Freeze the eggplants into slices. Freezing blanched eggplants

“Why do people ask how to freeze eggplants for the winter? Look how many there are in the store, all year round are on sale. Now I’ll go, buy it, cook it!” This is what the housewife who didn’t ask the price of vegetables in winter thinks so.

Only now the vegetable turns out not to be blue, but golden. It's very difficult. And I would like to pamper my family...

What is the problem? Nobody canceled conservation. Bored... I wish I could get some fresh ones... Pfft, even easier. Long periods of standing at the stove and tedious sterilization of jars are eliminated. It’s decided - let’s freeze the eggplants!

Preparation

Where would we be without her? Preliminary preparation always necessary. You can't just take a vegetable and stick it in the freezer. No, in principle it is possible. Only then will it be unfit for food. Have you ever tried bitter rubber? Freeze whole eggplant- try it.

First you need to wash the vegetable. Or a berry? We won’t go into botanical details, just rinse the blue ones thoroughly in clean water. Be careful, the stalk has very sharp spines!

Then wipe dry. Remove the skin with a vegetable peeler. That's it, the eggplant is ready for further adventures.

Advice. If the fruit is young, then the peel can be left.

Three pre-treatment options

What did you want? Washed, cleaned and that's it? Noooo. As you trample, so shall you burst. Who will remove the bitterness? The rubberiness must again be removed. There are three options for subsequent actions:

roasting
blanching
baking

And for the laziest, there is a little secret written below.

For all methods, you will need to cut the eggplants in a convenient way. For stew - in cubes, for pizza - in rings, for hot salad - in strips. The next step is to remove the bitterness. Either add salt in a bowl for 20 minutes, or pour in a saucepan cold salty water for the same time. The bitter liquid is poured out; it is unsuitable for further use.

While the vegetables are giving their byaku, choose a suitable tray or cutting board. Even thick cardboard or plastic will come in handy. Cover it with thick film. You can take a special one that summer residents use to cover their greenhouses. It is thick and durable. Then they look at their own discretion - whichever is more convenient.

Roasting. Suitable for packing in rings. Prepared vegetables are quickly fried in a frying pan with Not big amount vegetable oil. Place on a sieve. As soon as it cools down and the excess oil drains, the last stage begins, common to all three options.
Blanching. Good for cutting into strips. Boil water in a wide saucepan. Place the eggplants in a colander or sieve and place them in boiling water for 4 minutes. Take it out and cool it.
Baking. Ideal for cutting into cubes. Place the eggplants on a baking sheet and lightly sprinkle with your favorite vegetable oil. Place in the oven for half an hour at 170°C. It is advisable to stir the cuts at least once to ensure even baking. Cool.

Advice. Cooled vegetables can be sprinkled with spices, crushed garlic or herbs. Then subsequent cooking will take even less time.

The final stage

The processed fruits are placed on prepared baking sheets or boards in one layer. Place in the freezer for two hours first. This time is enough to form a hard top crust, so that later the eggplants do not stick together into one monolithic block. Your family will be surprised to see you with a hammer or hatchet going into the kitchen - eggplant caviar do.

Once the top layer has set, you can freeze it in convenient portions. These eggplants should be stored in special plastic containers or bags with clips. The main thing is to close the workpieces very tightly. Eggplants themselves do not smell, but they absorb extraneous aromas remarkably well.

To be completely safe, place an old, unnecessary towel under the film in advance. It will allow you to quickly pour vegetables without fear of tearing the bag.

Advice. In winter, it is better not to defrost eggplants so as not to lose the remaining vitamins and useful substances. They immediately begin to cook as soon as they are taken out of the container.

The exception is plates for preparing rolls. You will have to defrost them to put or spread the filling and wrap them. But there is a little trick here: add the filling in advance, roll the rolls and freeze them entirely.

In winter, no worries at all - prepare the sauce, take out the preparation, lay out the eggplants in one layer, and go about your business. After 40-45 minutes we returned to the kitchen, put the resulting delicacy on the plates and that’s it.

The promised secret for the lazy
You will need kitchen foil, fresh tomatoes, cheese, sharp knife, salty water. Washed eggplants are peeled. Vertical cuts are not made completely. These kind of plates come out on a thin substrate. Place the workpiece in salt water for 20-25 minutes. During this time, cut into thin slices hard ripe tomatoes and cheese.

Take out the eggplants and dry them slightly. Now - the fun part! Place prepared slices of cheese and tomatoes into the cuts, alternating. You should get a bright caterpillar. Wrap it in two layers of foil and put it in the freezer.

In winter, when the notorious laziness prevents you from fiddling with dinner, they simply pull out the caterpillar. Do not remove the foil, put it in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Willingness to identify simply: “You recognize her by her smell...”

Simply put, if they feel a stunning aroma, they take it out and carefully tear the foil on top. They put a slice butter or sprinkle with olive oil. Ready!

Advice. The thickness of the plates when cutting should be 3-5 mm, no more.

Tricks

Each microwave comes with a stand for heating two dishes at the same time. We place this stand on one board with freezing, and place the second one on top. Voila! Speeding up the process twice!
Is there no such thing? Great trouble! Four upside-down identical glasses in the corners - why not an improvised stand?
It is better not to use for baking parchment paper, but siliconized. Or a silicone mat. Then the vegetables will not stick and will be easily removed from the baking sheet.
There are recommendations to bake the blue ones whole, then remove the skin and freeze. This is a tip for lovers of bitter dishes. With this method of preparation, it will all remain in the vegetable.
The fruits contain little moisture, so you can put aside the fear of getting watery rags after defrosting. They retain their shape perfectly in prepared dishes.
In order not to confuse frozen bags, always sign them with a permanent marker. Or they put a piece of paper inside with a description and date of bookmarking.
Don't want to look for an old towel or suitable freezer film? Then, if you are lazy, you probably have flexible or folding cutting boards in your kitchen. We pre-freeze them, then pour them easily and quickly into permanent packaging. As a rule, such boards are made of food-grade soft plastic; it is difficult to freeze anything to them.
Frozen blue ones can be stored for 5 to 7 months. Vegetables cannot be re-frozen. Categorically. There is a risk of getting mush instead of vegetables, which is unpleasant in taste and appearance.
Special bags for freezing are very convenient. They have a sealed “zip fastener” or a special clip. In addition, there are no micropores in such bags, which will allow you to store vegetables for a long time without fear of mixing odors with other frosts.
After all the manipulations, the vegetables decrease slightly in size and darken. This is normal. There is no smell of botulism here. Otherwise we have seen such “literate” ones. They claim that this is the beginning of spoilage of the product. They really forget that botulism is a sin of canned food, not freezing. By the way, freshly prepared eggplants in the fall also do not shine with whiteness. They acquire a noble brown tint.
The spouse is not told about the autumn frosts. We spent the day enjoying ourselves, in the evening we quickly took it out of the freezer and cooked it. As soon as the beloved comes home from work, we immediately declare - I’m so tired, so tired, I spent the whole day with these eggplants, soaked, boiled, baked... Well, and further on the list, there’s enough imagination for what.
Frozen blues are not salted during cooking! They have absorbed a sufficient amount of “white poison” even at the stage of getting rid of bitterness.

How to freeze eggplants for the winter? It turns out it's easy! Now, walking with a friend in the winter shopping and hearing from her - blue expensive... And I want so much, you can safely say - come to me, I’ll treat you to some fresh ones.

Video: preparing eggplants for the winter

I love eggplants, I would eat them all year round! Fortunately, my husband shares my preferences, and we recently acquired a spacious freezer. Now, without any problems, you can store surplus summer harvest for a long time - including the little blue ones. And today I want to tell you how to freeze eggplants for the winter in the freezer.

First, I studied the theory well and found out whether it is possible to freeze eggplants for the winter. After all, little blue housewives began freezing relatively recently. And there is an explanation for this: eggplant is a porous vegetable, like a sponge, and easily absorbs foreign odors. Moreover, if you freeze it incorrectly, without pre-treatment, then it will turn out bitter and hard, like rubber. This scared many cooks. Therefore, I will tell you how to make eggplant preparations for the winter in the freezer so that they turn out to be both tasty and healthy.

How to freeze fresh eggplants for the winter at home

I’ll say right away: it makes no sense to freeze eggplants in their raw form, without a little heat treatment; as a result, we can end up with a completely inedible semi-finished product. There are three options for preparing vegetables: blanching, baking and roasting. I’ll share the simplest recipe first.

Select young, ripe blue ones, cut off the back with the tail, and wash. Cut into circles from 5 to 8 mm.
Place the eggplants in a bowl, sprinkle well with coarse salt, and leave for half an hour. Then drain in a colander and rinse off the juice with running water. The bitterness will go away with it.
Place a pan of water on the fire and bring to a boil. Place a colander with eggplants in the pan, cover with a lid, and leave at a low simmer for two minutes. Then remove the colander, rinse with cold running water, and let the liquid drain. Place the eggplants on a towel to dry.
Place the blue ones in one layer on a large board and cover with a bag. Place in the freezer for 4 hours. If there is a lot of eggplant, you can put several of these servings at once.
We take out the frozen vegetables, put them in special freezer bags or containers, and close them tightly. We put it in the freezer.

We store frozen eggplants in the freezer for about six months.

Note: you can freeze eggplants whole, but to do this you need to first bake them in the oven until half cooked (about half an hour). Grease the peel with vegetable oil before baking.

Is it possible to freeze blue ones into cubes?

Of course you can! For example, according to the previous recipe. I will offer you another simple way to freeze diced eggplants in the freezer.

Wash the young eggplants, dry them, and if desired, peel them (you don’t have to peel them). Cut into cubes of your favorite size. For example, 1 cm. If for caviar, it can be smaller.
Prepare a solution at the rate of 1 tbsp. spoon of salt per 1 liter of water. Place the vegetable cubes in it and leave for 1 hour.
Drain the liquid and rinse under running cold water.
Place the vegetable pieces in a saucepan and pour cold water. Add salt and 1 tbsp. spoon lemon juice. Bring to a boil, blanch over low heat for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the blue ones with a slotted spoon and lower them into ice water for a minute. Then add the liquid and let the vegetables dry.

Place in sealed bags or containers, close tightly, and place in the freezer.

Tip: It is very important to remove excess air from the bags before freezing. Squeeze out the air with your hands while squeezing the bag. Remains can be pulled out using a cocktail straw, drawing air into yourself like a vacuum cleaner. Reliable sealing will extend the shelf life of the product up to a year.

Other ways to process fresh eggplants:

Baking in microwave oven 3 minutes, power 900 W;
Steam treatment for 4 minutes.

How to freeze eggplants for rolls

A very convenient preparation - frozen blue ones for rolls! They are easy to make. I’ll tell you in detail how to freeze eggplants in the freezer for the winter, so that later it’s easy to prepare a delicious snack from them.

Wash the blue ones and dry them. We do not remove the peel. Cut off the tails and cut into long slices lengthwise. Thickness – about 0.5-0.8 mm.
Place in a deep bowl, sprinkle with salt. Leave for 30-40 minutes. Then rinse thoroughly with water and dry.
Spread baking paper on a baking sheet. Lay out the blue “tongues” in one layer. Bake at 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
Take it out and let it cool. If there are a lot of eggplants, bake several batches this way.
Cover the tray cling film, lay out the slices in one layer. If everything doesn’t fit, cover it again with film and lay out the next layer. You can make several such layers. Keep in the freezer for several hours.

We take out the blue ones, remove the film, put them in bags or containers for freezing.

Frozen fried eggplant

It’s even easier to prepare a dish of frozen fried eggplants in winter. They turn out very tasty!

Wash the little blue ones, dry them, cut them in any way - as you like.
Sprinkle with salt and leave in a bowl for an hour. Then drain the liquid and rinse. Dry again in a paper towel.
Pour into the pan vegetable oil, fry the blue ones in portions - 5 minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a folded paper towel. Gently blot off excess fat.
Place the cooled blue ones on a board or tray with film in one layer. If necessary, cover them again with film and lay out the next layer. Freeze it.

Take it out and remove the cling film. Place in portions into sealed bags and close. After defrosting, the blue ones can be lightly fried again.

Watch this video on how to properly freeze blue ones.

What can you cook from frozen blueberries?

Before you cook anything, vegetables need to be properly defrosted. The optimal and gentle option is to take them out of the freezer and keep them in the refrigerator for several hours (preferably overnight). They will gradually defrost on their own, while retaining their juiciness and nutrients.

Methods for freezing eggplant

Method one: freezing raw eggplants

With this method, vegetables are cut into circles or pieces. Next, you need to remove the bitterness from them. To do this, add a few tablespoons of salt to a pan of water and place the slices in it. After a couple of hours, the water is drained and the vegetables are washed under cool water. Then they are thrown into a colander and allowed to drain. It is advisable to then place the eggplants on paper towels to dry thoroughly.

The final stage is to place the vegetables in bags and tie them tightly, releasing excess air.

It is worth noting that this is not The best way freezing this delicate vegetable, since frozen raw eggplant after defrosting, they may seem slightly rubbery in consistency. Therefore, when freezing eggplants, it is always recommended to heat them.

First you need to decide on the method of slicing the eggplants. This, just like in the previous recipe, can be either circles or cubes.

Salt will help remove bitterness. To do this, generously sprinkle the slices with coarse table salt and let stand for 30 - 40 minutes. During this time, dark brown juice will drain from the vegetables, which contains all the substances that cause bitterness. Afterwards, the eggplants are washed under running water.

To blanch, the eggplants are immersed in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, then taken out and immediately immersed in ice water. It is convenient to do this using a colander, placing chopped vegetables in it in small batches.

Then you should wait until the water has thoroughly drained from the blanched vegetables, or artificially dry the eggplants with paper towels.

The eggplants are cut into rings and then the bitterness is removed from them. This can be done either by soaking in salt water or by sprinkling with coarse salt. Choose for yourself. Next, the eggplants are dried and placed in a heated frying pan with a small amount of vegetable oil. The eggplants, fried on both sides, are cooled and placed on a tray or cutting board lined with cellophane. In this form, the eggplants are placed in freezer for 4 hours, and then the fried rings are poured into freezer bags and put back in the freezer.

Watch the video: Lubov Kriuk will tell you how to freeze fried eggplants

Alternatively, fried eggplant rings can be rolled in flour and then frozen. Lubov Kriuk will tell you about this in detail in his video:

With this method, eggplants can be baked whole. To do this, place them on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil and put them in the oven for 30 minutes. After this, the eggplants are peeled and squeezed out of the juice, which may contain bitterness. Peeled whole eggplants are packaged in bags and placed in the freezer.

You can also bake eggplants in plates or rings. Lubov Kriuk will tell you how to do this in his video:

Defrosting is usually carried out at room temperature or in the main compartment of the refrigerator. However, to prepare most frozen eggplant dishes, pre-thawing is not required.

It’s clear with seasonal berries, vegetables, herbs, but is it possible to freeze eggplants for the winter so that they retain all their taste qualities, vitamins.
There is one great way that my friend told me. The recipe is that they need to be scalded with boiling water. After all, many people make a huge mistake: they put them in the freezer raw, like zucchini, and then when they prepare some dishes from them, they become terribly bitter. Naturally, the housewives are disappointed, because the product is spoiled, money and labor were wasted.
But I will say that you can freeze eggplant for the winter so that it does not taste bitter, but tastes as if it had just been picked from the garden.
Let's get down to business.

How to properly freeze eggplants

You can do it with this recipe.

Ingredients:

Fresh eggplants;
Salt;
Water.

Step-by-step recipe with photos

Place the resulting pieces on a board so that they do not touch each other.
Place in the freezer. When they freeze, put them in a bag and tie them tightly.

Store for 6-7 months.

What to cook from frozen eggplants

And they are very easy to prepare. No need to defrost. Place the frozen pieces in a hot frying pan and fry until done.
The fillings may be different, below I will give several options:

Appetizer with eggplant and parsley

Parsley – 0.25 bunch;
Garlic – 1-2 teeth;
Mayonnaise – 3 tbsp. lodge;
Salt.

Chop the parsley, add salt and mash with your hands to make it softer. Grate the garlic. Mix all ingredients and spread on fried eggplant pieces.

Appetizer with tomatoes and sausage

Sausage
Tomato
Garlic – 1-2 teeth;
Mayonnaise – 4 tbsp. lie

Fry the eggplant, cut the tomato and sausage into slices. Chop the garlic, mix with mayonnaise, stir. Fold into a pyramid. Grease each layer with mayonnaise. Serve as cold snack with vodka.

Cheese rolls

Cheese - 100 gr;
Garlic – 2-3 teeth;
Mayonnaise 5 tbsp. lie

Eggplants should be cut lengthwise and fry them in vegetable oil. Grate the garlic and cheese on a fine grater and mix with mayonnaise. Spread, roll up.

They can also be added to Hetman’s borscht, soup, meat gravy, cutlets. As you understand, there is no one specific recipe. A dish that you are used to preparing from fresh, you can easily repeat from frozen. It's all up to your imagination.

If someone asks you a question: is it possible to freeze eggplants for the winter, you can confidently answer what is needed.

Thanks to freezers, which are now available in almost every home, many housewives make preparations for the winter with their help. The freezer compartment of the refrigerator contains fruits, berries and, of course, vegetables. It's nice to get supplies from there during the cold season and pamper your loved ones delicious gifts nature. This simple method of preparation is liked by many housewives, because it does not cause much trouble. Frozen foods can be stored for a long time without losing vitamins. How to freeze eggplants fresh for the winter at home?

Should you freeze eggplants?

During the harvest season eggplants cost pennies, but in winter their prices are very high. Most often, many housewives pickle eggplants for the winter and use various preservation methods. Many people would like to freeze them, but they doubt this method. Is it possible to freeze eggplants for the winter and how to do it correctly, what recipes are there?

Eggplant differs from other vegetables in that after freezing it changes its taste and structure. For this reason, not everyone risks freezing this vegetable for the winter at home, because they are afraid of spoiling it. It turns out that there are methods and recipes that allow you to save amazing taste eggplant and preserve its maximum beneficial properties by freezing. Most people doubt the advisability of this method, but given the cost of eggplant in winter and its beneficial properties, it is simply necessary to use it.

In cooking, such a vegetable has long taken its rightful place due to its taste and beneficial properties. Microelements and vitamins in its composition have a beneficial effect on the entire body. The vegetable has amazing properties, for example, helps smokers overcome cravings for tobacco products. It contains a sufficient amount of nicotine, which is necessary for a smoker. Eggplants also activate the process of bile secretion from the human body, which is very important for normal liver function. Eggplant contains a lot of fiber, which improves intestinal function. The copper contained in the vegetable has a good effect on the hematopoietic system.

The vegetable is also distinguished by the fact that it has a bitterness that goes away only if it is cut and salted. Many people think that after freezing the bitterness will go away. In fact, it remains and, according to many experienced housewives, This vegetable cannot be frozen in its raw form.. To get a vegetable suitable for preparing delicious dishes in winter, you need to take into account several rules when freezing.

Experienced housewives with experience in freezing recommend that before loading the eggplant into the freezer, get rid of as much excess moisture as possible in the vegetable. To do this, it must be subjected to heat treatment using one of the available methods:

fry;
stew;
bake;
soak;
blanch.

For winter storage, you need to choose young vegetables whose skins are not very dense. The young “blue ones” have practically no seeds, which is also important for harvesting. The type of vegetable does not matter; any variety can be used. One of the important requirements in any recipe, so that the vegetable is fresh, elastic and not spoiled.

Eggplants can be cut in a convenient way; much in this matter depends on what dishes will be prepared from them after freezing. Also, the cutting sizes will depend on the free space in the freezer.

If the “little blue ones” are not salted and the bitterness is not allowed to go away with the juice, you will end up with tasteless pulp. With any method used, vegetables should be sealed to prevent air from entering before freezing.

Also, for freezing, the “little blue ones” can be completely fried in a frying pan without oil. According to the recipe, the fruits need to be turned over so that they release the juice. After heat treatment remove the peel, cool and pack in a convenient way for long-term storage.

Blanched vegetables

First you need to select the right vegetables, so that they are free from cracks and other damage with shiny and smooth skin. Then they should be washed well and cut in a convenient way:

longitudinal plates;
circles;
cubes.

To remove the bitterness, you need to sprinkle the chopped eggplants with salt. After this, the vegetables are mixed. According to the recipe, they need to sit in the kitchen for several hours. The eggplants will release dark-colored juice, which needs to be drained, and the vegetables should be rinsed well under running water and squeezed out of excess moisture. It is very important to do this carefully, not to deform the cutting.

The vegetables are now ready for blanching. You need to take a pan, pour water into it, and when it boils, place chopped eggplants in boiling water for 3 minutes. This will allow the eggplants to become softer and not lose their shape.

After this, the vegetables should be placed in a colander and excess moisture should be allowed to drain. At this time, you can prepare packaging for storing vegetables:

containers;
packages;
cling film.

Place the eggplants in the prepared storage container and place them in the freezer.

Fried "blue"

Selected eggplants should be washed thoroughly and the edges removed, after which you can cut it in a convenient way. The chopped vegetables are covered with salt and left for several hours to release the juice. This will help remove the bitterness and make the taste of the “blue” ones pleasant.

When the eggplants have released enough juice, it is drained. The chopped vegetables are washed with water and dried with a paper towel. This will help them fry well and not get soaked in too much oil.

Place eggplants in a hot frying pan with vegetable oil and fry. Place them on a paper napkin or towel to remove excess oil.

Next stage - preparation for freezing. To do this you need to have a cutting board, plastic bags or cling film. The board should not be very large so that it can easily fit in the freezer. A layer of eggplant is placed on the board so that each piece does not lie on top of the other, after which they are covered with cling film and then the next layer is placed. All vegetables are laid out in this order.

After this, the tray of vegetables should be placed in the freezer and left for several hours so that they harden well. When the eggplants are firm enough, you can take them out and put them in packaging convenient for long-term storage.

How to properly freeze baked eggplants?

This method is the most correct, since baked eggplants retain more nutrients. The “blue ones” need to be sorted out and washed, trimmed off the ends and cut to your liking.

Chopped vegetables sprinkle with salt and stand like that for several hours. All the dark-colored juice that the eggplants released must be drained and gently squeezed out. Now, according to the recipe, you need to prepare a baking sheet on which the eggplants will be baked. The surface of the baking sheet must be greased with vegetable oil and the eggplants should be placed evenly. Then the baking sheet is placed in the oven at a temperature of 180 o C.

To bake vegetables, it is best to use odorless vegetable oil. The baking sheet should be in the oven for no more than half an hour, this time will be enough if the vegetable is not cut very coarsely. Before freezing, let the vegetables cool and remove excess oil. Now you can put them in a prepared container and freeze them in the freezer.