How to properly freeze cucumbers for the winter in the freezer: 6 freezing methods
Are cucumbers frozen? This question has been worrying more and more people lately. The answer is clear – it is possible and necessary! This article presents 6 ways to properly freeze fresh and pickled cucumbers.
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How to prepare cucumbers for freezing
Strong specimens with dense, intact skin, without rot or yellowness, are suitable for freezing.
Wash the cucumbers under running water and wipe with towels.
Methods for freezing cucumbers for the winter
Whole cucumbers frozen for the winter
Clean, dry cucumbers are placed in plastic bags and placed in the freezer. In winter, these cucumbers can be grated and used to make cucumber sauce. It is important not to defrost the cucumber before using it!
The taste and aroma of the vegetable remains unchanged, but if you defrost it whole, it will be very liquid and watery.
See video from Irina Danilova – Frozen cucumber
You can freeze cucumber rings
This method is more often used in freezing practice.Cucumbers are cut into rings and frozen. To prevent the cucumber slices from sticking to each other, they are first frozen in one layer on a cutting board and then poured into one container.
A very convenient way to freeze fresh cucumbers in rings, in foil and bags, is suggested by Valentina Prokudina in her video - Freezing Vegetables. cucumbers
How to freeze cucumbers for the winter for okroshka
The most popular way to freeze cucumbers is in cubes for okroshka. The cucumbers are chopped into small pieces, placed in bags or containers, and stored in the freezer.
There is a rule here: the amount of vegetables needed for one-time use should be placed in the packaging container.
See the video Channel “Splash of Ideas” - How to properly freeze cucumbers for okroshka for a long time
How to freeze fresh grated cucumbers
This freezing method will appeal to women who use cucumbers in home cosmetology to prepare face masks.
Clean cucumbers are grated through a coarse grater and, along with the juice that has been released, placed in freezer bags or ice cube trays. The second option is preferable, since you don’t have to take out the whole package to separate the necessary part from it.
See the video from the channel “Olga and Mom” - Freezing cucumbers is an excellent proven method for the winter
How to freeze cucumber juice
Clean cucumbers are crushed through a meat grinder or grated through a grater, and then squeezed through cheesecloth. The resulting cucumber juice is poured into ice molds and sent to the freezer. After a day, the cucumber ice cubes are transferred to a separate bag or container.
It is very useful to use such cubes for wiping the face instead of toning and moisturizing lotion.
How to freeze pickles
In addition to fresh ones, you can also freeze pickles. This becomes necessary when you opened a large jar of salted vegetables, but were unable to consume it all. To avoid product spoilage, cucumbers can be frozen.
Undoubtedly, the crunchiness of the pickled cucumber will be lost, but using such freezing to prepare pickle or vinaigrette is very appropriate. In this case, the cucumbers can first be chopped into cubes or frozen not entirely.
How to defrost cucumbers correctly
Whole frozen cucumbers are grated without defrosting.
Cucumbers frozen into cubes are also placed in okroshka without prior defrosting.
Pickled cucumbers and fresh ones intended for masks are defrosted for several hours on the bottom shelf of the main compartment of the refrigerator, and then at room temperature.