Freezing cucumbers for the winter: the best recipes with photos

It is known that freezing is one of the best ways of harvesting products for the winter, which allows you to preserve their beneficial substances to the maximum throughout the winter avitaminosis period. In addition, this is a great way for those housewives who have little space in the closet for cans with preservation, or who do not want to mess with canning in hot weather. In our article we will discuss how to freeze cucumbers for the winter fresh in the freezer. After all, as you know, they can be stored fresh for a very short time.

Is it possible to freeze cucumbers for the winter

Many housewives try to freeze various vegetables and subsequently share the results. There are many tips and recommendations on the web about which vegetables are suitable for this procedure and which are not. Cucumbers are recorded in the list of those products that can be stored in the freezer. However, it is very important to properly prepare them for the procedure, as well as to choose the right variety and select the appropriate specimens.

What cucumbers fit

For freezing, you must select young, well ripe, but not soft cucumbers. Their flesh should be elastic. They must be whole, without spots, signs of rot or other damage. Unfortunately, there are a number of recommendations regarding which variety to choose for pickling and pickling ("Murom", "Nezhinsky", "Stage", "Nosovsky", "Droplet", "Far Eastern", "Felix 640", "Magnificent") , however, a list of those that remain tasty when thawed has not yet been written.

Therefore, most likely, you will have to select them by your own trial and error, starting with the universal varieties or with the ones listed above. They preserve the elasticity and taste after storage by preservation. Hopefully, they will not change their characteristics after freezing. Freezing hybrids should be avoided. Also, salad vegetables are not suitable for freezing, as they have softer pulp.

How to prepare

Freshly picked vegetables need a good wash and dry. If they are purchased, then it is advisable to soak them for an hour in water. For drying suitable paper or cotton towel. If time allows, then drying should take from 30 to 60 minutes. Then cucumbers will need to get rid of both ends and pre-check for the presence of bitterness. Next, you need to bring the vegetables in the state in which you plan to freeze them: cut, squeeze the juice, etc.

Ways to freeze

We suggest you to consider four ways to freeze cucumbers:

• as a whole;
• sliced;
• chopped cubes;
• in the form of cucumber juice.

You can also try to freeze pickles.

Ways of freezing should be chosen depending on what use you then want to find frozen vegetables.

Whole

Whole vegetables can be frozen, but not recommended, because they are then too difficult to defrost and cut. Many also do not like this method due to the fact that the peel of the vegetable after thawing does not retain its appearance - it is stripped off and becomes sluggish.

Here's a way to freeze fresh cucumbers for the whole winter:

1. Wash and dry the vegetables.
2. Trim both ends.
3. To peel.
4. Vegetables placed in a plastic bag or a special package for freezing with a clasp.
5. Put the bag in the freezer.

Circles

Circles freeze vegetables, which are planned to be added in the future. sandwiches either in salads, used to decorate dishes. In addition, frozen cucumbers in this way are great for cosmetic procedures on the face.

1. Well-dried vegetables cut into thin slices 2-3 mm thick.
2. Slices dry from speaking juice. It will take about 30 minutes.
3. After that, place the mugs in one layer on the tray, tray, baking sheet, cardboard, cutting board, etc.
4. Cover with cling film.
5. Prepared for freezing vegetables put in the freezer overnight.
6. After complete freezing the rings are placed in plastic containers or in bags.

Diced

Add frozen cucumbers to okroshka, Russian salad, vinaigrette or other salads - that's what else you can do with them. However, in this case, the vegetables will need to freeze cubes.

1. To do this, dried vegetables should remove the ends and peel.
2. Cucumbers cut into small cubes and spread on a tray, baking sheet or just a plate.
3. Dry for 30 minutes.
4. As in the previous case, the cubes will need to be covered with cling film and placed in the freezer overnight.
5. In the morning, take them out and put them in a bag, or put them in a container. Air from the bag can be removed using a cocktail straw.

Cucumber Juice

Cucumber juice is a great way to freeze vegetables that you plan to use for masks, lotions, or just to wipe the face.

1. Washed and dried cucumbers grate.
2. Squeeze juice out of the mixture using gauze.
3. Juice pour in the form of ice.
4. Form the ice in the freezer overnight.
5. In the morning, to save space in the freezer, cubes will need to be poured into a bag and placed back in the freezer for storage.

Salty

Surely almost every hostess faced a situation where a bottle of pickled or pickled cucumbers was opened, and it was impossible to use them all. It is during such periods that many begin to wonder whether it is possible to freeze pickled cucumbers. Our answer is that you can, and even without losing the appearance, taste and smell. They can be easily added later. Vinaigrette, Olivier and Rassolnik.

1. Cucumbers to dry from moisture.
2. Cut into cubes.
3. Place on a chopping board.
4. Cover with cling film.
5. Put in the freezer.
6. After waiting four or more hours, remove the salted vegetables and place them in a vacuum bag.
7. Package back in the freezer.

Shelf life

The shelf life of frozen cucumbers is five to eight months, if pre-fast freezing has been carried out. Without pre-freezing, vegetables are usable for six months.

How to defrost

Cucumbers, frozen in cubes or circles, do not need to be defrosted. In the frozen form they are added to dishes - there they defrost themselves.

If cucumbers are specially defrosted before being placed in a dish, then they will flow and change their appearance, turn into mush. If you add vegetables to a salad, then you need to defrost them by placing them for a while in cold water, which you will need to drain in the future. When freezing whole vegetables before cutting and adding to the dish, they should be placed for thawing on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

Cubes of cucumber juice should also be immediately, without defrosting, placed in a lotion or mask.

According to experienced housewives, after thawing, cucumbers become somewhat watery, but their taste and smell do not change. When you add them to dishes, the difference between fresh and frozen food is almost not felt. Crunchy qualities after freezing are also preserved.

Housewives also note a significant difference between cucumbers purchased in winter, which often have no taste and smell, and fragrant vegetables, harvested in the summer.

What can be done

Fresh diced cucumbers can be added to:

• salad vinaigrette;
• Russian salad;
• okroshka;
• sauté.

• sandwiches;
• decoration of salads or side dishes;
• lettuce type summer.

Also of them make a mask under the eyes.

Pickled cucumbers are added to:

• the vinaigrette;
• Russian salad;
• pickle;
• hodgepodge;
• azu;
• tar-tar sauce.

Frozen cubes with juice or porridge, grated, grated, added to sauces, for example in the Greek tzatziki.

They also rub face with cubes with juice, make lotions, masks, slimming cocktails out of them.

Useful tips

• To get a ready-made part of the soup, the so-called soup set, after freezing, cucumbers can be packaged in small packets together with frozen dill, parsley, green peas, and green onions.
• Okroshka cucumbers recommend freezing in bags cut into pieces with whey. In serum, they are better preserved.
• It is advisable to place vegetables intended for one dish in bags so that the product does not undergo repeated freezing. Repeated freezing is strictly prohibited.
• If you freeze the vegetables in bags, before putting them in the freezer, you need to completely release the air from them. This will help in this straw for a cocktail, which is inserted into a small hole, where the bag is closed or tied.
• When freezing vegetables in general, small samples should be selected.
• In the freezer, vegetables should be kept separate from meat.

Freezing cucumbers - this is an easy way to prepare them for the winter at home. This way you can provide yourself with fresh vegetables for the entire avitaminosis period.They can be used in salads, okroshka, sandwiches. Tasty frozen cucumbers are obtained in the case of proper preparation and selection of a suitable variety.