Most pumpkin varieties have a short shelf life, and even in a cool basement, it often starts to deteriorate after a month. Freezing helps to keep the crop for the winter. From the recommendations of the review article, you will learn about different ways to freeze this vitamin product, and how to make this process easy and enjoyable.

Is frozen pumpkin healthy?

When freezing, all the useful components of the vegetable are completely preserved.

Did you know? The largest pumpkin pie was baked in the USA. Its diameter was 152 cm. The recipe included 3 kg of pumpkin, 1.5 kg of granulated sugar and 144 chicken eggs. A giant cake was baked for 6 hours.

Frozen pumpkin is in no way inferior to fresh and has several advantages for maintaining health:

1. Due to a rich set of nutrients it stimulates the immune system, fights cholesterol, and regulates metabolism.
2. It slows down aging, normalizes sleep, improves hair condition and maintains a healthy complexion, increases overall energy and promotes a healthy body mass index (BMI).
3. It is indicated for people with diseases of the gallbladder, liver, kidneys, urinary tract.
4. It helps fight worms, removes excess water and salt from the body, and helps to heal wounds, cuts and other skin lesions.
5. Potassium contained in the vegetable regulates blood pressure. Thanks to this element, the risk of stroke is reduced, bone mineral density is preserved.
6. Pumpkin is one of the most famous sources of beta-carotene. This powerful antioxidant reduces the risk of developing oncology of the prostate and colon, provides protection against asthma and heart disease,
7. Antioxidants (Vitamin C, E and beta-carotene) support eye health and prevent their degenerative damage.
8. The dietary fiber that the orange fruit is rich in regulates the gastrointestinal tract, helps the absorption of food and reduces the risk of obesity. Fiber has a powerful effect on glucose absorption, slowing down the rate of absorption of sugar in the blood. The vegetable not only prevents diabetes, but also helps to control this disease.

Pumpkin selection and preparation

Regardless of whether you grow this culture in your own garden or purchase it in a store, there are ways to find a quality product. First of all, choose instances that have reached full maturity. They are with hard, hard skin.

Do not pick fruits with dents or moldy areas, as well as cuts and punctures. Pat the pumpkin - the sound should be deaf. Let it be specimens of medium or small size, since their flesh is less fibrous. In a ripe vegetable, the tail is dry, and the subcutaneous part is colored in intense orange or bright yellow.

To prepare a fresh vegetable for freezing, you need:

1. Wash well, then dry the fruit with a clean waffle towel.
2. Using a long knife, cut the pumpkin in half, then each half into another 4 parts.
3. Use a large spoon to remove loose entrails and seeds. Put the seeds aside (they are edible).
4. Peel pumpkin slices, leaving only the pulp.

Important! The product that has been left in the refrigerator is not suitable for freezing.

Best frozen pumpkin recipes

Freezing pumpkin vegetables is easy enough. Below are step-by-step instructions for the most popular freezing methods.

In crushed form

The freezing of the fruit in crushed form is carried out according to the following scheme:

1. Grind the prepared pulp with a grater.
2. Distribute the resulting mass into bags with a slider lock. It is undesirable to put more than 450 g into one bag. Try to distribute the mass finely and evenly.
3. While squeezing the bags with your hands, release air from them.
4. Fasten the zipper tightly, then transfer the bags to the freezer.

In pieces

Chopped fruit is frozen as follows:

1. Chop the fresh pulp with medium cubes, then blot them with napkins.
2. Spread the chopped product in one layer over the trays.
3. Transfer the workpieces to the freezer for a couple of hours, then remove and pour into plastic containers.
4. Pumpkin cubes are ready to be sent to the freezer for long-term storage.

In a quick way

To save your time, use the quick freeze method:

1. Cut fresh pulp into arbitrary slices.
2. Place the pieces in a suitable container. If using the bag, release all the air from it, then close it tightly.
3. Store the container in the freezer until you decide to use the convenience food.

For feeding

Despite the undeniable benefits of pumpkin, it is gradually introduced into the diet of babies. Track the health of the child - are there any negative changes after consuming the vegetable?

Prepare the product for freezing as follows:

1. Finely chopped freshly washed fresh pulp.
2. Dry the cut with napkins.
3. Distribute the chopped product into plastic containers or strong bags with a slider lock.
4. Send the blanks to the freezer.

For a child, it is useful to freeze pumpkin in combination with other vegetables (for example, carrots or zucchini).

Did you know? Pumpkin is 90 percent water.

For desserts

To enjoy your favorite pumpkin desserts in winter, follow the instructions below:

1. Prepare containers with tight caps well in advance.
2. Chop the pumpkin into small cubes, then blot excess liquid with napkins.
3. Sprinkle the bottom of the container lightly with sugar, lay the pumpkin slices in one layer. Then repeat the sugar layer and, if desired, lay out the second row of pumpkins. The last layer should be granulated sugar.
4. After closing the container with a lid, a little empty space should remain inside so that you can carefully shake the contents of the container.

The ingredient for future desserts is ready to freeze.

Frozen Mashed Potatoes

In the form of mashed potatoes, the orange fruit is frozen as follows:

1. Chop the pumpkin into arbitrary medium slices (you can’t remove the peel at this stage). Place the cut on a baking sheet with parchment sheet and bake in the oven at a temperature of + 170 ° C - + 180 ° C until cooked (about 50-60 minutes).
2. Allow the prepared slices to cool completely, then remove the peel from them.
3. To turn a baked product into mashed potatoes, you can use a food processor. A blender is also suitable (it is much easier to wash it when you finish working with a pumpkin). Place the cooled pieces in the selected household appliance and grind them to a homogeneous state of gruel.
4. Pumpkin can be very watery. To get rid of excess fluid and get a gentle silky smoothie, pass the mass through a sieve.
5. Distribute the resulting composition into small plastic glasses or tight bags with a slider lock. Wrap the glasses tightly with film, and fasten the bags with a zipper. Try to make small portions of mashed potatoes. In packets, the mass should be distributed finely and evenly. So it freezes faster and then thaws faster.
6. Place mashed potatoes in the freezer for long-term storage (up to one year).

Optimal conditions and shelf life

For long-term storage of pumpkins, the appropriate conditions must be observed. Avoid warm and humid places (even if you are going to store vegetables for only a couple of weeks). Do not keep the crop on a cement floor - vegetables will rot.

The storage room for the crop should be:

• dry, clean, well ventilated, without increased humidity;
• dark (protected from direct rays of the sun);
• cool (optimal temperature - from + 3 ° C to + 10 ° C).

Such conditions will allow the fruit to lie down to 1 year. If one of the rules is violated, the shelf life of the vegetable is significantly reduced. Creating optimal storage conditions for the product is a very important point in maintaining its quality. It's about the place where the pumpkin is best preserved.

So, it can be stored in:

1. Freezer compartment. Without loss of nutritional qualities, pumpkin vegetable here can lie for a long time, almost a year.
2. The refrigerator. The use of a refrigerator is advisable for small uncut fruits wrapped in paper. They will remain fresh for about three months. The peeled pieces of pulp wrapped in a cling film can be stored in the lower compartment of the refrigerator for only two weeks. Replacing the film with foil, the shelf life is extended to one month.
3. Cellar or basement. Preferably, the cellar is equipped with shelves covered with dried straw. Place the vegetables with their tails up and a short distance from each other. Systematically inspect the fruits and remove rotted on time.
4. Apartment (glazed balcony, loggia, dark pantry, under the bed). To protect the fruit from light, store it in bags or wrap it in blankets. Before placing pumpkin fruits under a bed or in a dark pantry, place wooden boards or cardboard under the vegetables (in the latter case, the shelf life will slightly decrease).

How to unfreeze a pumpkin

According to how the vegetable was frozen, there are several ways to defrost it:

1. Freshly frozen pumpkin is ready for use immediately after removal from the freezer. Bring water, broth or milk to a boil, only then dip the pumpkin slices into the liquid.
2. Add grated semi-finished product in hot lunches at the end of cooking. You can’t do without defrosting if you plan to add the product to desserts (for example, to the pancake filling).
3. Baked fruit is also added only at the end of cooking, since it is almost a finished dish.
4. Mashed potatoes require preliminary defrosting. To speed up the melting process, use a microwave or refrigerator. In the first case, the process of defrosting to softness will take from 2 to 3 minutes. The puree transferred to the refrigerator will be ready for use in an hour.
5. Having decided to use the semi-finished product for the preparation of complementary foods, send it to cook frozen.

Important! As for the question of whether the pumpkin can be re-frozen, the answer is categorically negative. Re-freezing the product is categorically not recommended, so harvest the vegetable in portions at a time.

What can be cooked from frozen pumpkin

Frozen pumpkin is an excellent substitute for canned food.

When choosing a recipe, pay attention to how the vegetable was frozen:

• grated vegetable is used as a filling for pancakes, added to the dough for pancakes, muffins and casseroles;
• diced product is added to soups, vegetable sauté, salads, mashed potatoes, various cereals (in water or milk), vegetable and meat stews;
• pumpkin harvested in sugar diversifies desserts, pastries and cereals;
• ready mashed potatoes are used in baking recipes; they make mashed soups, cereals, meat dishes, vegetable cutlets, and fillings for pies and pancakes.

Frozen pumpkin is a vegetable that can be fed to the whole family at any time of the year. It can be an excellent base for various desserts. It is useful to include a vitamin vegetable even in baby and diet food. So you need to take care to save it, including for the winter.