Remembering the times when everywhere there were refrigerators with tiny freezers, in which only a couple of servings of ice cream and a bundle of pelmenas could fit, I sighed with relief-an era of large freezing chambers.
If earlier it occurred to me to stock up fresh-frozen products for future use, for the winter, in a regular city apartment, then my idea would be covered with a copper basin. Now everything is different - in many apartments there are freezers! In private houses there are saving cellars, where cold underground spaces can ensure the safety of valuable vitamins, but with a frost this can not be compared.
Fortunately, you can choose and buy any refrigerator - a safe for freshly frozen foods. There is a great variety of two-compartment refrigerators combined with spacious freezers, which in itself is very convenient. They can function separately, so if you need to turn off the camera, you do not have to empty the fridge and vice versa.
The volume of the refrigerating chamber will freeze a lot of berries and fruits, so with moderate consumption, they can suffice and until the next harvest.
All nutrients are stored in frozen fruits and berries much better and safer than in canned, dried or candied. As for the latter, it is better not to use them at all. All these jam pickles are a real mockery of vitamins, and the banks with them, knowing people call coffins for vegetables and fruits.
Meat and fish will also fit in the freezer, but it's better if you place them on other shelves, because the smell has not been canceled, and strawberries with fish flavor are not a desirable phenomenon.
Tare for freezing.
It is best to freeze the food in a small container. The process of freezing occurs in it more quickly, and also, it is more convenient portions for defrosting before consumption. For example, if you freeze a large piece of boiled mushrooms, then you will have to use an ax to separate the necessary part. But if you have a large family and you are not too lazy to cook for everyone, then choose the standard portion yourself.
It is convenient to use plastic jars of sour cream, a container of ice cream, cheese, ordinary plastic bags. Special dishes are also sold, but it is not always reasonable to spend it. Do not use glass containers, because it may crack from the cold. The use of rectangular containers allows for a more compact filling of the freezer.
Before using the container, it must be thoroughly washed and dried. Products are stored in dry containers tightly, so that they do not contain excess air. Opaque containers are better to sign, so do not open each time in search of the desired product.
Any container in which you freeze food should be tightly sealed. On this depends not only the quality of the products, but also the evaporation of moisture during storage, which, gathered "fur coat" inside the freezer, will require its shutdown and thawing.
If the freezer had to be turned off, take care of the products. In winter, they can be carried to the cold, and in summer wrapped in a quilt, thus preventing the loss of cold. After quickly processing the refrigerator, immediately turn it on, and put the food back. Emergency defrosting the camera is not required if you do not open the freezer over trifles, and also when the door of the freezer is not combined with the refrigerator.
Plastic bags with frozen food tie an eye, not a knot, this will make it easier for you when cooking.
How to freeze berries and fruits.
Before freezing berries, they need to be thoroughly washed, cleaned, leave only the best. From peaches, plums and apricots you need to get bones. Apricots before freezing should be problanshirovat 30 seconds in boiling water, then cool, dry, and then you can freeze.
Large fruit cut into pieces, but do not make them too small, otherwise all the juice will flow out.
Small and delicate berries, in order to avoid bruising, it is better to freeze on a flat plate or a piece of paper. So it will be easier to keep their shape and appearance. Such freezing will be required for the first few days, and then they must be poured into a normal container, tightly closed and stored in the freezer until consumed.
Frozen strawberries and strawberries.
A large strawberry is frozen whole berries in a dry and pure form. First, simmer it on a tray in one layer, and then put it in a container, close it and store it.
Frozen in raw form without sugar strawberries and strawberries, after thawing is not too eye-catching taste and is more suitable for cooking compote. But if you suppress these berries together with sugar and freeze, you will get a real dessert.
Frozen cherries, cherries and gooseberries.
The washed berries of cherry, cherry and gooseberry are cleared of pits and peduncles, packed in small containers, and peppered with sugar.
Frozen raspberries.
Ripe berries are packed in a container, layerwise pouring them sugar. For three hours, raspberries must be put in a cool place, for example in a refrigerator, without closing the lid. After three hours, the lid is closed, and raspberries are sent to the freezer, but keep in mind that it can not be defrosted during storage.
Do not freeze berries with larvae of a raspberry beetle. If you soak them in salt water, you can get half of the larvae to float to the surface, but the rest will crawl out during freezing.
Freezing of cranberries.
Cranberries are the most unpretentious berry during storage. It can be poured with water and thus stored without freezing, and stored simply in a refrigerator. Unbroken, whole berries will remain tasty until the spring, they will not lose their medicinal properties.
The freezer compartment will always remain insufficiently large to satisfy all needs, so do not get carried away by freezing everything in a row, it's better to concentrate on delicacy berries. A cranberry is perfectly preserved in the water.
Freezing of blueberries, blueberries, currants and cowberries.
These berries need to be washed, dried, and blotted out on loose trays. Already in the frozen state, pour into a bag or other container, squeeze out the air, tie the packet on the loop and put it in the freezer. Take for freezing small bags to take berries portionwise.
Frozen freshly made puree or juice.
Berries can be frozen in the form of juice. Freshly squeezed juice into small plastic bottles up to 0.5 liters, but do not pour to the brim. Defrosting such juice, you will get a much fresher product than the one that you buy in the store.
Puree with sugar put in a plastic container, a level of half a centimeter below the top edge.
To save space in the freezer, and it always does not suffice, after a full freeze, you can hold the container for a few seconds under warm water, knock on the bottom, take out the frozen mass and put it in a plastic bag. By itself, the package does not take up space, but in a single case this will not give an economy effect, however, if you do such a trick with all products, you can achieve greater capacity.
After defrosting, vegetables and fruits should be used in the near future, otherwise they will become unattractive, dehydrated and lose all their useful qualities.
Berry sherbet from frozen berries.
Do not wait until the berries are thawed, pour them into the blender, add to the four parts of the berries one part of sugar, a little mineral water. After the mass is well dispersed, the sherbet is applied to the ice cream or ice cream, and immediately served.