Is it possible to freeze boiled eggplant. How to freeze eggplant for the winter in the freezer

Unlike other vegetables, eggplant, after freezing, changes its structure and taste beyond recognition. Therefore, there are special tricks for freezing eggplants for the winter at home. The Indian alien is so fond of culinary specialists that home-freezing methods are being used more and more often. Moreover, dishes from frozen eggplant taste indistinguishable from those prepared from fresh fruits.

What is the benefit of eggplant?

India is the birthplace of eggplant. They belong to the nightshade family. A heat-loving culture is demanding in agricultural technology. In cooking, eggplants occupy a worthy place due to their useful components. The microelements presented in its composition have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system. There are special properties in fruits:

The use of eggplant reduces cravings for tobacco, as the pulp contains the amount of nicotine needed by the smoker.
It activates the process of removing bile from the body, which is important in liver diseases.
A large amount of fiber improves intestinal motility. Copper stimulates the hematopoietic system.
Solanine, present in eggplants, gives them bitterness, but is easily removed by soaking with salt.
The fruits are a perishable product.

You can extend the use of eggplant using canning. But during heat treatment, the amount of nutrients is halved. With the advent of household freezers, a way has emerged to preserve the benefits of green foods by freezing. Is it possible to freeze eggplant for the winter? Yes, you can. At the same time, the useful composition is preserved almost completely. The faster the freezing is carried out, the more vitamins in greens and fruits. However, repeated freezing is unacceptable for products. The product taken from the freezer should be used without residue. In addition, unlike beets, parsley and dill, eggplant needs special processing before being placed in the freezer.

When stored in the light, eggplants produce solanine, which is a toxic substance. It is also found in fruits in small quantities, giving them bitterness.

How to freeze eggplant for the winter?

There are general recommendations that should be used when laying eggplant in the freezer:

Do not freeze fruits without pre-soaking. In this case, the pulp becomes rubbery.
Soaking is always carried out in a saline solution, which removes the bitterness of the product. Soaking time is several hours. You can sprinkle the sliced \u200b\u200bin salt for an hour with the extraction of the released juice.
Regardless of the method of further processing, the mass or fruit ready for storage must be wrapped so that there is no air, no oxidation occurs.
Before laying in storage, the workpieces should be drained of excess moisture or oil on paper towels.
Store the finished product in an airtight container or food bag for no more than 6 months.
When stacking various bags and containers in the freezer, it is necessary to sign the product. Packages during winter storage become indistinguishable.

Preparation methods differ in different recipes. Many recommendations on how to freeze eggplant properly can be found on culinary websites. In this case, blanching, frying in a pan or in the oven until soft is used.

The fastest way is blanks in the form of a whole eggplant. Fresh elastic fruit without damage is washed and allowed to dry. Remove the tail and fry on all sides in a dry frying pan without oil. It is important to turn the fruits so that the bitter juice flows out. After that, remove the skin and, after cooling the eggplant, swaddle it in cling film, put it in the freezer.

If the same eggplant is sprinkled with salt and greased with vegetable oil, then after baking in the oven until soft, it will be ready as a semi-finished product. We remove the skin and also pack it in cling film.

If cutting is performed, then here you should prepare cubes, strips, slices for a specific dish. At the same time, take into account that the smaller the fragment, the faster it will freeze and retain more vitamins. After slicing and salting, the slices can go for blanching, in the oven for baking or in a frying pan for frying. Sometimes eggplant circles are fried after breading in flour or breadcrumbs. Baked and fried eggplant slices are ready to eat after defrosting.

Blanching - heat treatment for several minutes and subsequent cooling in water:

Dip the prepared slices into boiling water and boil them for 2-4 minutes until they become soft. Drain quickly in a colander and cool with water.
Put the eggplant pan in the microwave for 3-4 minutes at a power of 800-900 watts.
Process vegetables in a double boiler for 3-4 minutes.

The semi-finished product is ready, it remains to dry and lay in a thin layer for freezing. Only after that the products are packaged for storage.

Deep freezing one layer of eggplant slices will take 4-5 hours. If more than one layer is laid, the freezing time increases, and this is not entirely beneficial for the preservation of vitamins. Freezing eggplant for the winter at home is a time-consuming and responsible process.

For preservation, medium-sized fruits are chosen without the slightest damage, with elastic pulp. At the same time, varieties of late ripening will be the best for harvesting.

Winter storage of frozen vegetables

During the entire period, it is necessary to ensure that no mixture of aromas forms in the freezer. Preparations such as frozen dill should be kept in an airtight container, preferably in a separate chamber. He contrives to spread his fragrance throughout the refrigerator. Other blanks pull on an unnecessary smell. Therefore, it is better to use special containers. It's good to have disposables. Got it, opened it, used it.

In the event of a power outage, do not open the cabinet door. Modern equipment keeps the cold for more than 12 hours, if you do not break the circuit. Later, of course, an audit will be required. If part of the product has melted, then you need to make caviar. You can't freeze eggplant again.

How to defrost the product correctly?

A portion of frozen eggplant can be set to gradually thaw in the refrigerator for several hours. You can arrange the slices on a plate and leave on the table. At the same time, cooks do not recommend using a microwave.

Video about freezing eggplant for the winter

Almost any housewife makes preparations for the winter, because in the cold season you really want to pamper yourself and your family with the gifts of nature, which were available in abundance in the summer. However, many people know that nowadays there is an easier way to preserve them for the cold seasons - freezing. For example, eggplants can be frozen fresh for the winter, and there are a number of ways to do this.

Usually, making such preparations is much easier than preservation, and frozen “blue ones” (as they are affectionately called by the people) can be used all year round to prepare various dishes.

Is it worth it to freeze?
Freezing baked vegetables
The easiest recipe
Reviews and comments

Is it worth it to freeze?

Some people still doubt the expediency of this event. To the question of whether it is possible to freeze eggplants, the answer is obvious - this can be done, as well as other gifts of nature can be sent for storage in the freezer for the winter.

When it comes to the feasibility of this method of storage, several factors must be taken into account.

Doubts can be raised by the fact that at present, even in the cold season, “blue ones” can be found on store shelves. However, when you get acquainted with their cost, the desire to taste eggplant disappears. At the same time, freezing allows vegetables to retain their taste, so that with the right approach to this process, they cannot be distinguished from fresh ones.

Do not forget about the beneficial properties of vegetables. The “blue ones” contain a lot of minerals, vitamins, about 80% of which are preserved during freezing, while only about 60% of eggplant nutrients can be preserved during conservation.

Their list includes:

Cellulose;
B vitamins;
Potassium;
Iron;
Calcium;
Phosphorus.

There are a number of ways to send "blue ones" for storage. Experienced housewives do not recommend putting them in the freezer without prior preparation, since then it will be difficult to get rid of the unpleasant bitter taste inherent in these gifts of nature.

Here are a few ways to freeze eggplant for the winter in the freezer to get a tasty and healthy product when defrosted.

Blanched vegetables for freezing

The process starts with choosing the right product.

What should it be?

Vegetables must be ripe;
They must be free of cracks, damage;
Their skin should be shiny and smooth.

Here's how to properly freeze blanched eggplant for the winter:

To begin with, they need to be cut into circles, longitudinally with plates or cubes. You can choose the cutting method at your discretion, depending on which dishes you will use the “blue ones” for after defrosting.
Now you need to rid them of an unpleasant bitter aftertaste. To do this, fill them with salt. It is better if the latter is large, but you can use ordinary salt. Thoroughly mix the components and let stand for several hours at room temperature.
The vegetables will let out a dark-colored juice, which must be drained, and they themselves should be thoroughly washed under running water and squeezed a little. Do the last manipulation carefully so as not to damage the pieces of the “blue ones”.
Before sending vegetables for storage for the winter in the freezer, they are blanched. Pour clean water into the pan, let it boil, then put the product in it for 3 minutes. Thanks to this procedure, the “blue ones” will not boil, but will become softer.

We throw the vegetables in a colander, let them cool, and the water should drain during this time.
Prepare plastic containers, cling film or bags in advance, put the “blue ones” in them.
Send the container to the freezer (it is better if it is a quick freeze, but if it is not available, you can use a regular freezer).

Freezing fried "blue"

In this form, they can also be sent for storage. Choose a product, and the tips from the previous recipe will help you do it right.

We wash the product, cut off the edges, cut into circles, plates or cubes.
We fill them with salt, wait a few hours, drain the resulting juice, rinse, wipe dry with napkins. This is done before freezing them, so that the vegetables do not taste bitter and are not too saturated with oil during frying.
Fry the “blue ones” in hot vegetable oil, put them on paper towels so that the oil is glassed.
When they have cooled, “arm yourself” with a board the size of which will allow you to put it in the freezer. Lay eggplant slices on it in layers so that they do not overlap. Each layer must be separated from the next, and for this we need plastic bags or cling film.

Next, we send the tray to the freezer, where after a few hours they will already become solid.
Now you can remove the tray (board), arrange the vegetables in special bags or in plastic containers. In the first case, make sure that the air is removed from them, and the bags are tightly closed.

When you remove the product from the freezer, you can fry it again if necessary.

Freezing baked vegetables

In this form, they retain most of their beneficial properties, and after defrosting, you can use eggplants to prepare any favorite dish for which you use them fresh.

We choose ripe, intact "blue ones".

Here is an algorithm for how to freeze baked eggplant for the winter:

We wash the “blue ones”, dry it with a towel, remove the peel (the last step can be skipped).
Cut into slices, plates or circles, sprinkle with salt, after a few hours drain the dark juice, squeeze the vegetables.
Slices of "blue" according to this recipe for frozen eggplant, harvested for the winter, must be laid out on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil in advance. So that the product does not acquire an unpleasant odor, it is better to take non-aromatic oil. The oven must be preheated to a temperature of 180 degrees.

Bake the slices until tender, which will take about half an hour. The exact amount of time depends on how large the chunks are, what their number is.
Before the eggplants are frozen, they must be allowed to cool completely and the oil to drain.
Next, you need to pack the slices of vegetables in bags or plastic containers and send them to the quick freezer. After a few hours, they will become hard.
Now you can move the "blue ones" to storage in the common freezer.

The easiest recipe

Vegetables do not need to be chopped to prepare, which saves time. In addition, this method is convenient if you still do not know what dishes you will cook with eggplant - then you can cut them in any convenient way.

The recipe for harvesting frozen whole eggplant is simple:

Rinse medium-sized vegetables thoroughly, let dry or dry yourself with a towel.

Poke holes in each eggplant with a fork.
Heat a baking sheet with oil in the oven, put the “blue ones” on it. The temperature in the oven should be about 200 degrees, the baking time should be about half an hour.
Let the vegetables cool, remove the skin. As other recipes suggest, they now need to be squeezed to release the bitter juice.
Distribute the "blue ones" into freezer bags or plastic containers, put them in the freezer.

As for defrosting the product, this should be done at room temperature or in a refrigerator. It is not recommended to carry out this process in the microwave, oven, etc., as the blue ones may become too soft.

Knowing these recipes, in the winter you can cook any dishes from eggplant - tasty and healthy!

Thanks to freezers, which are now in almost every home, many housewives make preparations for the winter with their help. Fruits, berries and, of course, vegetables are placed in the freezer of the refrigerator. It's nice to get supplies from there in the cold season and pamper your loved ones with delicious gifts of nature. Such a simple way of harvesting is to the liking of many housewives, because it does not cause much trouble. Frozen foods can be stored for a long time and do not lose vitamins. How to freeze fresh eggplant for the winter at home?

Should you freeze eggplant?

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

Eggplant differs from other vegetables in that after freezing it changes its taste and texture. For this reason, not everyone runs the risk of freezing this vegetable for the winter at home, because they are afraid to spoil it. It turns out that there are methods and recipes to preserve the amazing taste of eggplant and preserve its maximum useful properties by freezing. Most people doubt the feasibility of this method, but given the cost of eggplant in the winter and its beneficial properties, it simply needs to be used.

In cooking, such a vegetable has long taken its rightful place due to its taste and useful properties. Trace elements and vitamins in its composition have a beneficial effect on the entire body. The vegetable has amazing properties, such as helping 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 excretion from the human body, which is very important for the normal functioning of the liver. Eggplant contains a lot of fiber, which improves bowel 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 bitterness, which goes away only if it is cut and salted. Many people think that after freezing, the bitterness will go away. In fact, she remains and, according to many experienced housewives, You can't freeze this vegetable raw.. To get a vegetable suitable for cooking delicious dishes in winter, you need to consider a few rules when freezing.

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

fry;
put out;
bake;
soak;
blanch.

For storage for the winter, it is necessary to choose young vegetables in which the peel is not very dense. Young "blue ones" have practically no seeds, which is also important for harvesting. The type of vegetable does not matter, you can use any variety. 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, a lot in this matter depends on what dishes will be prepared from them after freezing. Also, the size of the cut will depend on the free space in the freezer.

If the "blue ones" are not salted and the bitterness with the juice does not go away, you will end up with a tasteless pulp. Whichever method is used, the vegetables should be hermetically sealed to keep air out before freezing.

Also, for freezing, "blue ones" can be completely fried in a 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 choose the right vegetables, so that they are free of 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.

Sprinkle the chopped eggplants with salt to reduce the bitterness. After that, the vegetables are mixed. According to the recipe, they need to stand like this for several hours in the kitchen. Eggplants will release a dark-colored juice that needs to be drained, and rinse the vegetables well with running water and squeeze out excess moisture. It is very important to do this carefully, not to deform the cut.

The vegetables are now ready for blanching. It is necessary to take a pan, pour water into it, and when it boils, put chopped eggplant in boiling water for 3 minutes. This will allow the eggplant to become softer and not lose its shape.

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

containers;
packages;
food film.

Put eggplants in a prepared storage container and send to the freezer.

Fried "blue"

Selected eggplant should be thoroughly washed and the edges removed, after which you can cut in a convenient way. Chopped vegetables are sprinkled with salt and stand for several hours to release the juice. This will help to get rid of the bitterness and make the taste of "little blue" pleasant.

When the eggplant has released enough juice, it drains. Chopped vegetables are washed with water and dried with a paper towel. This will help them fry well and not soak in a lot of oil.

Eggplants are laid out on a hot frying pan with vegetable oil and fried. Lay them out on a paper towel or paper towel to remove excess oil.

Next stage - freezing preparation. To do this, you must have a cutting board, plastic bags or cling film. The board should not be very large so that it can fit freely in the freezer. A layer of eggplant is placed on the board, so that each piece does not lie on 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 that, a tray of vegetables should be loaded into the freezer and left for several hours so that they harden well. When the eggplants are hard enough, they can be taken out and put into a package convenient for long-term storage.

How to freeze baked eggplant?

This method is the most correct, because when baked in eggplant, it retains more nutrients. "Blue ones" need to be sorted out and washed, cut off the ends and cut at your discretion.

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

To bake a vegetable, 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 large. Before freezing, let the vegetables cool and remove excess oil. Now you can decompose them into a prepared container and freeze in the freezer.

Diets and healthy eating 16.08.2017

Dear readers, now is a wonderful time - summer. We see fruits and vegetables in abundance. Someone grows them himself in their summer cottages. And someone buys in the markets or in shops. Surely many of you use the summer season to the maximum, but we should not forget about the coming winter. How nice it is to pamper your family with homemade preparations, right? But are all our preparations good for health? Not everyone. And one of the most useful ways to prepare food for the future is freezing. Today we will talk about how to properly freeze eggplant for the winter.

Thanks to deep freezing, eggplants retain their taste, original appearance and vitamin composition. The only thing you need is to follow certain rules when freezing eggplant, as this process is slightly different from freezing other vegetables. Natalya Groznova will share with us the secrets and subtleties of harvesting this vegetable for the future. I give her the floor.

Good afternoon dear blog readers. As Irina already said, freezing is the best way to keep eggplants for a long time. The low temperature allows them not to deteriorate for months, retaining most of the vitamins and minerals. Therefore, this method is used by many housewives.

However, not everyone dares to harvest eggplant, fearing complex manipulations. Of course, a vegetable requires more attention than zucchini or sweet peppers, but the process itself is quite simple, as we will now see.

Is it possible to freeze eggplant at all?

My first experience of freezing eggplants was not successful. I just cut them up and put them in a bag, thinking that deep freezing would destroy the bitterness. But this did not happen - the eggplants remained bitter, and I had to get rid of them.

A year later, I withstood the eggplant in saline and only then froze it. Yes, the bitterness is gone. However, after defrosting, they turned into a puree-like substance, which is also unacceptable.

Now, before freezing, I rid them of bitterness, excess moisture and subject them to heat treatment, after which enzymes are destroyed in eggplants, leading to their deterioration.

Remember that unlike other vegetables, eggplant should not be frozen raw, as the taste after defrosting will resemble bitter rubber. Therefore, they must be processed: fry, bake, blanch, stew.

Features of freezing eggplant

To avoid unexpected surprises after defrosting, you need to choose the right eggplant. However, the rules are the same as when choosing eggplants for preservation or daily cooking - vegetables should be clean, even, without spots, with a shiny and elastic skin. The tail is fresh, green, not dried. A dry stem indicates that the vegetable has been stored for a long time. Any variety is suitable: dark purple, pink, white, with a striped color. Buy young vegetables - they have a minimum of seeds, bitterness and harmful substances.

You should also follow the following rules:

you can not freeze a vegetable without first soaking. Soaking is carried out in salt water, which removes bitterness. You can also sprinkle the cut with salt and then rinse with running water. Soaking time depends on the size of the pieces - the larger they are, the longer the soaking process;
before laying for freezing, the remains of moisture and oil are removed from the blanks with a paper towel;
sealed for storage. The eggplants should be tightly wrapped so that there is no air. Then oxidation will not occur, and the vegetable will not absorb the smells of other products in the freezer. Packaging must be reliable: a tight plastic bag or a plastic container with a lid;
when laying in a chamber, the packaging is signed, since during winter storage all packages become indistinguishable;
the product is stored in a sealed package at a temperature of at least -12 ° C;
in order to preserve the taste as much as possible, the shelf life should not exceed one year.

Recipes for freezing eggplant for the winter

Now consider the different ways of freezing.

How to freeze fried eggplant for the winter

What will be required:

eggplant - an arbitrary amount;
salt - 1 tsp per 0.5 kg of vegetables;
vegetable oil - for frying.

Cooking

Wash raw eggplant. Cut into slices 5-7 mm thick. If you cut them thinly, then when frying, the skin will separate from the pulp, which will damage the integrity. I do not cut the peel, but you can remove it if you wish.

Cutting can be different: cubes 2 x 2 cm, bars 1.5 x 5 cm, straws 1 x 3 cm, thin long plates. It depends on what dish the vegetable is used for after thawing.

We put the chopped eggplant in a bowl, adding salt to each circle.

We leave for half an hour and wait for droplets of moisture to appear on their surface. They testify that bitterness has come out. You can also dip the vegetables in salt water and leave for an hour. To do this, dissolve 1 tbsp in 1 liter of water. l. salt.

Eggplant contains a small amount of bitterness - solanine, a poison that in large quantities harms the body. It is even more produced if the vegetable is exposed to light for a long time. Therefore, keep the eggplant in a dark place. When cutting a vegetable, pay attention to the cut - if it instantly darkens, it means that there is a lot of solanine in the vegetable, which gives a bitter taste. Light cut - feel free to cook eggplant.

Rinse eggplant thoroughly under running water and dry with paper towels. Leave them on the wire rack to dry well.

Next, we subject them to heat treatment, in this case frying. Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat well. We put a few eggplant rings and fry on medium heat on both sides until golden brown. You can salt, but it is not necessary.

Transfer the slices to a wire rack in a single layer and leave to cool slightly. If desired, blot with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Then, on the same grill or on a cutting board wrapped in cling film, we send a batch of eggplants to the freezer for 1-1.5 hours. The temperature should not exceed -12°C.

We pack the frozen eggplants in airtight bags, removing the air, and send them to the chamber for storage. It is better to lay them out in several small serving bags so as not to expose the vegetables to the air when you once again need to get them for cooking.

Weigh the packages for convenience. Stick labels on them, on which write the weight, the shape of the cut, the date, the method of heat treatment. Also, vegetables can be compactly folded into a plastic container.

How do you get air out of a bag? Insert the straw for cocktails into a slightly ajar bag and draw in air. When the polyethylene sticks tightly to the vegetables, quickly remove it and close the bag.

I have been using this method of freezing for many years. In my opinion, he is the most successful. But there are other options that might suit you better.

How to freeze baked eggplant for the winter

We grease a baking sheet or other convenient form with vegetable oil and spread the vegetables in one layer. We heat the oven to 180 ° C and bake the vegetables for half an hour. If necessary, flip them to the other side so that they brown evenly.

How to freeze stewed eggplant for the winter

Put the vegetables in a saucepan or frying pan with heated vegetable oil. Salt and simmer, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown. Let cool completely and freeze.

How to freeze blanched eggplant for the winter

In a saucepan with boiling salted water and lemon juice (1 tbsp. L.), we lower the pieces of vegetable. Boil 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in ice water. Cool completely and dry. Vegetables are ready to be frozen.

How to freeze boiled eggplant for the winter

To remove the bitterness, we pierce the vegetables deeply with a toothpick and place them whole in salt water. We increase the holding time by 3 times, since the vegetable is large and more time will be required for this process.

Whole eggplant is boiled. To do this, put it in a pot of boiling, slightly salted water and cook for 20 minutes. Remove vegetables from boiling water with a slotted spoon or fork and leave to cool. After cooking in the skin, they become "wrinkled". We cut them in the right way and dry the pieces well with a towel. We send vegetables for freezing.

How to freeze whole eggplants for the winter

Whole eggplants are frozen in the same way as sliced ones. A prepared (washed, without bitterness) vegetable in a peel and with a stalk is fried in a pan, boiled, baked in the oven or on the grill until soft. Don't forget to flip while frying and baking. Put the finished fruits on a plate, cool to room temperature and separately wrap each eggplant with cling film. Remove the skin if desired. We put it in the freezer for the winter. All!

We also bring to your attention a video that shows three ways to freeze eggplant for the winter.

How to defrost eggplant

We put a portion of frozen eggplant in the refrigerator for several hours for gradual melting. Bring to full defrosting at room temperature. I do not recommend using a microwave oven. However, eggplant is most often used in dishes without defrosting. They cannot be re-frozen.

What to cook with frozen eggplant?

I share my recipes, which are very loved in my family:

caviar - for its preparation, fruits with any heat treatment and cut into any pieces are used, since the vegetables are still crushed in mashed potatoes;
turrets of eggplant and tomatoes with cheese - they need eggplant, cut into circles. Before cooking, they are completely defrosted and shifted with circles of tomatoes, sprinkled with cheese;
rolls - fried or baked eggplant tongues are thawed and cheese mixture with garlic and herbs is wrapped in them;
roast in pots - frozen eggplant cubes are put in pots with meat and other ingredients and sent to the oven.

In principle, you can cook thawed eggplants in the same way as fresh ones. But in fairness, it should be noted that in terms of taste, frozen vegetables still lose to fresh ones. Therefore, if it is possible to buy fresh eggplants in winter, then do just that. If not, then take my advice. Well, if you have your own useful tips that you did not find in the article, how to freeze eggplants for the winter and what to cook from them later, then write in the comments. I think everyone will be interested!

1 year ago

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Anyone who loves eggplant, I advise you to store them at least a little for the winter in the freeze. In winter, not everyone has the opportunity to buy this delicious fresh vegetable, and sometimes you really want to cook delicious eggplant rolls with garlic or add eggplant to vegetable stew for a change. And stuffed eggplant is just an extraordinary yummy - or

We also love very much, which I also definitely prepare for the winter. Today I want to tell and show how to freeze eggplants for the winter - 3 options - fried plates, blanched chopped eggplants and whole ones for stuffing.

Freezing eggplant at home involves their preliminary heat treatment. If you freeze fresh eggplants, then after defrosting they will be watery and tasteless.

Eggplant for the winter freezing recipes

Recipe 1 - fried eggplant plates

I cut whole eggplant into plates about 3-4 mm thick.

Fry on both sides in vegetable oil. At the same time, I don’t pour oil into the pan, since eggplant absorbs fat very much, but I simply grease the bottom of the pan with a cooking brush in oil. I spread a portion of the eggplant and grease the eggplants themselves on top. Then I flip.

After frying, the eggplant must be completely cooled.

To freeze eggplants, I use cling film and containers with lids. But you can use only cling film or plastic bags. This is up to you.

I cover the bottom of the container with cling film, leaving long enough edges on both sides so that you can then cover the layer of eggplant laid out. For one such serving, I spread about 25-30 fried eggplant plates. This is enough to cook a portion of eggplant rolls in winter.

On the first packed layer, I again lay the cling film in the same way with long edges. I post the next batch. So I fill the entire container. I close the lid and put it in the freezer.

In winter, I take one serving of fried eggplant out of the container, put it in the refrigerator and leave it for several hours or overnight. The next day I cook rolls with filling.

Recipe 2 - eggplant for vegetable stew

I cut the eggplant into large cubes. Spread in a colander or sieve and blanch in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes. !!! Since eggplants float, you need to submerge them in water with a spoon or slotted spoon.

I spread the blanched eggplants in a large colander or sieve, cover with a plate and put a small load. This is necessary to remove excess water. I leave until completely cool.

For freezing, I take smaller containers - one container per serving. I fill the container not tightly with blanched eggplants, close the lids and put them in the freezer. I also defrost - overnight in the refrigerator.

Recipe 3 - Whole Eggplants

For this frosting, I take small eggplants. I prick each eggplant in several places with a toothpick (you can use a knife or fork) so that they do not burst when heated in the oven. I lay it out on a wire rack, which I put on a baking sheet. I send it to the oven heated to 190 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Ready-made eggplants are soft and easy to pierce with a match or a toothpick. I cool the eggplant a little, then cut off the tail and cut the “pocket”.

I spread the cut eggplants in a large colander or sieve. cut down. I cover with a plate and put a small weight to remove excess liquid. I leave until completely cool.

I take containers that are suitable in size to lay the eggplant across the container. Just like in the first recipe, I cover it with cling film so that the edges hang down. I spread the eggplants in one row, cover with a film. And I form the next layer-portion.

Defrosting is also overnight in the refrigerator. I stuff such eggplants whole or make stuffed “boats”.