freezer, previously grated or cut with a knife:
- Young dark beets are washed with a brush, dried with a paper towel and peeled.
- Rub the root vegetable on a grater or cut into strips.
- Place in small bags or containers and place in the freezer.
On the bags with a semi-finished product, the date of the bookmark for storage is written. This can be done with a marker or sticky paper with the date on the packages with tape. This will allow the product to be used on time
When choosing a beet for freezing, they prefer root crops with one tail. If a vegetable has many roots, then it is tough.
Boiled beets
Medium-sized table beets are washed and boiled in the peel until cooked. Drain the hot water, rinse the vegetables with cold water and cool. Peel, grate, or cut into cubes. The finished product is divided into portions and each is placed in a tight cellophane bag. Packages are placed in a freezer and stored at a temperature of 12-14 degrees below zero.
Experienced housewives recommend freezing both a grated vegetable and a diced product. These semi-finished products are used for different types of salad.
Freezing tops
You can also freeze beet tops. This product is used for making green borscht and vitamin salads. Only young leaves of a light green color are suitable for freezing. They are gentle and without hard veins. The tops are washed with running water, dried, spread out on a towel, and finely chopped. Greens are packed in bags, tied and sent to the freezer. It is recommended to store beet tops no more than 8 months.
Beetroot puree
To prepare first courses and side dishes, you can freeze grated beets. For harvesting, young, strong root crops are chosen, with one root. The vegetables are washed with a brush, dried with a towel and peeled. Rub on a fine grater, squeeze the juice a little and put it in small bags or plastic containers.
Beet puree is allowed to be stored for six months, after which the vegetable loses its beneficial properties. It cannot be defrosted again, so the product is laid out in portions.
Beetroot is not recommended for people with diabetes mellitus, since the root vegetable contains a lot of sugar.
Preparation for borscht
You can freeze a semi-finished product for borscht for the winter. For cooking, you must prepare the following products:
- beets - 2 kg;
- carrots - 2 kg;
- sweet pepper - 700 grams.
Beets and carrots are washed with a brush and peeled, peppers are peeled from seeds. Root vegetables are rubbed on a coarse grater, pepper is cut into cubes. The vegetables are mixed and distributed in small portions.
When preparing borscht, vegetables are fried in a pan along with a tomato, after which they are poured into the pan.
Storage methods
You can store frozen vegetables in plastic bags and small plastic containers. But it should be borne in mind that the packages are stacked more compactly in the freezer box. It is recommended to store beet puree in plastic containers. The vegetables in the freezer must be stacked by type. Do not load everything together in the freezer drawer. Starting to look for one blank, you will have to pull out the rest, but folding them back is difficult.
Defrosting rules
If frozen beets are used to prepare first courses and side dishes, they do not need to be defrosted.In this case, the semi-finished product is poured into a pan, a small amount of vegetable oil is added and stewed under the lid for 15 minutes.
Boiled vegetables should be thawed gradually. To do this, remove the bag with the blank from the freezer and put it on the refrigerator shelf. It is advisable to do this in the evening, then in the morning the product can be used to prepare second courses.
Beetroot puree is also thawed gradually, putting the desired portion of the product in the refrigerator. Speed up the process by placing a bag of grated vegetable in a bowl of warm water.
Whole frozen vegetables are thawed at room temperature. If you get them in the morning, then in the evening they can be used for making salads. Beets are a storehouse of nutrients. It is not necessary to keep it fresh. The product is grated, cut into cubes and cubes, and then frozen.
