How to properly freeze beets for the winter at home

Preliminary preparation of vegetables

The first step is to choose quality vegetables to freeze. The root crop should be dense, small in size, with a smooth skin, without damage.

Another important aspect of choosing beets is their tail. He must be alone. Numerous root shoots indicate that the vegetable is tough.

We cut off the tops from the selected specimens, and wash the fruits themselves with a brush under running water. This must be done very carefully so that there is no sand or dirt left on the root crop.

Watch the video on how to choose the right beets - Stocking beets for the winter

Freezing beets for the winter: recipes

How to freeze raw beets

Since raw beets can stain not only dishes and cutting boards, but also your hands, it is reasonable to arm yourself with a pair of plastic or thin rubber gloves.

Clean beets are peeled and rinsed again with water to prevent sand from entering. Then you need to give time so that as much liquid as possible drains from the root crop.

Now you need to decide on the shape of cutting the vegetable. This largely depends on what you are going to make from the workpiece in the future.

Methods for chopping beets:

• cut into cubes, sticks, strips or circles;
• grate;
• grind until pureed.

Beets chopped into slices can be cut into packaging bags and, after removing as much air as possible, put them in the freezer.

To ensure that the freezing remains crumbly, the beet pieces are frozen in stages. To do this, the slices are initially laid out on a flat surface in one layer and sent for pre-freezing. After a few hours, the beets are poured into one container and placed in the freezer for long-term storage.

Grated fresh beets are packaged in small bags, flattened, hermetically sealed, and put in the freezer.

In order to freeze raw beet puree, it is first crushed into small pieces and then punched in a blender. The puree is placed in silicone or plastic molds and frozen. These briquettes are convenient to use for making sauces.

See the video from the channel “It’s my Life” - Freezing food for the winter

How to freeze boiled beets

This method differs from the previous one only in that the beets are heat treated before chopping.

You can cook beets either with or without the peel.

In order to boil beets in their peels, place them in a saucepan and fill with cold water. The water should completely cover the root crop.Cook beets, depending on size, for 40-60 minutes.

You can also boil beets in the microwave. To do this, the unpeeled vegetable is placed in several plastic bags, tied tightly and placed in the oven for 10-15 minutes at maximum power.

Without peeling, beets can be steamed in a double boiler or slow cooker.

Also, the vegetable can be baked in the oven before freezing. Bake the beets directly in the peel for about 1 hour. Readiness is checked by piercing it with a knife.

After heat treatment of the root crop, it is cut into wheels, bars or cubes.

Undoubtedly, the winning option is grated beets.

You can also puree boiled beets in a blender. Frozen puree is very popular for preparing children's menu dishes.

Many people ask, is it possible to freeze whole beets? This method of freezing is, of course, possible, but in order to use such a vegetable, it will need to be defrosted first. In addition, ice crystals will still have a destructive effect on the structure of the fruit, so you can’t expect beautiful cutting.

See the video from the channel “Recipes from Lirin Lo” – Freezing beets for the winter

Is it possible to freeze beet tops?

Young beet tops should definitely be frozen for the winter. From this product you can make a wonderful vitamin green borscht.

The tops are washed, dried on a towel, and then cut into strips. Moreover, the red stem also comes into play. Chopped greens are packaged in bags, tightly closed, and put in the freezer.

How long to store and how to defrost beets

The shelf life of beets, subject to the temperature conditions of the freezer, is no more than 10 months.

The process of preparing soups with the addition of frozen beets does not require preliminary defrosting. At the same time, beets frozen raw are placed in a dish in the middle of cooking, and boiled ones - at the very end.

Defrost boiled beets for salads at room temperature or in the main compartment of the refrigerator.