For many gardeners, the problem of preserving the harvest for the winter is very acute. One of the best ways to do this is to freeze. At the same time, all useful substances and vitamins are preserved. In addition, when frozen, sugar and preservatives are most often not used, therefore such products are more useful than boiled ones. Even fresh fruits by the end of winter lose almost all their vitamins. Therefore, freezing allows you to maintain immunity in the spring and treat vitamin deficiencies. Many gardeners ask if apples can be frozen for the winter.
After all, few people manage to save apples without damage until spring, and summer varieties are more useful. Compotes and jam are not loved by everyone, and it is very troublesome to harvest juice. But apples are a storehouse of useful substances: they contain many vitamins, iron and are useful to everyone. It is no accident that in the ancient legends of many countries it is an apple - a fruit that returns youth and beauty. It is very important to keep all the beneficial properties of the fruit until spring. Therefore, many housewives are interested in whether it is possible to freeze apples for the winter. After all, fruits saved in this way will not only be a source of vitamins in the spring, but also allow you to quickly prepare tasty and healthy dishes.
How to freeze apples
To save more vitamins, you need to know how to freeze apples properly. To do this, choose ripe fruits that need to be washed and dried. It is advisable that as little time as possible passes from the time of collection to processing. Apples are frozen, be sure to cut them into pieces and remove the core. Slices can be of any shape, for example, circles, the main thing is that their thickness is no more than four millimeters. All fruits must be carefully examined so that there are no nailed and spoiled places.
All housewives know that these fruits quickly darken after slicing. Therefore, they are wondering if apples can be frozen for the winter so that they remain white? To do this, prepare the solution in advance. Add 10 grams of salt or 5 grams of citric acid per liter of water. When slicing apples, immediately put them in water. This solution will not let them darken. But it is advisable not to keep the fruits in water for longer than 20 minutes, so it is better to freeze apples in small portions.
Lay the slices on a tray and place in the freezer for a short while. As soon as they grab a little, they need to be taken out and unstuck, and then again placed in the refrigerator. It is desirable that the temperature be as low as possible, while all vitamins are better preserved. After the final freeze, apple slices are laid out in bags in small portions.
Other ways to freeze apples
You can also hold pieces of fruit in thirty percent sugar syrup for 24 hours. First they need to be blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water and cooled. Such sweet slices after defrosting will be a wonderful delicacy that tastes very much like baked apples. Children like them very much, they are a good dessert and an addition to baking.
Is it possible to freeze apples for the winter in another way? For those who like pies with filling or jam, it is better to do this after preparing puree. When cooking, sugar can not be added, and ripe, nailed and spoiled fruits are suitable for this method of preparation. Cooked mashed potatoes are laid out in plastic containers or jars and put in the freezer.
Every housewife will like it if in winter or spring she can get frozen apples from the refrigerator. The recipes for cooking with these fruits are simple and children like them. They can not only be eaten simply as a dessert, but also added to pastries, casseroles, cook compote from them, make mousse or a cocktail.