How to use frozen apples. How to properly freeze vegetables for the winter

Gingerbread cookies were prepared for all holidays and made different shapes and size. They owe their name to the spices that have been part of the recipe since ancient times. Gingerbread, which originally included honey and molasses, has today undergone some changes. The fact is that sugar has become much more accessible than honey, and products began to be made using it. Below we will look different variants test.

Gingerbread dough: a recipe from time immemorial

As mentioned above, gingerbread is one of the most ancient sweets in Rus'. According to some sources, they were baked back in the 10th century. When modern housewives prepare gingerbread dough, the recipe, of course, differs from that of old Russian sweets. However, three can be distinguished - honey, sugar and sugar-honey. It contains both sugar and honey. You can prepare the dough in two different ways. With the simplified version, the products become stale faster. The second option takes more time, but the gingerbread cookies stay fresh and soft longer. Below we will look at both methods.

Choux pastry

This is the most difficult option that a housewife who decides to make gingerbread dough can use. This recipe is easy to master and will delight you with seven delicious gingerbread cookies in the future.

So, you need to take 750 g of flour, 1 glass of sugar, 60 g of honey, 100 g of butter, 1 egg, 0.5 teaspoon of soda, 0.5 tsp. spices to taste, 60 ml water. If all proportions are observed, you will get approximately 1 kg of dough.

As you can see, the gingerbread dough recipe is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. So, in order to make it, put honey, sugar, water in a saucepan and heat it without bringing it to a boil. Then it is recommended to add half the flour and spices to the mixture. It is best to stir the product for the product with a wooden spatula. Moreover, if you leave the flour in the syrup without stirring for at least a couple of minutes, then lumps will appear in the dough, which will be difficult to get rid of. Cool the resulting mass until room temperature and then add the rest of the flour, eggs and baking powder. Ready dough should be soft. To do tasty dish, the dough must be cut right away, otherwise the finished gingerbread cookies will be of poor quality. This gingerbread dough recipe is closest to the original old version.

Simple test option

For housewives who do not want to spend a lot of time preparing dough, the following recipe is suitable. You need to put honey in a saucepan, add butter, mashed with sugar, spices and knead all the ingredients for a couple of minutes. Then add flour (preferably sifted) and soda and knead the dough. If crystals have formed in the honey, then it must be heated, but in no case should it be brought to a boil. This will cause it to lose its aroma, which means the product will not be as tasty. Honey for gingerbread cookies should be at room temperature. What consistency the gingerbread dough should be - the recipe with photo will demonstrate only approximately. You need to be able to determine this by touch.

Making a Christmas treat

The dough recipe for a gingerbread house differs from the usual one in that here it should be more fragrant and festive. There are many options, and every housewife can choose exactly the one she likes. For example, excellent gingerbread dough (recipe from Gerda) is obtained if all proportions are strictly observed.

So, we need: 0.5 kg of honey, 0.3 kg butter and 0.3 kg of cane sugar, 50-100 g of cocoa (depending on whether you want to make the house chocolate or not). You will also need 3 tablespoons of rum, a little baking powder, a pinch or two of cinnamon, a pinch of ground cardamom, a little ground cloves, a pinch and a little fresh grated root. For spices, it is also recommended to add a pinch of ground anise seeds, a little star anise (ground), ground nutmeg, vanilla, zest of one orange and lemon. This proportion will require a little more than 1 kg of flour.

Of course, every housewife makes a unique gingerbread dough. Skripkin’s recipe, for example, can be slightly modernized by removing this a large number of spices. The dough recipe with modifications is given below.

We will need: 500 grams of honey, 300 grams of sugar, 300 grams of butter, 50 grams of cocoa, zest of one lemon, zest of an orange, vanilla to taste.

Thus, it is clear that gingerbread dough (recipe) and products made from it do not require high culinary skills and can be done even by a novice housewife.

Making gingerbread dough: recipe for cookies

Many people know gingerbread men only as characters from the cartoon "Shrek". Meanwhile, these are traditional cookies on Catholic Christmas, which can be enjoyed by children on any other day.

So, how to make this gingerbread dough? See the recipe below.

We will need:

3 eggs.
1.5 cups molasses.
6 cups sifted flour.
Approximately 300 g margarine.
250 g sugar.
2 tablespoons of cocoa or instant coffee.
4 spoons of soda, quenched in vinegar.
A little ground ginger.
A pinch of ground cinnamon.
A pinch of clove powder.

How to make the cookies themselves?

For cookies, we first need a template and, of course, gingerbread dough. The recipe was given above, but we will duplicate it again. Thanks to the template, the little people will turn out identical and beautiful. Gingerbread dough and products made from it are distinguished by the fact that they hold their shape perfectly, and any figures can be made from them. The dough preparation process itself is simple. You need to mix oil, spices, soda and salt in a saucepan, and then add sugar and honey.

You can mash everything with a spoon, or you can beat it with a mixer. Dissolve cocoa in a couple of tablespoons of boiling water, let cool to room temperature and add to the dough at the same time as the eggs. After this, add 3.5 cups of flour, continuing to beat the mass with a mixer. Add the remaining flour and knead the dough with your hands. It should not be too dense so that it rolls out easily. Put away finished product in the refrigerator for at least 5-6 hours, after wrapping it in cling film. After this, take out the dough and place it on a board, rolling it out into a thin layer. To prevent it from sticking, sprinkle flour on the rolling pin. However, you need to handle flour more carefully so as not to spoil the taste of the cookies. Cut out little people from the rolled out dough and bake until done. Afterwards, you can separately make icing and decorate the finished cookies.

Variations in the recipe

Some components can be replaced. For example, take vegetable oil instead of butter, and instead of baking soda, add baking powder. But ginger must be present in any case. It is he who gives the liver unique taste, which is loved by both adults and children all over the world. If you don’t have molds, you can make a template yourself from thick paper or cardboard.

Not every housewife has one in her kitchen. But you shouldn’t be upset, as it can be replaced with a so-called pastry bag. To do this, simply cut off the corner plastic bag, and the glaze is already squeezed out of it.

Colored glaze is made by adding food coloring to it. If the cookies are large, then multi-colored buttons can be laid out from candies.

Gingerbread house No. 2: ideas for inspiration

Gingerbread dough and products made from it are an excellent gift option for family and friends for any occasion. Below we will look at the technology for making a gingerbread house. The dough recipe for a gingerbread house is not very different from simple recipe gingerbread

Heat honey, margarine and sugar. Whisk, adding cocoa, until all lumps disappear. The mass should be homogeneous and should not boil.

Mix flour with spices and baking powder. If desired, you can add orange zest.

Add eggs and rum or cognac into the heated honey mixture in two steps.

Add flour and spices to the honey mixture and knead the dough thoroughly. It shouldn't leak. On average it takes 15-20 minutes to knead. However, do not try to mix in all the flour at once. The dough will gradually cool down. It must be placed in the refrigerator, first wrapped in cling film. Let the dough rest for at least 5 hours.

"Construction" of a sweet house

Make a template of the parts of the house - walls, roof and other figures that you see fit. Roll out the dough and cut out the details of the house. Bake for 20-25 minutes until done.

The foundation of the future house should be gingerbread. It is to this that the walls are attached.

The windows are made from marmalade or caramel. True, in conditions of high humidity it will most likely melt. Therefore, it is best to take candies without filling or marmalade slices.

Transparent caramel should not be used. It does not melt well, and even if it does melt, it still flows out of the “windows” of the house, ruining the entire product. If there is high humidity in the house, it is not recommended to cook caramel yourself - it will still melt and leak out. This means that the work will go down the drain. But in any case, the most important thing is well-prepared gingerbread dough. The recipe (Pokhlebkin suggests slightly different proportions) assumes a dense and non-sticky dough. We must constantly remember this.

For the house you need to make glaze or icing. To do this, powdered sugar with proteins, lemon juice and starch is ground so that there are no bubbles. The finished mass is placed in or in a milk bag with a corner cut off. You can also use a regular paper file; it is quite dense and easy to work with.

Gingerbread cookies with sugar

We looked at several ways to make gingerbread dough. The recipe without honey is very popular nowadays, since honey is a rather expensive product. Below we will consider old recipe gingerbread without honey. They turn out somewhat unusual, but also very tasty. So, for the test we need:

300 g of sifted flour (in principle, the recipe may indicate more, but then the dough will turn out very tough).
40 g butter.
50 g sugar.
Cinnamon and cardamom to taste.
50 g raisins.
1 egg.

Mix sugar, cinnamon and cardamom.

Then mix sugar with spices, flour and egg with butter. The dough should be quite dense, but not stiff, otherwise the product will be harsh and quickly become stale.

Place small dough balls on a greased baking sheet. Alternatively, you can roll out the dough into small flat cakes and make shaped edges.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. However, if you are making balls, they will need to sit in the oven a little longer to bake completely.

Cover if you want finished goods frosting, sugar pearls and chocolate. If you strictly follow the recipe, they will turn out almost unsweetened. Therefore, chocolate and icing are a must. You can change the amount of sugar, proportionally increasing the amount of other components.

There are enough ideas, get inspired and create your own beautiful house. You'll have a great time!

And I will do everything so that you don’t have any problems with the test, or with the templates, or with the design!

Fairytale gingerbread houses belong to and, just like gifts under the Christmas tree. Whether purchased or purchased, each gingerbread house can be charmingly decorated with icing and sweets.

Let's start with the test for the house.

I. Culinary master class Gingerbread house dough recipe

First: building a house is not a quick task, plan the minimum 2 days for the house:

on the 1st day you must bake the dough for the house and let it cool well so that the house is stable;
on the 2nd day you can assemble the house and decorate it... Or you can decorate it already on the 3rd day.

Second: buy all the necessary ingredients for the house in advance, think about lighting (LED is most suitable for lighting the house). Make a list so you don't forget anything.

1. Dough

Products for 1 house

1 kg flour + for dusting
300 g cold butter, cubes
2 tbsp. seasonings for gingerbread

If you don’t want to buy a ready-made mixture, then prepare it yourself according to the recipe:

35% coriander, 30% cinnamon, 10% cardamom, 10% nutmeg, and 5% each of cloves, star anise and allspice.

- for 20 g of mixture

7 g coriander
6 g cinnamon
2 g cardamom
2 g nutmeg
1 g cloves
1 g star anise
1 g allspice

(Mix everything and grind in a coffee grinder. Store for no more than a month in a hermetically sealed glass jar).

2 tbsp. ginger powder
1 tbsp. baking soda
450 g brown sugar
3 large eggs
225 g syrup

Cooking

Place half the flour (500 g) along with the butter in a large bowl.
Knead until no lumps are felt.
Add:

- flour (another 500 g)
- seasonings
- soda
- a pinch of salt

Knead and add sugar.
Beat eggs and syrup until smooth.
Add to flour mixture.
Knead with your hands until the dough is elastic.
The dough can be used immediately to prepare the house or, wrapped in cling film, placed in the refrigerator.

2. Dough with honey

150 g butter
350 g sugar
350 g honey
900 g flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 packets of spices
2 tablespoons of potash (buy at the pharmacy!)
2 eggs

Cooking

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the butter with the sugar and honey.
Stir until sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat and let cool.
In a large bowl, mix flour with cocoa and spices.
Beat the eggs with a whisk and stir into the cooled honey mixture.
Dissolve potash in 4 tablespoons of water.
Add the honey and egg mixture and dissolved potash to the flour.
It is best to mix the dough into a smooth dough in a food processor.
Wrap the gingerbread dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

II. Gingerbread house: how to make templates

Preheat the stove in advance 200°C.

Prepare templates for the house by cutting them out of thick cardboard.

Label the parts of the house.

Divide the dough into 4 parts.
On baking paper, roll out each piece of dough to a thickness of 6 mm.

Little ones sharp knife cut out the shapes of the house according to the templates.

You will need 2 templates for the wall, 2 templates for the roof and 2 templates for the side parts.

Don't throw away the leftovers - they will come in handy.

Place the cut out dough templates on a baking sheet along with paper.

Roll out the remaining dough again to a thickness of 3 mm and cut for tiles 75 circles diameter 3-4 cm.
If you have leftover dough, you can also cut out animal figures or Christmas trees.

Bake parts for the house 8-12 minutes until the dough is firm and brown.

Bake “tiles” 6-9 minutes.

Leave each baking sheet to cool for 3-4 minutes, then adjust all the templates, aligning the edges with the templates.

Use a small sharp knife to cut out windows, doors and other openings - for example, for lighting you will need a hole in the upper part of the side.

What else can you bake from gingerbread dough?

Christmas wreath.

Christmas trees and animals.

Various figures.

And decorate the cake.

III. Culinary master class Gingerbread house: assembling and decorating the house

To assemble the house you will need icing sugar.

Products

2 egg whites
750 g powdered sugar

Cooking

Mix 250 g of powdered sugar with water to a thick and viscous mass.

Dip each “tile” ¼ of the way into the glaze and place on a wire rack to dry.

Mix 500 g of powdered sugar and 2 egg whites to form a thick viscous paste.

Fill the cornets - one cornet with a nozzle with a small hole and the second with a nozzle with a larger hole.

Keep the glaze in the bowl covered at all times.

Glue the tiles on the roof.

To assemble the house, apply glaze to the edges of the house parts and “glue” them together, pressing them together.

Additionally, “support” the house from the inside until everything is thoroughly dry.

Decorate the house with icing.

When the house has dried well, you can “glue” the roof and continue decorating the house using all kinds of sweets.

It is best to participate at least in the process of assembling the house two.

In the video you will find the most beautiful houses to follow. Enjoy watching!

SNOW- crush the lollipops with a rolling pin, mix with coconut flakes and powdered sugar.

MINI gingerbread houses for cups or muffins they look really cute! -You can build a small village on the table. These sweet houses can be served with a cup of tea and hot chocolate.

lollipops can be used as lanterns.

And do it USEFUL house , decorating it with corn and other flakes, cereals, nuts, and seeds.

Gingerbread house with TREES. To be able to place the 3D Christmas tree in front of the gingerbread house, cut out the Christmas tree shape twice. The first tree is cut from bottom to middle, and the second tree is cut from top to bottom to the middle. They can then be moved into a cross like a 3D tree.

TREES. Cute snow-covered Christmas trees can be easily made using star-shaped cookies. different sizes. Glue them together and then decorate with icing.

...or these Christmas trees.

Modern gingerbread house with concave or convex walls . To curve the sides of the gingerbread walls, place them on a pipe or flower pot immediately after baking and let them cool.

Gingerbread house like BOX for cookies.

If the roof is held in place by tape, the house can also be used as a cookie box. Which present!

Gingerbread house with LIGHTING . Of course, you can draw the windows, or you can make them look like real ones... LED lighting will provide a romantic winter evening in the house.

Windows for a gingerbread house can be made like this:

- cut the marmalade very thinly and paste it in place of the window;
- crush the candies and put them in the window, heat in the oven until the caramel dissolves. In this case, it is better to underbake the cakes a little the first time.
— cook the caramel and pour it into the window template (on foil). The remainder of the caramel can be used to glue the house together.

Place around the house various figures .

Children will be very happy if you give them such a house, but they will be even happier if you make it together.

By the way, there should be no excuses that there is no time! - in the end, you can make a house from ready-made cookies and sweets .

Is there a house or not? “Your children will make this decision.” But know that the house remains edible 1 week.

And to help you too - infographics for making a gingerbread house.

Probably everyone who has their own garden plants apple trees in it. Often it is not even one tree. And when the time comes to harvest, a reasonable question arises: what to do with the fruits that you did not have time to eat. In fact, there are many options for storing apples, but the most useful is freezing, since in this case the product remains maximum amount vitamins This article will discuss how to properly freeze apples for the winter in the freezer.

Features of freezing apples at home

Exist certain rules which you need to follow if you want to get a quality product:

Before freezing, fruits must be dried to prevent them from sticking together.
The fruit cannot be re-frozen, so it is packaged in small portions.
To prevent the peeled slices from turning black, you need to soak them for a quarter of an hour in a slightly salty or slightly acidic solution.
For winter preparations choose a ripe, undeformed product.
Do not freeze fruits that have been picked for a long time. Make sure that a minimum of time passes between harvesting and processing.
Apples can be frozen without peeling them. If necessary, it can be easily removed from slightly melted fruit.
Apples are frozen at a fairly low temperature, so the freezer must work properly.

What varieties of apples are best?

Of course, not all apples are suitable for freezing. They prefer late (autumn or winter) sweet and sour varieties: Antonovka, Golden, Kutuzovets, Sinam and many others. The specific variety will depend on the purpose of further use.

For example, Jonathan and Golden Delicious retain their shape best, while Fuji and Gala - sweet taste. But remember, like most frozen foods, apples will change slightly in both texture and taste.

Preparing fruit for freezing

To prepare fruit you will need:

apples;
water;
towel;
cutting board;
baking sheets or trays;
bags or containers for storage.

Collect ripe whole apples, wash them thoroughly with water and wipe dry with a towel. If necessary, cut off the peel with a well-sharpened knife. Cut out the stalk, tail, and core. Next, you need to cut the fruit using the chosen method. If you plan to freeze whole fruits, then simply wipe them thoroughly.

Required temperature

The colder it is in the freezer, the longer the fruit can be stored.

There is also an option that involves shock freezing. In this case, the apples are immediately packaged in containers or bags and sent to the freezer. The freezer compartment is set to the “ultra-fast freezing” mode.

Any of the above methods requires the ability to regulate the temperature of the freezer.

Ways to freeze apples for the winter

Exist different ways freezing apples. They will differ depending on the capacity of the freezer and the purpose of freezing.

Entirely

For this freezing option you need to take fresh apples. First they are washed and dried with a towel. Next you need to remove the seeds (this rule is not mandatory, but it is better to do it now, because it is much easier). If necessary, you can peel the fruit. If this is done, be sure to keep them in a special solution, which was mentioned at the beginning of the article. This will help maintain an appetizing appearance even before the apples end up in the freezer.

To prepare it you will need:

water - 1 liter;
citric acid - 5 grams.

Mix the acid thoroughly in the water and keep the chopped fruit in the resulting solution for at least a quarter of an hour.

Afterwards, the fruits are packaged in bags or sealed containers and stored.
Apples frozen in this way can remain in freezer up to six months. Whole fruits can then be baked, added to pies, pies, or made into compote. The only disadvantage of this freezing method is that fruits take up a lot of space and storing them can be simply inconvenient.
In slices
Another freezing option that is popular is sliced apples. First you need to rinse the fruits well and dry them with a towel. Next, if desired, you can remove the peel (if you plan to cook compote, then it is better to leave the peel, but for various types of fillings, cut it off). Cut the apples into 4 parts and remove the seeds, stem and tail. Next, cut the fruit into slices or slices required size. To preserve the appearance, do not forget about the salt or lemon solution.
Then place the slices on a baking sheet or kitchen board. To simplify the task of transferring, it is better to cover it with parchment or cling film. Carefully place the tray in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.
The main thing here is to arrange the fruit slices correctly: make sure that they do not touch each other.

After about 3 hours, you can take out the chopped apples and pack them in bags or containers for storage. They try to prevent air from getting into the container - this will increase the shelf life. Fruits frozen this way take up much less space.
Dry freezing
With this option, apples are frozen in two temperature conditions, so you need to have a freezer with the ability to adjust the cold supply. Apples are also laid out on a board or baking sheet in one layer.
Don't forget to check that the pieces don't touch each other. The fruits are placed in the freezer for a couple of hours at a temperature of minus 23. Then the fruit is taken out, packaged and stored at a standard temperature of minus 18 degrees.
In sugar syrup
This freezing method is very popular among housewives for two reasons:
thanks to the syrup, the shelf life increases to a year;
The apples become sweet and can be eaten as a separate dish without any further processing.

Ingredients:
water - 0.75 liters;
sugar - 0.45 kilograms;
ascorbic acid - 1.5 grams.

Recipe:
Prepare syrup from the indicated ingredients.
Cool and pour over the chopped apples.
After a day, pour boiling water over the pieces of fruit (it’s more convenient to use a colander for this), place them on a tray according to the scheme described above and put them in the freezer for freezing.
After 2-3 hours, pack the apples and store them in the freezer. Do not forget to monitor the absence of air in the container.

Preparation of puree
This option for freezing the product is perfect for using purees as baking fillings or for baby food. In the first case, you can add sugar to taste, in the second, it is better to do without it. To prepare applesauce, you need to wash the fruit, dry it with a towel, cut off the peel in a thin layer, remove the stem, seeds and tail.
Prepared apples need to be cut into small pieces, put in a saucepan and pour a small amount water. Wait until the resulting mixture boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the fruit reaches the required consistency. Cool the resulting mixture. If necessary, you can further puree in a blender. The finished puree is frozen in jars. The shelf life is on average 10 months.
Storage
The shelf life of frozen apples at a temperature of minus 18 degrees is on average 9 months, but it may vary depending on the freezing method. If you want to prolong it, then you need to soak the fruits in a salt or lemon solution.
Ingredients for the brine solution:
a tablespoon of salt;
4 liters of water.

Cooking method:
Combine salt and water and mix well.
When the salt has completely dissolved, lower the apple stock into the solution for just a few minutes.
Next, spread on a baking sheet and freeze in the standard way.

Ingredients for the sugar solution:
sugar - 2 cups;
water - 3 glasses.

Cooking method:
Mix everything thoroughly until the granulated sugar is completely dissolved.
Pour the solution over the apple pieces for a few minutes and mix well.
Place on a tray and freeze using one of the methods described above.

If the freezer does not support such low temperatures, you can also freeze apples for the winter, but they will only be stored for 3 months.

For packaging, choose storage bags or airtight containers. Be sure to completely release the air from the bags if possible, and close the containers tightly. And in order not to miss the end of the shelf life, they sign the packaging date of each container. On cold winter days, you really want to feel the fragrant aroma and taste of summer again, but this is possible if you prepare fresh berries and fruits for future use. How to freeze apples in the freezer, preserving their unique taste and aroma, attractive appearance, and most importantly, beneficial features

- the topic of our conversation today.

Let's talk about how to use vitamin preparation correctly, what dishes can be prepared from it to please both yourself and your loved ones in winter. Many people probably have memories of the taste of frozen apples remaining on the branches after the first frost. Juicy, cool and sweet - they are practically in no way inferior to a fresh product, while retaining up to 90% of vitamins and.

You can prepare such a product yourself - if only you have the time and desire. It should be noted that the color, taste and structure of thawed apples will change slightly: in their raw form they are not for everyone, but they are ideal for compotes, purees, desserts and casseroles.

The benefits of frozen apples

Freezing fruit has a number of advantages over other methods of storage and preservation:

Benefit. Unlike boiled and canned fruits, frozen fruits retain all their useful qualities, since at low temperatures biologically active substances are not destroyed.
Safety. You can be confident in the quality of your homemade product. Whereas beautiful apples from the supermarket out of season are most likely treated with chemical preservatives for long-term storage, and their benefits are very doubtful.
Convenience. Your product will not turn sour, unlike “fruit vitamins” in sugar, which cannot be stored for long periods of time and often spoil. Moreover, in right moment You will always have a semi-finished product on hand - washed, chopped and peeled fruits.

Choosing a variety of apples for freezing

For long-term storage in the freezer, any sweet and sour autumn and winter varieties apples: “Antonovka”, “snow Calvin”, “glory to the winners”, “Kutuzovets”, “Richard”, “golden”, “Jonathan”.

The “Gala” and “Fuji” varieties are suitable for preparing desserts - they will retain their sweet taste even after defrosting.

For freezing, you should choose ripe fresh fruits without blemishes or spoilage. Before freezing, apples must be thoroughly washed and dried, otherwise they will stick together in the freezer and will be difficult to separate after thawing.

We cut the apples into pieces: slices, circles, cubes - as you like. We remove the core with the seeds; the skin does not need to be peeled.
Place the chopped fruits in containers or zip bags, compact them and seal them hermetically. The density in the package should be optimal for minimal moisture loss and contact with air (oxidation).
Portions in bags must meet your needs in order to use them at a time - the product cannot be re-frozen, otherwise it will lose its shape and its valuable qualities.
If you want to preserve the color of the apples and protect them from oxidation, immerse the chopped fruits in slightly acidified (1 tsp (5 g) citric acid per 1 liter of water) or salted (1 tsp (8 g) salt per 1 liter of water) water at room temperature for 10-15 minutes, then dry the slices on paper or a towel.

What you need to freeze apples

Sharp knife and cutting board;
Waffle or paper towel(for drying);
Food containers or packaging bags;
Good freezer.

How to freeze apples in the freezer, 6 freezing methods

Quick (shock) freezing

Place the prepared dry apples in one layer on foil or on a tray and place them in the freezer at maximum setting (-23°).

After two hours, we take the fruits out of the refrigerator and pack them tightly into bags, which we place again in the freezer for long-term storage (optimal temperature -18°). This method can be used to harvest both whole fruits and sliced ones.

Shelf life – 12 months.

Frozen apples in citric acid

Wash and cut the apples into slices.
Immerse in solution for 15 minutes (2 tsp per 2 liters of water).
Using a slotted spoon, remove the fruit and dry it on a paper towel.
We put the apples in containers or zip bags, remove excess air and put them in the freezer.

Shelf life – 6-9 months.

Apples in syrup

In this case, sugar is used as a preservative for apples.

Wash apples (1.5 kg) and cut into pieces.
Prepare concentrated syrup - take 2 cups of sugar per 3 liters of water.
Soak the apples in the syrup for five minutes.
Place the fruit in a sieve and allow excess syrup to drain.
Pack the apples into bags/containers and place in the freezer.

Shelf life – 12 months.

Frozen apples in sugar with lemon

This semi-finished product can serve as an independent delicacy or be added as an ingredient to any sweet desserts.

You will need:

Apples – 1-1.5 kg;
Lemon – 2 pcs.;
Sugar – 250 g.

Remove the zest from the lemons, squeeze out the juice, and combine it with the zest. Immerse the prepared apple pieces into the resulting juice and mix gently. Add sugar and mix again. Place the slices into containers and place in the freezer.

Shelf life – 12 months.

Frozen applesauce

To freeze applesauce, cut the washed and peeled fruit into pieces, place them in an enamel or aluminum pan and simmer over low heat until thickened.

You don’t have to add sugar or use a minimum amount – 100 grams per kilogram of apples.

Transfer the finished puree into small containers and place in the freezer.

Whole apples in the freezer

You can also freeze whole small apples.

WayI

Ripe whole wash and wipe dry. Then we wrap each apple in cling film and send it to freeze.

Shelf life – 9 months.

WayII

In this case, ascorbic acid is used as a preservative.

Prepare an acidic solution: 1.5 l cold water Take 50 g of ascorbic acid powder.
Immerse the prepared fruits in the solution for five minutes.
Place the apples in tight freezer bags and remove excess air.
We put it in the freezer.

Shelf life – 12 months.

Shelf life of frozen apples at home

Apples can be stored in the freezer for 6 to 12 months, depending on the freezing method, the variety of apples and the power of the freezer. At low temperatures (from -16° to -18°) apples are stored for a year, at lower temperatures - from 3 to 6 months.

It is better to freeze fruits in small portions. You can write the freezing date and apple variety on the bags/containers with a marker.

How to properly defrost frozen apples

First, move the apples from the freezer to the refrigerator shelf for 6-12 hours until completely thawed, after which the fruit can be removed and used for its intended purpose.

What to cook from defrosted apples

Thawed fruits will perfectly complement your winter-spring diet. They can be added to compotes and desserts, used to make charlotte, apple strudel, casseroles, pancakes and a variety of baked goods.

Sour varieties will be a great addition to the holidays. meat dishes, an ingredient for sauces and gravies. And applesauce is a favorite component of baby food.

So if you have a rich harvest of apples in your garden, and you are not able to process them (and it would be a shame to throw away a valuable product), just put the ripe fruits in the freezer. By freezing fresh apples, you will always have small portions of fruit on hand that you can use as needed.

To a beautiful autumn time Now is the time to make sure you have something to please your family winter evenings: aromatic tea with jam or a fragrant pie with pieces of apples.

And more and more housewives in this matter give preference to freezing berries and fruits, because they will contain much more vitamins and useful microelements than in heat-treated fruits, that is, in the same jam or canned compote.

Freezing berries at home is no longer a novelty, but not everyone freezes apples for the winter. But in vain, because this storage method has significant advantages:

Frozen fruits will retain vitamins and microelements, and during cooking many useful substances are lost;
Having made the preparation, you will always be sure that the fruit has not been subjected to any chemical treatment, which cannot be said about the same apples from the store, which look suspiciously “fresh” even when they are already ripe on the tree branches new harvest, and they are still on store shelves;
You will greatly facilitate and speed up the subsequent process of preparing your favorite dishes, since the fruits will already be prepared (washed, peeled and cut).

For freezing, choose any apples of sweet and sour varieties, but you need to know that the taste and texture of these fruits will change slightly after defrosting. To make pies, it is better to take Jonathan and Golden Delicious apples, since they will retain their shape best, but the Fuji or Gala varieties will retain their sweet taste.

Freezing rules

To successfully freeze fruit for the winter, you need to follow a few simple rules:

With You should choose fresh, ripe, dense and not deformed fruits;
Before freezing, apples must be washed and dried, since undried slices will stick together when frozen, and instead of neat and beautiful slices you will get one incomprehensible lump;
frozen fruits must be placed in an airtight container or plastic bag as densely as possible (the denser they are laid, the less moisture they will lose and, accordingly, the better they will retain their properties).

Thawed fruits can no longer be re-frozen, so care must be taken in advance to ensure that the portions of frozen fruit are not very large, sufficient for use at one time.

Before freezing at home, apples must be washed, stems and cores removed, peeled (this is not necessary; frozen slices can also be peeled later) and cut into pieces. The shape and size of the pieces (slices, circles or cubes) can be chosen at your discretion.

Preparing apples for freezing

So, small cubes will take up less space in the freezer and allow you to make more supplies. And apples cut into circles or slices will have a more aesthetic appearance and are perfect not only as a filling, but also for decorating pies and rolls.

To prevent the slices from darkening when frozen, they are kept in salted or acidified water for 15 minutes. This will not affect the taste, but will prevent oxidation and help maintain an attractive appearance.

An important role when storing such winter preparations is played by the temperature maintained by the freezer. The most suitable temperature for freezing is -18ºС. In this case, frozen fruit will be stored for up to 1 year. At temperatures from 0 ºС to -8 ºС, storage of apples is reduced to only three months.

To ensure that your summer preparations can please you longer, follow these simple rules:

Do not store frozen food for too long;
sign the date of freezing and the variety used;
Keep fruits separate from vegetables.

Freezing in slices

Dry the prepared apples thoroughly on a towel;
After this, carefully place the slices on a baking sheet, cutting board or tray covered with cellophane film, so that the slices do not touch each other. The use of cellophane is in principle not necessary, however, it significantly helps to collect frozen slices (if you decide to do without it, be sure to make sure that the surface on which you will lay the fruits is completely dry);
place the laid out slices in the freezer for 2 – 3 hours;
collect frozen slices in bags or containers and place in the freezer for storage.

This freezing method allows you to store fruit for 9 – 12 months.

Apples in syrup

prepare sugar syrup by taking 2 parts sugar to 3 parts water;
pour the syrup over the prepared apples, making sure it completely covers the slices (you can lightly press them down with a lid or plate);
After 3 – 5 minutes, take out the slices and place them in a thin layer in a bag and place them in the freezer.

Such fruits can be stored for up to 12 months.

Freezing in sugar

prepare apples and sugar, using 2/3 cup sugar for every 3 cups of fruit;
Place the fruits cut into slices and soaked in acidified water in a saucepan, sprinkling with sugar;
Gently mix the fruit with sugar;
Place the resulting mixture in bags or food containers and place it in the freezer.

These fruits can be stored for up to 12 months.

Frozen applesauce

Peel the washed apples, remove the stem and core, cut into small pieces;
place them in an aluminum or enamel pan and place on low heat (sugar is not needed in this case);
simmer the fruit until the puree becomes thick enough;
pour the resulting puree into containers, close the lid tightly, and place in the freezer.

The resulting puree should be used within 9–12 months.

Apples, frozen whole

Dry well-washed fruits thoroughly with a towel;
do not cut the apples. If you want to use peeled fruits, then place them in acidified water and dry;
carefully place the fruit in a container, bag or wrap in cling film;
Place in the freezer to freeze and store.

This product should be stored for no more than 6 months.

So, you have decided on how to freeze the apples. And if you are not going to freeze them whole or prepare puree, then you need to take care that they retain their snow-white appearance and do not darken. To do this, it is important to follow several rules:

Prepare fruit in small batches: you shouldn’t peel a lot of fruits at once so that they don’t have time to darken while you cut the slices;
Immediately immerse the cut slices in acidified water (5 g of citric acid is required per 1 liter of water);
instead of acidified water, salted water is also suitable (30 g of salt is used for 4 liters of water), which will also help avoid oxidation and perfectly preserve the fruits.

What can you then cook from these apples?

You can prepare quite a large number of different dishes from frozen apples:

If you froze whole fruits, then they are well suited for baking either whole or in halves (for piquancy, add a filling of nuts, honey, cottage cheese, or just sprinkle sugar on top);
apples in sugar are an excellent base for a sweet dessert, smoothie or cocktail;
Applesauce is used for filling pies, buns, as a baby's first fruit food, or in preparing various sauces. It will also be a substitute for butter or jam in sweet sandwiches, and if you love making marshmallows, marshmallows or sorbet, then puree will help make these sweets not only tasty, but also quite quick to prepare;
if you add frozen berries (cherries, strawberries or raspberries) to the apple slices, and use them for flavor lemon juice, you will get an excellent compote;
apple slices can be used as filling and decoration for pies, charlotte, cakes, muffins and strudels. Appetizing and satisfying pancakes are made with this filling.
frozen apples will not only be part of a dessert or baked goods, but also an addition to savory dishes: a filling for a baked duck or a component holiday salad. They also make savory sauces for meat dishes.

Defrost fruit slowly. You can put the dishes with apples in the refrigerator and wait until they are completely defrosted.

Freezing apples is not at all difficult, as it seems at first glance. By devoting a little time to this simple procedure, you will not only save a piece of summer, but also use its gifts to benefit yourself and your family!