For many hundreds of years, humanity has been aware of the unique qualities of pumpkins. It is called the "sun" or "champion" among other vegetables and berries. It is useful for both children and adults, as it contains a completely unique complex of minerals, nutrients and vitamins. If there is a possibility, for example, the presence of a basement cool and properly equipped for storing vegetables, then the thrifty housewife will definitely have pumpkin there. What to do if there is no basement or pantry? How to save a pumpkin brought from a summer cottage? How to freeze a pumpkin so that it does not lose all its beneficial properties? What then to cook from this product?
Sunny Doctor
Many housewives doubt whether to grow a pumpkin in the country. Some do not know what to cook from it. Others do not buy the seeds of this "sun berry" because they do not even suspect its incredible healing properties. Experts say that pumpkin contains a complete set of minerals and vitamins, which is necessary for the stable functioning of the human body. And this is despite the fact that most of the fruit (90%) is water.
The vegetable is incredibly rich in vitamins: D, E, A, PP, B, and even a very rare vitamin T. Add here also glucose, amino acids, fructose, fiber, proteins, pectins. Yes, and all kinds of minerals in the pumpkin, as they say, more than enough (copper, zinc and phosphorus, calcium and fluorine, iodine and magnesium, manganese, copper, etc.).
It has been proven that pumpkin contains more protein than chicken or even quail eggs. Carotene is greater than carrots. But it is he who, as you know, is the most powerful antioxidant. It is very important that beneficial substances are not lost during heat treatment or freezing. For example, frozen pumpkin dishes will be just as healthy as a slice of raw vegetable.
Pumpkin good
Even periodically eating pumpkins gives incredible results:
- blood pressure decreases;
- the risk of atherosclerosis or hypertension is reduced;
- the immune system improves;
- excess fluid is removed from the body, which is very useful for losing weight or having diseases of the genitourinary system;
- worms and parasites are excreted;
- the nervous system is strengthened, sleep, memory and attention are improved;
- abscesses, burns and inflammations are more quickly cured.
How to freeze pumpkin
Pumpkin is a fairly large fruit. It is not always possible to preserve the vegetable, and sometimes after cooking, the unused portion remains, so the hostess very often resort to freezing. But how to do this if there is not enough space in the freezer? How to cut and compactly lay the pieces of pumpkin?
It is always necessary to peel the "sunny berry" and get seeds. Further, there are several options for freezing. Everything will depend on what kind of frozen pumpkin dishes you plan to cook in the future.
- Cut the flesh with a knife into portioned cubes.
- Pass the pumpkin through a meat grinder, that is, grind it into minced meat.
- Rub on a grater.
After grinding, the pumpkin mass is decomposed into plastic bags. Packages are placed in the pallet for freezing, slightly pressed on top. The finer the briquettes, the more they will fit in the freezer. Lay packages on top of each other to form a stack. So they fit more. It is better to lay a small portion so that it is enough to prepare one dish of frozen pumpkin. If necessary, just one briquette is taken, used in cooking. You do not need to defrost the entire package in order to use only a small part of the freeze.
The fruiting period of most vegetables is short. You can extend it using blanks for the winter in the freezer.
Pumpkin Puree Soup
The recipes for making pumpkin soup puree are very simple. Even a hostess without culinary skills will be able to cook a tasty, mouth-watering, fragrant and healthy soup. For cooking, you will need a simple set of products, inexpensive and public:
- Frozen pumpkin
- Carrot.
- Onion.
- Potatoes.
- Cream.
- Fried bacon ( optional).
- Salt.
- Rye crackers.
- Spice.
- Chives.
- Parsley.
Description of the cooking process
The recipe for pumpkin soup puree starts with chopping all the vegetables that are listed in the list of ingredients. Pumpkin is an exception, as it has already been cut into cubes before freezing. The onion is peeled and chopped into a small cube. We put all the vegetables in the pan, including onions, add water, set the medium heat and cook for 30 minutes. When the vegetables are ready, they must be transferred to a blender and chopped. If an immersion blender will be used, then vegetables can be left out of the soup. Before you mix and chop the vegetables in a blender, add your favorite spices. Dried ginger, nutmeg and allspice are perfect for this frozen pumpkin dish.
Grinded vegetables are sent back to the pan, pour the cream, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. The first dish is served with pumpkin with fragrant rye croutons and bacon fried to a crunch.
Pumpkin porridge
Perhaps this is the second dish after the soup, which comes to mind the hostess at the word "pumpkin". This common dish is hearty and delicious.
Essential Ingredients:
- 260 g of frozen pumpkin.
- 120 ml of milk.
- Salt.
- Cinnamon.
- Sugar.
How to cook
We pour milk into the pan, put the pumpkin there and add the rest of the ingredients. We put cinnamon, sugar, salt to taste and at will. Cook over very low heat until the pumpkin begins to disintegrate into fibers. Now you can turn off the fire. Served pumpkin porridge with a slice of butter and a spoonful of honey.
There are several variations on the theme of "frozen pumpkin porridge." In the classic recipe, let's call it the basis, you can add several other ingredients: millet, rice, semolina. Depending on the type of cereal you add, the taste of porridge will also change. And sweet components can be added not only sugar, but also honey, jam or jam.
Cottage cheese casserole with pumpkin
This recipe can be used as a lifesaver. The dish is being prepared very quickly and is perfect for those moments when guests suddenly arrived. A frozen pumpkin casserole can be with the addition of apples, potatoes, rice, meat, semolina and so on. Cottage cheese is used in this recipe.
Products
- 320 g of frozen pumpkin.
- 210 g fat cottage cheese.
- Salt.
- 40 g butter.
- Two eggs.
- Two tablespoons of sugar.
- A pinch of drinking soda.
- Three spoons of semolina.
- Sugar.
- 70 g of sour cream.
Cooking features
Cottage cheese is kneaded with a fork, mixed with softened butter. Add sour cream and sugar to the mass, mix. We beat in the eggs, pour in the semolina and again mix thoroughly. This dish will require grated frozen pumpkin. "Sunflower" is added to the penultimate turn. The last ingredient will be slaked vinegar. You can use apple or grape.
Lubricate the prepared baking dish with butter, pour the casserole dough and send it to the oven. Oven time 65 minutes. The temperature is 170 degrees.
Candied Frozen Pumpkin
For cooking, you need to choose high-quality raw materials, that is, the pumpkin should be very tasty, with dense smooth flesh, of a sweet variety. As a result of simple manipulations, you will get great healthy sweets, a very good snack, a delicious dessert for children.
You will need:
- 850 g of pumpkin;
- large lemon;
- powdered sugar;
- 350 grams of sugar.
Pieces of pumpkin peeled and peeled must be thawed at room temperature. It is very important to select identical cubes for the preparation of candied fruits. So all the products are cooked at the same time. If the pieces are of different sizes, then some will be ready, while others are half-finished. Lemon is cut into very thin half rings. It is necessary to enhance the basic taste of pumpkin, the tradition of a little acidity.
We send the thawed pumpkin to the pan, where we mix with sugar and lemon. We put on the fire. When the mass boils, we reduce the gas. Cook for 5 minutes. We are waiting for the pumpkin to cool. As a rule, it is 8-10 hours. The minimum waiting time should be three hours. Now again bring the “sunny berry” to a boil, cook for 5 minutes and turn it off again. 2-3 approaches are enough for the pumpkin to be completely saturated with syrup. At the same time, it will remain tight and keep its shape perfectly.
Add the syrup. By the way, this is an excellent basis for making marmalade, jam, liquor, jelly or impregnation for muffins. Put the pumpkin and lemons on a baking sheet. It is important that there is a small distance between the pieces. Turn on the oven at a temperature of 100 degrees. Set the time to 4 hours. Periodically, you can turn on the fan or open the door. Of course, sometimes you can take a sample. Just do not get carried away, let the delicious delicacy get ready to the end.
Pumpkin jam
The next frozen pumpkin recipe is an incredibly tasty, healthy jam. Sometimes it happens that the household urgently asks to cook a bun with jam. And where to get it, if there are not any cans on the shelves, is there already a void in the cellar? Frozen pumpkin comes to the rescue. She will do an excellent job. And if you put a couple of interesting additives in the jam, for example, ginger, grated chocolate, cinnamon or rum, then the taste of jam will be very special.
What is required
- A kilogram of pumpkin.
- Lemon.
- Orange.
- 850 g of sugar.
- Half a glass of water.
The preparation of a delicious dessert of frozen pumpkin begins with the fact that the main ingredient is thawed. Orange and lemon, together with peel seeds, are crushed using a meat grinder. Mix them with pumpkin, add sugar and send the pan to the fire. As soon as the mass boils, remove it from the fire and leave it alone for 8 hours. You can do the procedure in the evening, leave the pumpkin for the night. In the morning we again put the pan on the fire, cook for 40 minutes. Do not forget to interfere.
If long-term storage is expected, then we spread the jam on sterilized jars in hot form. Amber, aromatic and very healthy delicacy can be set aside in a small bowl. The cooled jam is used to make various pastries.
Pumpkin pancakes
Cooked jam from frozen pumpkin will go well with pancakes baked using "sunny berries." Baking can be done on a milk, kefir, sour cream, yogurt basis. To prepare this dish, it is better to use a pumpkin, which was twisted in a meat grinder and frozen. By the way, if you add a few eggs and a spoonful of flour to this kind of frost, you will get great pumpkin pancakes. If you have not yet decided what to cook from frozen pumpkin, you will be our recipes in place. We tried to choose options so that different types of freezing took part in them. It is very convenient to make several versions of frozen pumpkin, which can then be used to prepare completely different dishes, from desserts to salads.
Essential Products
- 550 g pumpkin.
- 2 cups of flour.
- Soda.
- Lemon acid.
- Salt.
- Three eggs.
- Sugar.
- Butter.
Cooking
The frozen pumpkin twisted through a meat grinder can be heated in the microwave by setting a timer for two minutes. This time will be enough for the “sunny berry” to become the desired consistency. Water, which is formed by defrosting a pumpkin, does not pour out, but is used for cooking. Add soda. Pour sugar and salt to taste. At this stage, you need to decide what to cook from frozen pumpkin. If these are sweet pancakes, then add more sugar. If you need to cook a kind of pumpkin cakes for meat or another dish, then add more salt and a small pinch of sugar.
Thoroughly mix the ingredients, add the eggs, mix again. It remains to pour flour, stir and start frying. It is recommended to warm the oil well in a pan, only then spread the mass for the preparation of fritters. As soon as the pancakes from the frozen pumpkin turn golden, we turn it over. Sweet dessert can be served with jam or sour cream.
The drinks
From frozen pumpkin you can prepare not only delicious dishes, but also drinks. Even the most sophisticated and fastidious gourmets will appreciate the tart pumpkin citrus smoothie . For cooking, you need to take 200 grams of boiled pumpkin. Mix "sunny berry" with freshly squeezed juice of orange and grapefruit. Add to this mass a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, three tablespoons of honey. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients with a blender. Garnish the drink with a sprig of mint. Ground cinnamon or cocoa can be used.
In addition to smoothies, you can make juice, pumpkin tea with honey, a drink with ginger for winter gatherings by the fireplace, even pumpkin latte for a complete awakening in the morning. Any of the drinks will be not only incredibly tasty, but also nutritious, energetic and healthy.