How to freeze bell peppers for the winter: we make useful preparations for delicious dishes

The idea of ​​selling frozen food appeared in America in the early 20th century, and it wasn't until the 1950s, with the advent of refrigerators in most households, that frozen food became commonplace. Now, except for salting and pickling vegetables, every housewife can save any vegetables.

In this article, we will explain in detail how to freeze bell peppers for the winter.

How will we benefit from freezing fresh peppers?

Bell pepper contains a large amount of vitamins C, B, PP and A, which increase immunity, strengthen the walls of capillaries, and neutralize free radicals in the body.

When properly frozen, all the beneficial properties of the fruit are preserved. Vegetables are much cheaper in autumn than in winter, and you can be sure of their excellent quality.

Training

For freezing, you need plastic dishes with a tight-fitting lid, zip bags or ordinary plastic bags. To prevent vegetables from smelling of food stored in the freezer, it is better to place them in several plastic bags and tie them tightly.

For freezing, take fresh large fruits without damage. Thick-walled vegetables freeze better. Each fruit is thoroughly washed, the stalk, seeds and partitions are removed. The vegetables should then be thoroughly dried, best laid out on a clean towel. After that, the peppers are frozen whole or cut (depending on the recipe).

Freezing methods

How to freeze bell peppers for the winter depends on the recipe in which they will be used.

Freezing whole bell peppers

When the fruits are prepared and dried, a cloth napkin or a special plastic tray is placed on the bottom of the freezer. The peppers are put one on top of the other in the shape of a pyramid, covered with a cloth and left for two days.

After freezing, vegetables are placed in tight cellophane bags or special containers for freezing.

Cubes or stripes

Vegetables prepared for freezing are cut lengthwise into two parts. Each slice is cut across into strips, and the strips are cut into cubes. Chopped vegetables are placed in freezer bags and placed in the freezer for two hours.

After that, the bags are shaken so that the pieces do not freeze into a lump, but remain in bulk, and put them back in the freezer for storage.

Freezing baked sweet peppers

A baking sheet is greased with vegetable oil, washed, peeled and cut into two halves pepper is placed on it and baked in the oven at a temperature of 180-200 ° C for 35-40 minutes.

After that, put it in a saucepan, close it tightly with a lid and leave for 15 minutes. Then peel the peppers, cut into pieces and put them in a container for freezing. The workpiece is stored in the freezer.

How to freeze peppers stuffed with meat, rice, vegetables

Before freezing, cooked vegetables are blanched in boiling water for about 1 minute. After that, they will become softer, which will allow them to fill them more densely with minced meat.

Minced meat is chosen to taste:

1. Chopped onions, garlic, carrots and spices are added to the minced meat.
2. For peppers with rice, rice is pre-boiled in salted water, mixed with vegetables and spices.
3. For a completely vegetable dish, chopped onions, carrots, cabbage are fried with spices in vegetable oil. Peppers are stuffed with minced meat and frozen in the freezer on a napkin for 24 hours.

After that, the stuffed vegetables are transferred to freezer bags and stored in the freezer.

Frozen with dill and parsley

For 2 kg of pepper, 150-200 g of dill and parsley will be needed.

Preparation:

1. Rinse greens, soak in cold water for 10-15 minutes and dry with a towel.
2. Rinse peppers, remove seeds and stalk, cut into strips or cubes. Chop the greens.
3. Put pepper on one diarrhea, and greens on the other. Place the trays in the freezer for 24 hours.
4. Mix vegetables and herbs evenly, put in bags and put in the freezer for storage.

Freezing recipe for bell pepper lecho

For this recipe, you will need 2-3 yellow, red and green peppers and 3 large tomatoes.

Preparation:

1. Rinse vegetables, dry. Peppers to clear of seeds and stalks. Scald the tomatoes with boiling water and peel them.
2. Cut the vegetables into strips, stir gently to prevent juicing from the tomatoes, and place the mixture in bags or freezer containers.
3. Close the freezer container tightly or tie and place in the freezer.
4. After a few hours, shake the container and leave in the freezer for further freezing and storage.

Assorted stew

For freezing according to this recipe, take peppers of different colors.

Preparation:

1. Vegetables are cut into strips along or across.
2. The chopping board is covered with cellophane, sliced ​​vegetables are placed on it in a thin layer and put into the freezer.
3. After a few hours, the pepper is poured into a plastic bag or container, tightly closed or tied and placed in the freezer for further storage.

It is not necessary to defrost the vegetables before making the stew.

Temperature for freezing peppers and shelf life

Freezing at a temperature of -18 ... -20 degrees preserves the beneficial properties of peppers, their color and taste.

If you follow all the freezing rules, vegetables are stored in the freezer for up to 12 months.

In what dishes can you use

Frozen vegetables are used in the same way as fresh ones: pizza, vegetable stew, stewed peppers with onions and carrots as a side dish for meat, meat baked with vegetables, casseroles, omelet. Add to soups 10 minutes before the end of cooking.

You do not need to defrost vegetables beforehand.

Can I re-freeze

It is undesirable to re-freeze any vegetables - they lose their useful qualities and taste. When the refrigerator is washed, vegetables are taken out of the freezer for no more than an hour.

Better, of course, to transfer them to another refrigerator or take them to the balcony. But if this happens in the summer, and there is no other refrigerator, all the products from the freezer are placed in one large container, for example, a basin, and covered with a cloth. This will defrost the food more slowly.

Read also:

How to cook pickled tsitsak pepper for the winter.

How to cook Ratunda pepper with honey for the winter.

Why is Winnie the Pooh pepper good: getting to know the variety.

Conclusion

In order to fill your menu with vitamins as much as possible in winter, it is better to freeze peppers in different versions: whole, in pieces, strips and cubes, as well as stuff with various fillings to your liking.

Before cooking, vegetables are not thawed, but immediately added to the dish. To prevent peppers from absorbing odors from other foods in the freezer, they must be carefully packed in bags or freezer containers.