Pumpkin in its nutritional and vitamin constituents can give odds to most expensive vegetables and fruits. At the same time, it can be stored in raw unpurified form for a long time (up to six months) and fully retain all its useful properties. And these are vitamins A and B, C, D, and E. Pumpkin is also rich in trace elements such as potassium, magnesium, and iron. In addition, it is a low-allergenic product, which makes it indispensable when introducing the first feeding for babies.
In general, not a product, but a fairy tale! But why know how to freeze a pumpkin for the winter, if, it turns out, it is already perfectly preserved? Firstly, it should be noted that in frozen form it takes up much less space in the freezer (because it is cleaned and crushed) than anywhere else on the balcony. Secondly, no matter how long the pumpkin is kept fresh, until April-May, for example, it still “will not survive”, and a new crop will come no earlier than August-September. Thirdly, peeling and cutting a pumpkin is a troublesome thing, which creates certain obstacles to cooking dishes from it. It is much easier to get the workpieces out of the freezer, thaw in the microwave and immediately begin to create various goodies.
Is it possible to freeze a pumpkin unpeeled for the winter? Definitely not. Before freezing, all vegetables and fruits should be thoroughly washed and peeled, core, sunflower seeds, leaving only the precious pulp. When thinking about how to freeze a pumpkin correctly, you need to decide what you will cook from it. If these are delicious pancakes, then it is better to grate it immediately and freeze it in this form in a plastic bag. Moreover, in each of them you need to put pumpkins as much as you need for a single cooking dish. The product cannot be re-frozen.
Many young mothers are interested in whether it is possible to freeze pumpkin for winter in the form of mashed potatoes? As mentioned above, this vegetable is ideal for use as a first feeding for babies. Pumpkin puree is given to kids just like that, it is added to rice, semolina and corn porridge. Before freezing a vegetable in this form, it should be boiled in pieces for a couple or in water, and then chopped, for example, in a blender. Pumpkin puree can be sent to the freezer in disposable plastic cups or in the same portioned plastic bags.
Most often, when answering the question of whether it is possible to freeze a pumpkin for the winter, experienced housewives advise sending this vegetable to the freezer, cutting it into small pieces. Keeping the product in this form, you leave yourself a huge field for creativity in the direction of dishes that can be prepared from it. Want mashed potatoes - make it after thawing, bake pumpkin with other vegetables - cut it into small pieces, etc. In general, you can create as many different dishes from a frozen product in this form as from fresh.
Now that the reader knows whether it is possible to freeze a pumpkin for the winter, it is worth mentioning how to properly defrost it. This must be done either in the microwave in a special mode, or in the refrigerator. In the latter case, this process will be delayed for ten to twelve hours.