How to freeze eggplants for the winter?

Eggplant is one of the unusual vegetable crops.The fact is that it does not possess any characteristic aroma at all, but at the same time it perfectly absorbs the smell of the nearby product. In this regard, several recommendations were made for the proper procedure for freezing eggplants. One of the advantages of freezing is the preservation in vegetables of a huge amount of useful and nutritious elements, which are not always preserved in canned form. How to freeze the eggplant at home, which is necessary for this, consider below.

The summer period is precisely the time when people are involved in the process of creating various blanks for the coming winter. Previously, housewives preferred preservation, trying to pack the entire harvest in three-liter jars. It is no secret that conservation at home is a rather long process. First you need to cook a vegetable, then you should sterilize containers for future canned food, and, finally, you need to roll up the vegetables.

The appearance of refrigerators with large freezers in wide access gave the hostess a new opportunity. Now it is possible to freeze tasty preparations, at the same time saving time and preserving more useful vitamins and microelements contained in vegetables.

Fortunately, eggplant is one of those vegetables whose appearance makes it easy to infer whether a product is of high quality. To start visually evaluate eggplant. Large fruit, as a rule, contains inside a huge number of seeds, which in this case is not very good. Therefore, give preference to medium-sized eggplants. They have a more delicate and juicy taste. The surface of the fruit should be clean, flat and smooth. Dark spots on the peel of eggplant indicate that before you is a vegetable grown not in the most favorable conditions.

The appearance of the stem plays a huge role in determining the quality of the product. First of all, she must be present. Its absence may be a signal that you encountered a dishonest seller who wants to hide the signs of an overripe vegetable. Fresh eggplant - the owner of a bright green stem. For a mature and spoiled vegetable, a dry and shriveled stem is characteristic.

As a rule, overripe eggplant has a bitter aftertaste. While fresh and young vegetables do not have bitterness, but, on the contrary, are famous for a pleasant delicate taste. Acquisition of fresh eggplants will significantly simplify the process of freezing, since you will not have to make any manipulations to remove bitterness from the vegetable.

So, in order for the freezing of the vegetable to be successful, it is important to choose the appropriate specimen. Recommendations on the choice are similar to the rules for selecting eggplant for canning or preparing a regular dish. It is necessary that it be clean, smooth, without dents, a vegetable with a glossy and elastic skin. The wide variety of varieties offered can put you at a dead end, but this does not matter. Eggplants of a dark-violet shade, pink, beige flowers, and also striped vegetables will be suitable for a freezing.

The preparatory process is one of the main stages in the process of freezing vegetable crops, in particular eggplants. Therefore, it is not recommended to ignore it. Otherwise, when thawing eggplants, you can face various unpleasant situations. Consider the features of the preparation of eggplant in more detail.

• First of all, in no case should freeze the vegetable without soaking it beforehand.It is necessary to remove the bitter taste from the pulp of a member of the nightshade family. Eggplant, pre-cut into slices or squares, soaked for several hours in salted water, which helps to remove bitterness. There is a faster method. To do this, chop the vegetable into circles, sprinkle them plentifully with salt and leave for about twenty minutes. After that, it is worth rinsing them thoroughly under a strong stream of cold running water.

• Before the eggplant slices are placed in food containers for future freezing, it is recommended to dry the vegetable well. On the surface of the slices should not be moisture.
• High-quality freezing requires hermetic conditions. Vegetable circles should be tightly wrapped, excluding the possibility of air ingress. This will not allow eggplant to oxidize and absorb foreign odors emanating from the products lying next to the freezer. Food containers must be reliable and durable. It is desirable that there was a cover. In its absence, the food container must be wrapped in a plastic bag or cling film.
• It is recommended to label each container, since during the winter freezing period all vegetables become less visible in appearance.
• Provided that vegetables are stored in a tight sealed container, the temperature should be at least twelve degrees below zero.
• For maximum preservation of taste, it is advisable not to eat eggplants that have lain for more than twelve months.

To date, there are quite a few ways to freeze eggplants for the winter period. Consider the most widely used. For the first recipe you will need: eggplants, salt (per teaspoon per half a kilogram of eggplants), olive or sunflower oil for toasting.

To begin with, the vegetables are thoroughly washed. Then they are cut into slices, the thickness of which does not exceed seven millimeters. When thinly sliced, the rind is separated from the pulp during frying. To freeze this is undesirable. Then the slices are folded into any deep container, sprinkled profusely with salt and left for an hour. As soon as you notice the moisture that has appeared on the surface of the eggplants, fold them into a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water. The process of removing bitterness is completed. Put the slices on a paper towel and let them dry.

Then follows the process of heat treatment, namely - frying. The pan is watered abundantly with the oil of your choice and warmed up. Then it is worth spreading the slices in the pan and fry them on both sides in such a way as to obtain a golden crust. Sprinkle with salt is optional. Roasted vegetable slices are blotted with a paper towel to remove excess oil.

You can freeze not only raw eggplant, but also baked. To do this, grease the pans with the butter of your choice and spread the eggplant slices evenly. Then it is necessary to heat the oven to one hundred and eighty degrees and leave the eggplant to bake for thirty minutes. Periodically turn the vegetable slices so that they do not burn. After the finished eggplant has cooled, you can send it to the freezer.

And here is another option. Eggplant slices are laid out in a skillet or pan with already heated oil.They need to be salted and left to stew, stirring regularly, so that they brown and become soft. At the end of cooking, vegetables should be allowed to cool, after which you can send them to the freezer.

Another interesting way to make frozen eggplants is to pre-blanch them. To do this, you need to lower the chopped vegetable in advance into a container with salted boiling water and added juice of freshly squeezed lemon. Leave the vegetables to cook for five to ten minutes. Using a skimmer, remove and transfer the slices to cold water. Allow the eggplant to cool completely. After that, be sure to dry it, blotting it with a paper towel. After that, the vegetable will be ready for placement in the freezer.

The defrosting process requires adherence to a certain sequence. In no case should not defrost eggplant in the microwave. The necessary part of the vegetables move from the freezer to the refrigerator. Remember that the process should be gradual. After the vegetable slices start to thaw, remove them from the fridge and leave to warm at room temperature.

Options for using frozen eggplant set. It all depends on your imagination and eating habits. Here are some interesting and useful recipes with frozen eggplant.

• Eggplant Caviaris undoubtedly a useful product. It has a soft and delicate taste, almost odorless. To prepare this dish, you must first defrost the vegetables (according to the above recommendations) and beat the eggplant slices using a blender to a consistency of mashed potatoes. If desired, you can add spices and black pepper.
• Eggplant Cheese Tower - A unique dish that can surprise unexpected guests. It is prepared quite quickly, provided that the eggplants were thawed beforehand. So, for this dish, choose a billet of eggplant, cut into circles. Cut a few tomatoes into round slices. Then alternate eggplant slices with tomato slices, constructing something that visually resembles a tower. To make the structure lasting, pierce it in the middle with a canape stick. Grate your favorite cheese on a fine grater and sprinkle with it.
• Another great way to use eggplant billet - making roll. For this recipe, it is advisable to choose a billet, cut into thin plates. Roasted or baked plates must be defrosted. At this time, you can do the preparation of the filling. Unleash your imagination and cook whatever you like. For example, cheese mixture goes well with eggplants. Her cooking will take no more than ten minutes. Grate your favorite cheese on a fine grater and add a pre-chopped clove of garlic to it. Stir. Chop greens, such as parsley or dill. Add to garlic-cheese mixture. Place the contents on a plate of thawed eggplant and wrap it, forming a roll. The delicacy is ready to eat.

• To please your household will be able to delicious roast, cooked with the addition of winter billet. As in the previous recipes, eggplant slices are thawed. After that, they are laid out in pots. Then diced meat is added. You can add other vegetables (to your taste). Content is sprinkled with one tablespoon of olive oil. Spices, spices and salt are added. The pots are placed in the oven for one and a half hours at a temperature of one hundred and fifty degrees. After a time, it turns out tasty and healthy roast.
• Frozen eggplants can also be used in recipes where fresh vegetables are provided. At the same time, in terms of the content of beneficial vitamins, the winter harvesting is in no way inferior to the vegetables that have just been ripped off the bed.

On how to freeze the eggplant for the winter, see the following video.