How to freeze beets for the winter in the freezer for various dishes

Beets are a very useful, popular vegetable that goes into many dishes and lies on the shelves of any supermarket. But many housewives prefer not beetroot, but “their own” beets: it is fresh, grown in soil, fertilized according to the rules and harvested on time - it has more vitamins. And here the question arises: how to maintain the harvest in winter? In the cellar, the root crop wilts, loses its juiciness and taste. Is it possible to freeze beets? Yes. In the freezer, the vegetable will retain all its qualities. But you need to follow a few simple rules.

How to choose the right beet

Root crops of medium size (about 10 cm in diameter) with a smooth, undamaged peel are perfect for freezing. Completely unacceptable options with seals or, conversely, soft sections. The tail should be smooth, not hairy.

The shape and color of beets depends on the variety, but the usual dining room should look like a ball. Color - uniform, bright and saturated.

Large and uneven fruits are most likely stiff and poorly cooked in the future. Also, when hunting for large root crops, it is easy to stumble upon a feed variety that does not have such color, taste and aroma as beetroot.

Preparation for freezing

In general, beets are prepared for freezing in the same way as any other vegetable, with one difference: previously it goes through heat treatment:

1. Wash the root crop under running water or soak in a basin for 15 minutes. So it will dissolve and all the dirt will go away.
2. Leave on a paper towel for an hour or two, so that all moisture is gone.
3. Boil in water for 40 minutes or close in a baking sleeve, make a few small cuts on the bag and send to the microwave at medium power (approximately 650 W) for 20 minutes.
4. Cool with cold water.
5. Clean, cut the tail and crown.
6. Grind the fruit.

Tip
For beetroot, it is not necessary to boil beets - it is excellent in a pan, frying with onions and carrots. But the magazine purity.bigbadmole.com/en/ recommends that you freeze everything already cooked - then cooking the borscht will be even easier: just throw a portion of the dressing into the broth.

The main difficulty in working with beets is to preserve its color. Mistresses know several secrets of a bright red root crop:

1. If the vegetable is pre-cooked, it is immersed in water whole. You can not peel off the skin, cut off the tail or top, make punctures or cuts.
2. The same goes for baking in the sleeve.
3. In the water for cooking, you can add 0.5 tsp. vinegar or 1 tsp. sugar / lemon juice.
4. It is not necessary to bring beets to full readiness. When it plunges into cold water, the core will reach without prolonged heating.
5. If raw chopped vegetable is fried, you need to add more oil - it clogs the tubules and prevents the juice from flowing out.

Tip
Cooking time varies depending on the size of the fruit and its variety. But to pierce a vegetable that has not been cooked is impossible. It is better if the heartlet remains a little damp (after freezing and later in hot borsch or stew, it softens). If you make a puncture and continue cooking, the paint will leak.

The next step is cleaning, grinding and packaging. Make one-time portions that are convenient to get without defrosting the main stock. Re-icing will nullify all efforts, and beets will lose color, shape and taste.

How to freeze beets

How to spread beets:

1. On trays or containers for freezing. The result is thin portioned braces. Top containers must be covered with a film or a lid. And from such boxes pyramids are easily made, which compactly stand up to the far wall of the freezer.
2. By packages. For one pan of borscht, etc., 300 g of beetroot slicing is enough. Measure out the right amount, put it in a bag and spread it in a flat layer. Squeeze out air and tie. Such braces take up even less space than trays; they are also conveniently placed on top of each other. Minus - packages are easy to break through, sorting through stocks.
3. General package. For salads, beets are often cut into strips or cubes. Such pieces are best frozen in bulk: put on pallets or dishes with sides in a separate layer, and after two hours, break and pour into a common package, sprinkle a new bookmark on the trays. Place trays on top of each other to make things go faster. Spread the bottom with cling film so that the pieces do not stick.
4. IN small cups. It is convenient to lay out / pour the puree and juice into small glasses, for example, from under yogurt, in a grid for ice cubes. An interesting idea for grated beets or mashed potatoes in a children's salad is to put the slices on cookie cutters. After thawing, the form will be preserved and decorate the baby plate.

At what temperature should beets be frozen and stored
It is important to remember: the faster the beets harden, the more benefits, taste and color it will retain. Use shock freezing for 2-4 hours (at temperatures below –20 degrees). In the future, the vegetable is good at a standard frost of about –18.

According to the reviews of the hostesses, it is preferable to freeze the beets separately from onions and carrots. This is especially convenient if you plan to make different dishes from beets, and not just borsch. It also makes sense to prepare a vegetable in various forms: mashed potatoes for smoothies, juice for treating the liver, shavings for herring under a fur coat or borsch, cubes for vinaigrette or stew, etc.

Shelf life

Frozen beets lie at a stable temperature in the chamber for up to 12 months. Mashed potatoes lose quality faster in 2-4 months. The grill loses its flavor over time, so it should not be cherished for a long time either - it takes 2 months. purity.bigbadmole.com/en/ magazine recommends freezing the freezer during the winter: this way you get the maximum benefit and taste.

Beets are a very popular and healthy vegetable. She has one whim: she easily loses color if she breaks the technology of cooking or freezing. If everything is done correctly, borscht, vinaigrettes and stews will turn out beautiful, tasty, healthy, and cooking will take much less time.