step by step recipe with photo
Pumpkin is the source beneficial vitamins and minerals. Such a vegetable is traditionally baked, pickled, stewed, boiled and fried during its ripening season - in the fall. But if you save the pumpkin for the winter, for example, freeze it, then it will be possible to create tasty and healthy colorful dishes from such a blank for a whole year. Pumpkin cream, pumpkin pancakes, stew with pumpkin slices, etc. are very tasty - be guided by your culinary imagination.
In addition, freezing pumpkin does not require additional blanching or baking. You can grate the pulp of the vegetable on a coarse grater and place it in containers or bags, or cut into portions.
Compound
- 300-400 g fresh pumpkin
Freezing pumpkin for the winter
1. When purchasing a pumpkin, be sure to smell it: a ripe vegetable spreads a sweet aroma. Markets or supermarkets sell cut pieces of pumpkin - feel free to ask for the expiration date and the day the fruit is cut. It is not necessary to purchase a huge pumpkin for freezing - you can limit yourself to a small part of it. Rinse a piece of vegetable in water. Cut the peel to the pulp with a knife and cut the pulp itself into portioned cubes or grate it on a coarse grater if you plan to create creams, purees, etc. from pumpkin. Keep in mind that pumpkin cubes are suitable for cooking first and second courses, and the chopped mass does not require long heat treatment, so it is even suitable for stewing for the first feeding for babies.
2. Put the pumpkin mass in prepared bags or containers. Seal bags or seal containers with lids and place in the freezer.
The shelf life of such a blank is 1 year. Remember that the pumpkin mass attracts harsh aromas, so it is unacceptable for it to be in proximity to bell pepper, smoked or garlic, onion products!
Note to the owner
1. In large quantities, pumpkin should be frozen for people who plan to get rid of eczema with it. If you defrost 5–6 cubes, boil them, knead them and apply the resulting puree mixed with linseed oil, from itching and redness will soon be able to get rid of. In the acute stage, applications are done daily.
2. Dense, completely tasteless, inedible pumpkin peel will also work. Small shavings from it are poured into a basin with warm water (about 40 degrees) and the feet are immersed there. With a swollen mass, you can, like a scrub, rub your heels and skin between your fingers. This is one of the most effective preventive procedures that protect against fungal infections. Attention: unlike the pulp gourds, its skin is not frozen. Washed and dried, it is normally stored in a closet, wrapped in a thin cotton cloth, gauze or parchment.
3. Housewives who made homemade marshmallows know that from apples it turns out white, from red berries - pink, from kiwi - light green. It remains to experiment with pumpkin in order to put an airy dessert of a bright yellow hue on the table, pamper loved ones and impress even those friends whose culinary skills are beyond competition. They will ask for the recipe!
Pumpkin is one of those large fruit crops that you cannot eat in one sitting, even if everyone in the family, without exception, is a fan of cereals, casseroles and other dishes from this product. An easy way to deal with leftover pumpkins is to freeze them. With the right approach, you will get a healthy, fresh, always ready-to-use product.
About the benefits of pumpkin
Pumpkin is a large and colorful vegetable, which many people associate with fertility and autumn harvest. Growing it on the site is as easy as shelling pears, but later the question often arises: what to do with it? The main thing you need to understand is that pumpkin is very useful, it is definitely worth eating. Grown in your garden, which means it is 100% environmentally friendly, it contains a variety of vitamins - A, C, D, E, B vitamins, the rarest vitamin T, which helps digestion and fights obesity, vitamin K, which is responsible for health blood and bone tissue, and in other vegetables is simply absent. It contains microelements, sugars, and carotene with pectins. So the pumpkin will strengthen the immune system, and give vigor, and fight cholesterol, and regulate the metabolism.
Pumpkin pulp contains a complex of essential vitamins, in particular A, C, D, E, B, T
You can use it in the form of juices and jams, cereals and casseroles, pies and pancakes, mashed soups and much more. It all depends on your imagination. For some cooking methods, only fresh pumpkin will do, but frozen pumpkin will do for most. The useful properties of the vegetable are preserved during freezing and baking, so such a semi-finished product will not yield to a fresh product in any way, but it will significantly save time and facilitate the cooking process.
Freezing methods
Puree
This method will take a little longer than the others, but it's worth the effort. First, you will get rid of the snowiness and wateriness of the pumpkin by pre-baking. Secondly, such a frozen semi-finished product without additional processing will allow you to cook soup puree, casserole, porridge or pie in a matter of minutes. You just take out the finished puree and add it to the desired dish. Thirdly, mashed potatoes are much more compact compared to pieces, which means it will take up much less space in the freezer.
Pumpkins have a tough, tough skin, so get a large knife and cutting board ready.
Cooking method:
- Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds.
- Puree baked or boiled (see below for all methods) pumpkin using a blender, pusher or fork. Puree should be homogeneous, without lumps.
- Divide puree into prepared bowls. Suitable containers, plastic cups, ice molds. To increase the shelf life of the semi-finished product and avoid weathering, choose forms with lids. Molds without lids can be wrapped with cling film, foil, or placed in a tightly tied plastic bag.
Pumpkin puree retains its beneficial properties when frozen
Choose the size of the mold depending on the dishes that you are going to cook later. Ideally, the form should be portioned. For example, a 200 ml container is enough to make one pumpkin muffin.
Important: do not forget that the puree expands when frozen, so leave some free space and do not stuff the puree tightly under the lid.
Options for preparing pumpkin for puree:
- cleaned in the oven. Carefully get rid of the peel, cut the pulp into 3x3 cm cubes. Arrange them in one layer on a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 140 ° for 1 hour. Check the pumpkin for softness (it should knead well with a fork), if necessary, hold it in the oven for some more time;
- uncleaned in the oven. Cut the unpeeled pumpkin into 3 cm thick slices. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil in a single layer. Bake in a hot oven until the pulp is tender (about 1 hour). Cool the pumpkin and peel off the peel, it should easily lag behind the pulp;
- in the microwave. Clean and cut the pumpkin into slices. Place in a microwave bowl and pour in some water. Put in the microwave at maximum power for 10-15 minutes. Repeat the procedure several times until the pumpkin becomes soft;
- boiled. Peel the pumpkin, cut into cubes, dip in boiled water and boil until soft. Ready pumpkin should be easily pierced with a fork;
- for a couple. Put the peeled pumpkin cut into small cubes in a steam basket and place in a double boiler with boiling water for 30-40 minutes. You can use a pressure cooker, a multicooker with a steam function.
Pumpkin frozen in the form of puree will be a convenient and healthy option for baby foods. Keep in mind that the baked product has a concentrated taste and texture, so it is preferable to use boiled or steamed raw materials for feeding a child (especially a baby).
Cooking pumpkin puree step by step - photo gallery
Cut the pumpkin, remove seeds and peel 
cut into cubes 
Spread the cut pumpkin on a baking sheet and send it to the preheated oven 
Bake until soft 
Make a puree 
Place in freezer container
Raw pieces
Pumpkin in the form of mashed potatoes is not suitable for all dishes. If you need pumpkin cubes or slices, freeze them without cooking them first.
- Cut the peeled pumpkin into small pieces or slices.
- Dry with paper towel.
- Spread in a single layer into a freezer container.
- Place in the upper freezer at the lowest possible temperature.
- After a few hours, take out the frozen pumpkin, pour it into a storage container with a lid (or into a bag) and send it to the freezer for long-term storage.
Pieces frozen in this way will not stick together.
In a mashed state
For the preparation of pumpkin fritters and pies, grated pumpkin will come in handy. Grate the peeled vegetable on a medium or large grater, place it in a bag, let the air out of it, close it tightly and send it to the freezer.
Frozen grated pumpkin is suitable for making pancakes
Healthy! When freezing vegetables, make markings on the storage container with the date of freezing and the name of the product. Indicate the purpose (for soup, for baking, etc.).
- Not all varieties are equally tasty and nutritious, some are rather decorative. Choose pumpkins with bright orange flesh and matte hard skins. The peel of a ripe fresh pumpkin can be washed only with great difficulty. The tail will be completely dry.
- Distinguish varieties: summer (light, soft) are suitable for stewing, manti and soups, winter (dense, sugar) - for cereals and pastries.
- The best varieties of pumpkin for cooking: Acorn, Harlequin, Butternut, Divo, Gribovskaya, Khersonskaya, Gileya, Bylinka, Muskatnaya.
- Cook pumpkin as a side dish for meat dishes: it helps to digest hard-to-digest food.
The pumpkin, a frequenter of Russian beds, has many advantages. The vegetable is not capricious and easy to grow, even a beginner will master caring for it, and the fruits harvested in autumn are a component of a variety of dishes and a storehouse useful substances for all family members.
The unique vitamin and mineral complex present in the pulp and seeds of pumpkin helps to recharge your batteries in winter, lose extra pounds and support immunity. Pumpkin is considered an excellent product for children and diet food. For lovers of delicious homemade food, pumpkin gives the opportunity to diversify the menu with fragrant cereals and stews, candied fruit and jam, juice and pastries.
However, anticipating acquaintance with gastronomic delights, rejoicing at the end of summer labors, the summer resident has to solve an equally important task. Delicious and healthy meals from pumpkins will be only when the proper storage conditions are provided for the fruits.
How to store pumpkin in winter? Under what conditions will ripe pumpkins not spoil, their flesh will remain as sweet, dense and juicy as in autumn?
How to collect and store a pumpkin in winter?
The key to successful storage of pumpkins, first of all, experienced gardeners consider the competent collection and preparation of fruits for laying for the winter. Depending on the variety, pumpkins can be stored from 3 to 24 months. But so that during this time the fruit does not lose the nutrients accumulated over the summer, the pulp does not become dry, loose and tasteless, or, conversely, does not rot, only mature healthy fruits without scratches, traces of diseases and other defects should be stored.
The choice of summer residents today is offered up to a hundred different varieties and hybrids that ripen at different times and bear fruit of all shapes and colors. Therefore, the harvesting period stretches from mid-August to November.
The most difficult thing is for gardeners in the middle lane, the Urals, the North-West of the country and Siberia. Here summer residents are often forced to cut pumpkins from the lash, which require a long ripening.
But even under these conditions, knowing how to store a pumpkin, you can save and use the grown one with benefit. A sign that she is ready to take a place in the vault and spend more than one month there can be considered:
- a hardened peduncle that has turned into a kind of cork;
- withering of the whip on which the fruit grows, and the foliage around;
- strong, not broken when exposed to the nail bark of the fetus;
- the appearance in the color of pumpkins of flowers inherent in a mature fruit.
When harvesting, experienced gardeners try not to pluck or unscrew the fruits, but cut them carefully so that the pumpkin is stored in winter with a handle no less than 4-6 cm long. If for some reason the pumpkin remains without a stalk, at the place of its attachment harmful fungi and bacteria immediately settle, and the fetus begins to rot. A similar process occurs when the fruits are stored:
- damaged by rodents or garden tools;
- with cracks and bruises;
- foci of disease in the cortex.
The best time for harvesting - these are dry sunny days when the fruits can be laid out in a ventilated, lit place for drying. If the weather permits, the harvest is left for a week in the cool autumn sun.
During this time, the bark additionally hardens, the flesh becomes sweeter, and even small scratches on the peel are slightly tightened. Such pumpkins are better stored in winter, and when they are cut, they delight with both taste and juiciness.
Dry ones are rightfully considered the ideal place to store pumpkins in winter. Here, at a temperature of 5 to 10 ° C, the fruits plunge into a state close to hibernation. All processes in them are slowed down, only a very slow evaporation of moisture and the conversion of starch into sugar occurs.
- If the air in the place chosen for storage of the pumpkin is humid and there is no ventilation, it is likely that over time, pockets of mold and rot will appear on the surface of the pilaf, and soon spoilage will affect the pulp.
- Just as negative impact on the collected pumpkins and sub-zero temperatures. The damaged bark softens and the gourd rots.
Having wondered how to wound a pumpkin, the summer resident needs to prepare ventilated dry and clean racks or pallets for the fruits. Pumpkins disassembled by variety and shelf life are laid on them so that there was no contact with the floor or walls, on which condensation may occur.
During storage, crowding of fruits should not be allowed. If necessary, they are shifted with wrapping paper or straw. It will be better if the stalks are on top.
If you follow simple but effective safety measures, as well as with regular inspection of the crop, a pumpkin that has begun to rot will be quickly noticed and removed. The rest of the fruits will remain dry and healthy.
But not always, even when all storage conditions are met, pumpkins can please the gardener who grew them. The fact is that each variety has its own deadline when the pumpkin is stored without loss of quality. Early varieties such as the Gymnosperm Gourd or today's popular butternuts are best eaten within 3-5 months of harvest. Otherwise, you may encounter a situation where seeds begin to germinate inside the fruit, and the pulp completely loses all its consumer qualities.
How to store a pumpkin in an apartment
A basement or other suitable room suitable for storing crops always helps a summer resident well. But what if the gardener has only a city apartment at his disposal? In addition to the fact that the harvest of pumpkins takes up a lot of space, comfortable conditions must also be created for vegetables. Is it possible to store a pumpkin in an apartment, and how to protect the fruits from the inevitable drying out in the heat?
The rules for storing pumpkins both in the basement and in a heated room have much in common. Fruits feel better in a dry, dark place where there is ventilation.
All this can be achieved by laying out pumpkins in the pantry. The main thing is that there are no heating devices nearby, pumpkins are not exposed to negative temperatures, and, if possible, do not come into contact.
Even a glazed balcony or loggia can become a temporary shelter for vegetables harvested from the beds. Here they are stacked on racks or in boxes, covered with a thick cloth to protect from the sun and possible frosts. When it gets cold, the fruits are transferred to the apartment and the pumpkins are stored until it gets warmer outside.
If there is no suitable place for storing whole fruits, it remains to dry the pulp and pumpkin seeds, process the crop into home-made canned food, juice and mashed potatoes. Are there other ways to store pumpkins in the winter? And what to do if you can’t eat the fruit grown on the site at one time?
How to store cut pumpkin?
Large-fruited pumpkin varieties are stored longer than others, but after cutting such a fruit, it is sometimes difficult even for a friendly family to eat it right away. Do not throw away most of the pumpkin if only a small slice is spent on mashed potatoes or juice for the child? The question of how to store a cut pumpkin is also of interest to those summer residents who, when reviewing the crop, find slightly spoiled specimens.
Since pumpkin pulp contains a lot of sugars, a tasty food for bacteria, it will not work to save a cut pumpkin for a long time. The maximum shelf life of well-washed, de-seeded and sliced pumpkins is two weeks. Moreover, such a fruit should be tightly wrapped in cling film and stored in the refrigerator. At a temperature of 2-6 ° C, the development of pathogenic flora is inhibited, but does not stop, so it is better to eat the sweetest varieties as early as possible.
Instead of a film, you can use foil, but since this material does not protect against dehydration, slices of cut pumpkin intended for storage are pre-treated with refined vegetable oil.
The pulp will extend the shelf life of the cut fruit. Moreover, this method is not at all laborious and simple.
Can you freeze pumpkin in the freezer?
Quick freezing of vegetables has recently become one of the most popular ways to preserve the crop. This is due to the fact that the fruits do not lose the lion's share of their useful properties, they retain the aroma and taste characteristic of the culture. This fully applies to the pumpkin intended for winter storage.
If the juicy one cannot be frozen without loss of consistency, then the dense pulp of the pumpkin easily tolerates sub-zero temperatures. But it is better not to send large pieces to the freezer entirely. It will take a long time to defrost them, which will inevitably lead to a deterioration in the quality of the product.
It is much easier and more convenient to freeze the pumpkin sent to the freezer in the form of small cubes. This method saves storage space, but also in winter it seriously reduces the time to cook your favorite pumpkin dishes, because the cubes are completely ready to be sent to the pan or pan.
So that the vegetable does not lose its consistency during defrosting, taking the pulp out of the freezer, it is important to transfer it to the vegetable compartment. Here, at a temperature close to zero, the pumpkin will defrost, but will not lose moisture.
There is another way that you can freeze pumpkin in the freezer. In this case, not cubes are sent to the chamber, but mashed potatoes made from baked pulp. Before the pumpkin gets into the refrigerator, it is washed, cut into large pieces and the seeds are removed along with a loose fibrous core.
Pieces of pumpkin, flesh down, are laid out on baking sheets, which are placed in the oven for 30-40 minutes, during which the pulp will soften.
The peel is carefully removed from the cooled pumpkin, and the resulting pulp is crushed in a meat grinder or blender until an even, homogeneous mass.
Pumpkin puree, which retains all the properties and taste of a vegetable, is packaged in tightly closed small bags containing a serving for one use of the product, or in ice molds. 
Frozen pumpkin can be stored in the freezer for up to one year. It is only important to remember that re-freezing vegetable pulp is unacceptable.
Use the same tasty and useful product for the preparation of soups, children's complementary foods, caviar, jam, pastries and desserts.
Cooking pumpkin compote for the winter - video
A bright orange, sweet and appetizing vegetable adorns our table every autumn. Properly stored, this fruit retains its mild flavor. long time. Is it possible to freeze a pumpkin in the freezer, because a fresh large pumpkin takes up a lot of space. Of course yes. Keeping it at room temperature is not easy. Therefore, the ideal solution for those who want to enjoy sweet pumpkin in winter is to freeze it. Our recipe will tell hardworking housewives how to freeze a pumpkin for the winter.
From this useful vegetable, you can create various blanks. They make jam from it (adding various fruits and berries), make candied fruit, marshmallow, use it as a filling for pies, cook cereals and even marinate.
Frozen pumpkin can be done in three ways.
The first (chopped on a culinary grater) is perfect for creating pancakes and casseroles. Grated frozen pumpkin can be added to the dough for pancakes, muffins, sprinkle casseroles with it. If you add it to the soup, the color of the broth will become pale orange, and the taste will be pleasant.
The second (chopped with cubes) is for vegetable sautés, cereals with rice, salads and mashed potatoes. This method of freezing involves storage up to 12 months.
Pumpkin can also be frozen as a puree. This method is perfect for young mothers who are puzzling over the question of how to freeze a pumpkin for the winter for a child so that the fetus does not lose its beneficial properties.
Light
Ingredients
- ripe pumpkin;
- bags for vegetables with a fastener;
- kitchen napkin.
Cooking
For freezing, choose only juicy, ripe, bright and fragrant pumpkin. The best time for harvesting sunny fruits is from September to November. At this time, the pumpkin is very juicy, sweet and tasty.
Preparing necessary ingredients, we wash the sunny fruit under water, remove excess moisture, peel it from thick skin and seeds.
In the first version of the recipe, we are talking about how to freeze pumpkin in pieces. 
With a knife with a sharp blade, cut the fruit into small cubes or sticks. To begin with, it is recommended to freeze the pumpkin pieces by spreading them on a baking sheet so that they do not touch. 
We send the mass into a special bag and close it tightly, trying to release all the air from it. In this case, the plastic bag should not be completely filled. Pumpkin expands when frozen and therefore requires more space. Instead of a bag, you can also use a plastic container, also without filling it to the brim. 
For the second option for freezing pumpkin, grind the vegetable on a culinary grater.
We spread the resulting mass in a bag, send it to the freezer.
Use frozen pumpkin as you wish. At the same time, the frozen fruit is immediately dipped into the dish being prepared; pumpkin most often does not require defrosting. You can add it to vegetable stews, soups, make stuffing for pies, add to manti. Pumpkin is a useful addition to cereals to diversify the diet of children. Grated pumpkin mass can be added to the dough for pancakes or pancakes.
We will briefly talk about the third method - how to freeze a pumpkin for the winter for a child. In this case, the vegetable is prepared for feeding the baby. To do this, pumpkin needs to be mashed. Pieces of vegetables are boiled for 15 minutes or brought to softness in microwave oven. Then it remains only to puree the pumpkin with a blender or a potato press, cool slightly, distribute into portioned containers and send to the freezer. Be sure to leave room for expansion.
Frozen pumpkin puree can be used to prepare complementary foods for very young children, puree can be added to the dough for pancakes, yeast dough, add to casseroles and cereals.
You can store pumpkin puree in the freezer for a long time - 10-12 months.
How to freeze pumpkin for the winter? Is it necessary to do this - after all, on some sites they write that after defrosting it becomes almost inedible?
Everything is correct. If you treat it like zucchini or carrots, that is, cut into pieces and send it to the freezer, the result will not please you very much. Frozen squash is more likely to become watery, but will work well in some dishes, such as mashed soups.
If you have other goals, read my advice. Perhaps one of them will help you properly freeze pumpkin for the winter.
How to freeze raw pumpkin in cubes
Clean the washed gourd. Stand the pumpkin upright on a cutting board, with one flat surface on the board and the other side facing you. Hold the gourd steady with one hand. With your other hand, cut the skin off the pumpkin directly. Cut everything, lengthwise, until you remove the peel completely.
Continue to cut the peel in strips, in the same way, until you have completely peeled the pumpkin. Use a serrated kitchen knife to cut the pumpkin into pieces. the same size. It is best if the pumpkin pieces are square, with a side of about 2-3 cm.
Arrange vegetable cubes on a baking sheet in a single layer. Place this baking sheet in the freezer to completely freeze the pumpkin within a few hours. It is important that the pieces do not overlap or touch during this process. The pumpkin is laid out on a freezing tray so that the cubes are separate from each other. If pieces of pumpkin touch during freezing, they will eventually stick together.
How to freeze grated pumpkin
And this option is possible, especially if you like all kinds of vegetable sauces. To freeze grated pumpkin, it must be washed, peeled, freed from seeds, cut into pieces suitable for rubbing. And then grate, put in a bag and tie tightly, then send to the freezer. Occasionally I freeze a mixture of grated pumpkin with grated carrots.
For those who have not tried cooking pumpkin gravy, a little hint: it is suitable for diet meals from chicken breast, various options cooking rabbit and beef. For lean meat, juicy pumpkin is what you need!
The easiest way to prepare the gravy: melt the butter in a saucepan, put the grated pumpkin (70-80 grams of butter per 200 grams of pumpkin), mix, add a little grated carrot and celery root if desired. Simmer until softened, stirring occasionally. Add salt and spices to taste. Pour this gravy over the finished meat dish.
How to freeze pumpkin puree
Pumpkin puree is made from baked pulp. Wash the vegetable, cut it in half first, and then into slices 3 cm thick. Place pumpkin slices with peel on a baking sheet and send them to the oven for baking for 1 hour 10 minutes at a temperature of 150 degrees.
Cut off the tough skin from the baked pumpkin - this is easy to do, the skin is easily separated from the baked pulp - and use a blender to turn the slices into a smooth puree. You do not need to add sugar, salt or other spices.
Divide puree into freezer cups. Place the pumpkin puree in the freezer until completely frozen. You can use forms of any size and "style", even ice trays. Then I take out the cubes from the ice molds and store them in a large plastic container, and cover the puree in cups with food foil on top and store it in this form until spring.
Do you freeze pumpkin for the winter? What do you cook from it then?