Why freeze apples for the winter: 5 proven and simple recipes
Content:
Fresh apple compote or fragrant charlotte at any time of the year? Easy! Apples can not only be pickled, squeezed juice out of them and dried, but also frozen for the winter. This method has many advantages, in addition there are a number of simple and interesting recipes. And how to use a frozen apple, the hostess herself will decide.
Why freeze?
Fresh summer apple harvest is much tastier and healthier than winter greenhouse goods. Harvested fruits from your own garden will provide seven vitamins, iron and other valuable substances during the period when the disease attacks.
Benefits of Freezing Apples:
- With rapid freezing, most useful substances are retained in the fetus.
- Homemade apples and summer crops are less dangerous, they are not waxed for transportation and are not pumped with flavorings.
- At your fingertips all year will be at hand for various purposes. This is a good time saver and a collection of ready-made ideas.
The reasons for failures in freezing apples are simple: it is excess moisture, which leads to clumping, incorrectly picked fruits. Apples must be intact, without spots of rot, traces of pests, etc.
Another problem that the housewives face is an ugly brown color. The fruits darken due to oxidation processes that easily stop lemon juice. Just sprinkle the workpiece on them before storing them. Also, do not suspend the process: peeled fruit from the skin - immediately freeze. Contact with air should be kept to a minimum.
Important
Store freezing at temperatures not higher than –18 degrees. This is a standard indicator, if it is possible to put lower - put.
Freezing whole apples and halves
The easiest way is to rinse the fresh crop and pack it in containers. Such freezing is possible more than possible. However, the skin is very spoiled during the freezing process. Better to clean it. It also makes sense to immediately remove the cores (by cutting with a special thin knife or cutting the fruit into halves and removing the central part in the usual way). This will allow immediately after thawing to put the workpiece in business, without additional processing.
What to cook
Such a delicacy can be used for a popular dessert - baked apples. Just add some honey and nuts to the middle.
Slices freezing
The smaller the size of the slices, the more convenient it is to store them in the freezer. If there are a lot of blanks, then give preference to chopped fruits - more will enter the compartment.
How to freeze fresh apples in slices:
- Rinse the apple peel thoroughly with a soft brush.
- Wipe thoroughly from moisture.
- Cut the peel - it is better to store without it.
- Cut the fruit into beautiful slices. Kids will love curly apples. To do this, use a special knife or molds to cut dough and other products.
- Process apple slices with lemon juice to avoid darkening. Another option is a short soaking in a solution of 1 liter of water and 5 g of citric acid.
- Frozen slices so that they do not stick together during storage. To do this, they are laid out in an even layer on a tray and sent for a couple of hours to the freezer. Cover the mold with cling film so that the fruits do not stick to it. When the apples become hard and frozen, sprinkle them in storage bags.
- The container for apple slices should be tight. Take freezer bags, plastic containers or cups.
- Divide the slices into convenient portions to take them in turn.
The magazine purity.bigbadmole.com/en/ found that crisp, sweet and sour apple varieties of late ripening are best stored, for example, the beloved Antonovka. A trick to check if the variety is suitable for freezing: cut the apple in half and put in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. Then take it out and see if the flesh is dark. If not, then boldly let the crop freeze.
What to cook
Cut apples not in slices, but in circles - they will effectively decorate the top of the cake or pie. Slices after defrosting are suitable for cooking compote. Add them to salads, bake with chicken or duck meat, and generally try the same recipes as with fresh apples. For charlotte, harvest several varieties of apples at once - so the pie will acquire a unique flavor.
Apples with sugar
The sweetness of the fruit is lost after prolonged freezing. To solve this problem, the housewives adapted to add sugar.
How to freeze apples in sugar:
- Rinse, dry, peel the apples with a knife or a peeler.
- Cut into convenient pieces, such as cubes or straws. Feel free to use slicers.
- Sprinkle with lemon juice or hold in a solution of citric acid (1 liter per 5 g).
- Fold the apples in a bowl and cover with 5: 1 sugar. You can take more sugar if the variety is sour.
- Stir gently and allow a little nourishment.
- Now place in containers, pack tightly and send to storage.
What to cook
From slices in own juice excellent fillings in pies and desserts turn out.
With syrup
Sugar syrup nourishes the fruits, and as a result they remain sweet. How to cook:
- Mix sugar and water in a ratio of 1: 2. Warm the syrup to dissolve the sugar grains.
- Prepare apples as usual, pour warm syrup. Cover the plate and let it sit for a few minutes.
- Apples will start up their juice, be fed with sugar, and become very tender and sweet.
- So that the slices in the syrup do not stick together, drain the excess liquid with a colander.
- Freeze the slices individually, then distribute in portions and freeze.
What to cook
Soaked apple slices will go to the filling in cakes and pies, they can be added to cereals, yogurts and fruit salads.
Mashed potatoes
Puree from fruits, vegetables and berries is an indispensable item in the children's and dietary menu. Applesauce, even in the freezer, remains fragrant and nutritious, although it is stored several times less than whole and candied wedges.
How to cook and freeze applesauce:
- We will prepare sugar-free mashed potatoes so that we can use it for baby food.
- Rinse apples, chop, remove the peel and seeds.
- Place the wedges in a saucepan, turn on a slow fire.
- Dip the fruit a little so that it warms up and becomes soft. You do not need to boil - so there will be very few vitamins.
- You can add a little lemon juice to preserve the color.
- Almost ready. Now cool the mass, and then distribute it in containers or sachets. Better yet, put them in ice tins to use apple cubes to decorate an ice cream or cocktail.
What to cook
Mashed potatoes will be an excellent filling for pancakes, pies, muffins. Spread the mass on a sandwich, serve with pancakes or desserts, including ice cream.
Shelf life and defrost
Apples without additives are stored for up to 1 year, candied, in syrup - 6-8 months, and mashed potatoes - 2-3 months. If the freezer does not maintain low temperatures, then the shelf life is reduced by 2-3 times. Do not forget to sign all your blanks in order to use them on time.
Mistresses recommend thawing apple blanks gradually. First, the containers are moved to the refrigerator, allowed to thaw for a couple of hours, then transferred to room conditions.
Apple bins will facilitate the culinary care of the hostess. It is always convenient when at hand natural, sweet and vitamin apples reminiscent of summer.