Is it possible to freeze beets for the winter: how to properly freeze fresh beets at home, recipes Russian farmer

Is it possible to freeze beets for the winter?

Although beets can be stored fresh for a long time in the cellar, on the balcony, or simply in the refrigerator, freezing beets at home is not only possible, but also necessary . And at the same time, you don’t have to worry that it will lose all its beneficial substances.

The main thing is to properly prepare the vegetable. Proper cleaning of the beds is no less important. Read about this in separate articles, but in this one we will tell you what rules exist for freezing beets.

How to defrost beets

Thawing methods depend on the type in which it was frozen:

Boiled version

The product should be thawed at room temperature immediately before adding to a dish or before using. Great for defrosting the shelf at the bottom of the refrigerator.

Raw version

If the beets additionally require heat treatment, they should be boiled without thawing. This is due to the fact that a frozen product cooks much faster. Therefore, it is better to cook a raw whole frozen product immediately after the freezer, without subjecting it to the defrosting process. But to preserve the color, you should always add citric or acetic acid to the water.

On a note ! In any case, you should not defrost the product several times, as it will lose its valuable nutrients. Therefore, it is necessary to freeze it in portions in order to be able to use everything that is defrosted at one time.

How to freeze beets for the winter: rules!

Freezing beets for the winter can be done either raw or boiled.

Key points to know:

It is better to freeze beets in small portions, which are usually required for preparing borscht, vinaigrette and other dishes.

Containers can be used for portioning

When re-frozen, beets lose all their beneficial properties.
When freezing whole food, use the Quick Freeze function, if available.
The “quick freeze” function freezes food at -18 degrees Celsius. If there is no such function, then the beets should be frozen at a temperature of -10 to -14 degrees Celsius. This range is considered the most optimal.
Frozen vegetables can be stored for 8 months.
You need to boil whole, unpeeled beets to preserve color and taste.
If you want to store whole raw root vegetables, you need to rinse them well under the tap and completely peel them.
For freezing, it is better to use table varieties. In this case, the vegetable must be young and fresh.

Small and juicy root vegetables are ideal for freezing

Freezing is a great way to store not only beets, but also many other vegetables. Read detailed materials on how to freeze pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, hot peppers, bell peppers, zucchini, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, onions, and garlic.

How to prepare beets for freezing

Beets have a rich mineral composition and are very healthy. After freezing, all
the amino acids that break down fats and help with digestion are preserved, which is important for me.
There are some subtleties in choosing and preparing root vegetables; read them in advance before harvesting. In the fall, I buy beets for pennies, 10 kilograms, and make semi-finished products until the next harvest.

I don’t take early varieties for freezing, they contain less useful enzymes.
With signs of rotting and deterioration, I also exclude them.
If there are a lot of hairs on the tails and fruits, they will be hard with veins.
In fodder varieties with few enzymes.
I wash it off the dirt, soak it for 30 minutes, and dry it.

Look in the table at what I prepare from beets to put in the freezer.

Large specimens	I cut off the peel, grate it, and lay it out in raw portions.
Substandard and average fruits	I boil it, remove the skin, cut it into cubes or chop it on a grater, put it in bags of 300-400 g.
Small	I cook it and freeze it in bags whole or in slices.
Beet leaves	Clean and dry, I cut them and pack them in a bag.

If you don’t want to bother with beets, find out how to store figs; useful information may be useful to housewives.

Grated can be stored in the freezer

Peculiarities

Beetroot for borscht.
The beets for borscht need to be boiled and grated on a coarse grater. Place in one serving the amount needed to prepare the pan itself. There is no need to defrost it before cooking, but you can immediately throw it into hot water.

Grate beets for borscht on a coarse grater

Beets for vinaigrette.
To prepare the vinaigrette, you will need already cooked frozen beets, cut into cubes. It must be defrosted before adding. at room temperature so that it does not lose its color and taste.
Do not use quick defrost! The dish will turn out tasteless and bland, because... beets lose all their beneficial and taste properties.

Beets for vinaigrette cut into cubes

Freezing whole beets.
Both freezing methods are suitable for whole beets.. Each peeled beet should be placed in a separate bag and placed in the refrigerator. Before use, such beets should be thawed, because... If frozen, it will be impossible to cut or grate.
Ice will inevitably form inside frozen whole beets, so you won’t be able to use such beets for beautiful serving and slicing .

Both boiled and raw beets need to be peeled before freezing.

Freezing beet tops
It is known that beet tops contain many useful elements, so it is advisable to freeze them for the winter.
Sequence when freezing tops:
- Rinse well with running water and select good juicy leaves.
Cut into small pieces.

Cut the tops into small pieces

Place portions into bags.

Place in bags and place in the freezer

Place in the freezer.
Combined freezing of beets and carrots
The processes for freezing beets and carrots are absolutely identical., which allows you to freeze these two vegetables together. This portion can be used in preparing borscht.
Vegetables also need to be washed, peeled and chopped. Then mix and place in plastic containers or bags.

Beets with carrots for freezing

In the video you can also see recommendations for freezing beets and carrots together:

Storing boiled beets in the freezer

In order for a boiled vegetable to retain all its nutritional properties, you need to find specimens in your harvest that are intact in shape and always have a tail. Under no circumstances should the vegetable be deformed or cut into pieces before cooking. The tops also remain intact. For cooking, vinegar will be needed to preserve the rich color of the root vegetable and extend its useful life.

After cooking, you should decide in what form it will be convenient to freeze the beets for the winter in the freezer and store them in the future. You can chop it finely, grate it on a coarse grater, or leave it untouched. If you choose the chopping option, you first need to peel the fruit. In the size of the cut, be guided by your own taste preferences.

If you plan to use the product for cooking beet soup or use it in salad recipes, you need to finely chop it on a grater. This will make it convenient to prepare the dish after defrosting.

If you are going to prepare a traditional Russian vinaigrette or other similar salad from beets, it is recommended to give the pieces the shape of stars or regular squares. After processing the root vegetable, you need to place it in a form for deep freezing.

In the future, for preparing dishes, you will need to prepare the vegetable in advance for gradual defrosting. However, if you decide on a hot dish like soup or borscht, then defrosting is not necessary. When treated with heat, beets will retain their taste properties, so you can add them in frozen grated form to boiling water.

Recipes

In addition to the standard freezing of beets, there are other recipes: freezing fried beets and carrots, frozen borscht preparation, vegetable cocktail, frozen vegetable frying, etc.

You can safely combine beets with other vegetables and come up with your own recipes for preparations.

Recipes for fresh beets and carrots:

Wash and peel fresh carrots and beets well.

Wash and peel vegetables

Grate on a coarse grater and mix both vegetables.

Grate on a coarse grater

Divide the resulting mixture into portions.
Place in prepared containers or bags.
Place in the freezer.

Roasted vegetable recipe:

Peel a small onion and chop finely.
Wash the carrots and beets, peel and cut or grate.
Fry the onion in sunflower oil.
Add beets and carrots, reduce heat and simmer until fully cooked.

Roasted vegetables

Place the resulting mixture in a bowl on a paper towel to absorb excess oil and allow to cool.
Place the roast in containers and put it in the freezer.

Place in portions in the freezer

Vegetable cocktail recipe:

You will need: beets, carrots, red and green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms.

Preparation:

Wash beets and carrots, peel and cut into cubes.
Wash and cut peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes.
Dry all vegetables.
Freeze each ingredient separately.
Mix in the required proportions and store in the freezer in portions.

Vegetable mixture for freezing can be anything

How to properly store beets?

It is better to prepare vegetables in several versions for different dishes. Finely chopped beets that were stored in a container will resemble a single mass after defrosting. In this case, it cannot be used for salad; it will lose its shape. However, it can easily be added to soup or borscht, so this storage option is preferable for further cooking.

If you plan to prepare salads, you need to prepare them correctly so that initially the root vegetable slices are not pressed closely together:

Find a large tray around the house and arrange the pieces so that they loosely fill the entire container.
Wrap with cling film.
Then this tray needs to be placed in the freezer. If the tray doesn't fit, try using a larger bowl.
Then set the fast freezing mode and time it for one hour. If your refrigerator does not have such a function, then the time increases slightly.
Then the slices are removed from the bowl and packed into bags and containers. In this case, the water that gets inside the fiber will not be able to connect with each other, and the pieces will retain their shape.

Fresh beets that have been frozen gradually turn pale. If the root vegetable is subsequently cooked, it takes on a brown, unappetizing appearance, and the dishes are not colored enough. The problem is solved by adding a small amount of vinegar during cooking.

Benefits and harms

Beets have beneficial properties that are completely preserved after heat treatment. Beetroot contains:

Vitamins of group B, A, E, C;
Microelements: iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium, calcium, iodine, selenium, fluorine, copper, phosphorus;
Organic acids: oxalic, malic and citric;
Large amount of fiber.

The video talks about boiled beets:

Beneficial features:

Has a beneficial effect on the digestive system;
Has a mild laxative and diuretic effect;
Helps gently cleanse the body of waste and toxins;
Causes normalization of blood pressure;
Provides capillaries with elasticity;
It is an indispensable assistant for atherosclerosis;
Has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects;
Relieves anemia because it increases hemoglobin and iron in the blood;
Used in the treatment of colds.

HELP: Regular use (3-4 times a week) helps normalize stool, relieves constipation, bloating and heaviness.

Harm of boiled beets:

Do not use if you have high stomach acidity or acute gastritis;
Avoid abuse if there is calcium deficiency in the body;
Not recommended for use if you have diabetes;
You should not eat beets if you have urolithiasis.

Freezing beet tops

Not only the pulp of beets is healthy and tasty, but also the tops, which are used in folk medicine or added to green soup instead of sorrel. Therefore, beet greens can also be frozen for future use. For this:

Sort through the green leaves, removing hard and damaged ones.
Wash the greens under running water.
Dry the tops on towels.
Chop the greens with a knife and place portions into bags.
Place the preparation in the freezer and use frozen beet tops as needed.

At what temperature is long-term storage for the winter: period or how many days is it possible?

The optimal temperature for storing boiled beets is from 0 to 6 ºС; the shelf life at this temperature is up to 10 days.
After this period, it is better not to consume the root vegetable. Step-by-step instruction:

Before cooking, beets must be prepared: wash, remove all dirt, trim off the stems and tops;
Boil the root vegetable until tender;
Cool the boiled beets naturally;
Remove the peel;
Cut into rings 1-1.5 cm thick;
Pack in a suitable container. As a container, you can use a ziplock bag, a vacuum bag, or a plastic container. Pack tightly, avoid large amounts of air inside the container;
Place in the refrigerator or freezer.

ATTENTION: Label the container indicating the freezing date. Beets are a unique root vegetable that can be stored not only raw, but also boiled.

For storage, you can use not only the refrigerator, but also the freezer. It is only necessary to comply with the basic storage rules and storage preparation technology in order to provide your household with a vitamin supply during the winter.

Beets are a unique root vegetable that can be stored not only raw, but also boiled. For storage, you can use not only the refrigerator, but also the freezer. It is only necessary to comply with the basic storage rules and storage preparation technology in order to provide your household with a vitamin supply during the winter.

Raw beets can be stored for several months in a cellar or basement. This is an incredibly shelf-stable product that does not require special storage conditions - as long as there is no frost and strong humidity. However, residents of city apartments are often deprived of the opportunity to keep large supplies of fresh vegetables and are forced to resort to the help of freezers.

How long boiled beets can be stored in the freezer depends on several factors:

temperature in the chamber;
root crop varieties;
cooking method.

Before freezing, root vegetables are boiled, peeled, cut into cubes, slices or grated on a coarse grater and placed in sealed bags or food containers.

Experienced housewives pack vegetables prepared for freezing into small “one-time use” bags and indicate on the bag the date the preparation was placed in the freezer. This will make it easy to track when the frozen product expires.

Boiled beets are perfectly stored in the refrigerator and freezer, and almost do not lose their taste and aesthetic qualities. If you need to quickly prepare herring under a fur coat, borscht, or add a vegetable to some salad, it is very convenient to have such a preparation at home. The main thing is to properly package the product and comply with storage conditions.

The best way to preserve beneficial properties is freezing. This approach will help extend shelf life and save time on cooking in the future. For residents of megalopolises and large cities who do not have a cellar or basement in their apartments, this option will help them enjoy their favorite vegetable from the garden longer than usual. Before placing the root crop in the freezer you need:

Rinse thoroughly and boil without cutting off the skin. It is allowed to place the raw product in the freezer.
Peel, grate (or cut in any way).
Place in portions into vacuum bags marked with the date of packaging. You can use containers instead, but they are quite bulky and take up a lot of space.

Room temperature is considered not the best condition for keeping vegetables. If we are talking about raw beets, then you need to place them in the coolest place (for example, in a closet or under the bed). The place should be dry and dark. It should be checked periodically for damage and rotting. In such an environment, the root crop can last up to 2 months.

Even if the temperature conditions in the freezer are strictly observed, frozen vegetables should not be stored in it for more than 10 months. Freezing beets for the winter allows you not only to preserve the maximum of nutrients in them, but also helps to save money, since vegetables are much cheaper in season than in winter and especially in spring.

How to preserve boiled beets: preparation

To preserve beets for a long period, without loss of nutritional value, you definitely need to know about the rules for their storage and preparation.

Preparatory activities:

First, you need to thoroughly rinse the root vegetable;
Place in a saucepan, add cold water and boil until tender;
Cool the boiled beets;

HELP: It is not recommended to use cold water for cooling.

Remove the peel;
The beets are prepared for storage and freezing.

Let's figure out whether it is possible to freeze boiled beets and how best to do it. For freezing, select whole beets with the tail. Root vegetables are not cut into pieces and their tops and tops are not removed. Pour a little vinegar into the water to boil the vegetable. Beets processed using this method retain their bright color. Dishes obtained from it are rich in color.

The sliced or pureed mass is transferred to containers and subjected (if possible) to deep freezing. Semi-finished products, without defrosting, are added to the dish when it is almost ready. For salads, vinaigrettes and appetizers, they are defrosted. Boiled root vegetables can reduce the cooking time of certain dishes.

The duration of storage in the refrigerator in accordance with GOST and SanPiN depends on the temperature, humidity level, packaging, type (sugar, table, leaf, fodder) and variety (Bordeaux, Ataman, Egyptian, etc.).

Boiled

To ensure that the product does not become sluggish and remains useful, the following recommendations should be followed:

Select medium-sized tubers, carefully inspect for damage, rot, or fungal disease.
Clean any dried dirt from your skin using a dry cloth or paper towel. Washing is not recommended.
Cut the tops to a maximum length of 1 cm.
Use plastic bags with holes for proper ventilation or vacuum bags for packaging (after treating the fruits with saline solution). Placement in paper bags is allowed.
Systematically inspect and promptly discard fruits that have begun to spoil.

Purified

Peeled vegetables wither faster and lose moisture, so their shelf life is significantly reduced. If during the cooking process there are a couple of unused boiled tubers with cut off skins and you want to enjoy them longer, you can put them in the refrigerator for 1-3 days. To preserve consumer properties, place in vacuum packaging or an airtight container.

In the cut

Store-bought, vacuum-sealed chopped or grated vegetables can be kept in the refrigerator until the expiration date.

After cooking, vegetables usually lose most of their nutrients - but not beets. Of course, one cannot do without partial destruction of vitamin C here, but there are still a number of useful compounds that are not affected by heat treatment. Cooked beetroot (as beets are called in the south) retains its healing qualities and at the same time is much tastier than raw beets. The only pity is that such a product cannot be stored for a long time.

If you decide in advance to leave the boiled root vegetable in reserve, you need to remember the following rules:

After cooking, the water from the pan must be drained immediately. The longer the product remains in hot liquid, the less chance it has of long-term storage. In addition, the vegetable will lose its bright burgundy color and lose many useful qualities.
Without refrigeration, at room temperature, the cooked vegetable will last about 12 hours without spoiling. The beetroot must be dried without removing the peel, transferred to a dry pan and covered with a lid.
Peeled and cut into pieces beets will keep much shorter in the refrigerator than peeled beets. Therefore, in order to increase shelf life, you should not clean all the root vegetables at once in advance. It is better to clean them as needed and put the remaining ones in the refrigerator. However, the purified product will remain perfectly fine for 24 hours on the refrigerator shelf if it is first placed in a sealed container, or even better, in a vacuum bag.
Boiled beets in their peels can be stored at temperatures from 6°C to 10°C for 10 days. This is the maximum indicator and it depends on various factors: variety, quality of preparation, features of the refrigerator. An indispensable condition is to keep it in a closed container or a special bag that limits the access of oxygen.

Success in freezing beets primarily depends on the quality of the selected fruits. They should be small, dense, with a smooth and undamaged surface. Selected root vegetables are removed from the tops and thoroughly washed with a brush under running water.

Important! It is worth choosing a vegetable with one root shoot, since several of them indicate that the fruit has a rigid structure

Preparing the refrigerator before starting the process

Before freezing vegetables, the freezer drawer is emptied of excess food, washed and dried. Bags of beets are placed tightly in a dry box.

If the refrigerator is equipped with the “Quick Freeze” function, then set it for a couple of hours.

In this case, the vegetable is frozen quickly and the beneficial substances are preserved. If the refrigerator is not equipped with such a function, then the product is frozen at 10-15 degrees below zero. This temperature is considered optimal.

Is it possible to freeze boiled beets?

Beets contain a large amount of useful vitamin C. In a frozen vegetable, this vitamin remains in 90% of its original volume.

The easiest way to freeze beets is in a regular refrigerator or freezer. To prevent harmful fungi and bacteria from settling in food, and to prevent the product from losing its natural appearance, it should be properly processed. You can wash the vegetable, chop it, or even boil it. For each of these methods, the freezing principle will be the same.

Choose the hardest, strongest beets that attract you with their appearance. You should not take large ones - they will be difficult to freeze, since a large volume takes longer to cool and is more difficult to store in small containers. For deep cooling, it is necessary that there are minimal fibrous veins inside the beets. Wash the vegetable with running water and dry it thoroughly. Do not use special devices for drying; natural air drying is the most useful and correct way.

For storage at home, both transparent bags and professional containers and correx are used. Do not use containers with large volumes - they take up a lot of space, and you will also need to use all the available beets in the container on the day of defrosting.

Keep in mind that if you defrost a product to prepare a dish, then it should be processed the same day. Otherwise, you will get the taste, but lose the beneficial properties.