How to freeze eggplants fresh for the winter at home, and what to cook from them

How delicious are eggplants fried with garlic and decorated with herbs! But what to do if you want such a dish in winter? It's simple - freeze it eggplant. We have collected ways on how best to do this for you in this article.

Is it possible to freeze eggplants?

You can freeze eggplants at home. The main thing is to decide on the quantity. The fact is that frozen eggplant must be consumed before the onset of the new season. Otherwise, all taste and beneficial qualities will be lost.

Points for and against:

Changes in composition and taste

Taste qualities change only when fresh vegetables are frozen. The taste will be bitter and unpleasant. In addition, the shape of vegetables is also lost. In other cases, taste qualities do not change. The vegetable turns out aromatic and juicy. When frozen, only 20% of the beneficial properties are lost, and when preserved - 40%.

Selection and preparation of fruits

Selecting and preparing fruits is the most important task. Let's start with choosing a vegetable.The color of the eggplant should be even, the skin should be elastic and shiny. There should be no black spots or dents on the vegetable.

Advice. For freezing, choose young eggplants, they contain a maximum of nutrients and a minimum of bitterness.

Is the stalk dry? This vegetable is not suitable for freezing. Choose exclusively ripe, healthy fruits.

So, you have collected enough vegetables. What's next:

1. Soak the eggplants for several hours in cold salted water. This procedure will remove excess bitterness.
2. Rinse the vegetables.
3. Dry thoroughly. There should be no moisture.
4. Prepare some space in your freezer. Herbs and berries are the worst neighbors. It is better if there is a separate small drawer for vegetables.
5. The container must be sealed, clean and dry. Eggplants easily absorb odors.
6. Check the chamber temperature. If it is higher than minus 12 degrees, nothing will work.

How to freeze eggplants

Eggplant is one vegetable that can be frozen in many ways. Let's look at the main ones.

Fresh whole/pieces/slices

Freezing fresh eggplants is not a good idea. Taste and appearance are lost. If you are still determined to try freezing a fresh product, carefully read the information below.

How to freeze eggplants fresh for the winter:

1. Peel the eggplant and cut off the stem.
2. Fill a container with water and add 50 grams of salt.
3. Soak clean vegetables in salted water for 30 minutes.
4. Rinse thoroughly, removing salt from the surface of the vegetable.
5. Lay out paper towels and place the eggplants on them.
6. Cover the top with a linen towel or napkins.
7. While the fruits are drying, prepare a cutting board and baking paper. Cover the board with paper.
8. Place the dry fruits on a board and place in the freezer for an hour.
9. Remove the vegetables after an hour, wrap each in cling film, and place in a container or two plastic bags.
10. Place your vegetables in the freezer for the winter.

Such fruits will be suitable for later preparation of stews or salads. They are unlikely to keep their shape, so you won’t be able to bake or fry them beautifully.

You can put not whole vegetables, but cut into circles or cubes. Here the choice is yours. The entire preparatory procedure is similar. Just before you put the eggplants in salt water, you need to cut them to your liking.

Attention! Experienced housewives warn that with this freezing method there is a high risk of getting an inedible product.

Blanched

Let's find out what lies behind this beautiful word.

What you will need:

• eggplant;
• salt;
• two containers with water;
• colander.

So, let's begin:

1. Cut the eggplants into thin slices, cubes, circles or sticks.
2. Place them in a container, add salt and leave for half an hour. You can fill it with salt water.
3. Boil the water.
4. At the same time, prepare a container with very cold or even ice water in advance.
5. Place the vegetables in a colander.
6. As soon as the water boils, lower the colander with vegetables into boiling water for 2 minutes.
7. After 2 minutes, immediately plunge the vegetables into ice water.
8. After 5-10 minutes, lay out the vegetables for drying. Linen towels, napkins, and cutting boards will do.
9. Place dry vegetables in a container or several bags. Check again for leaks and place in the freezer for storage.

Dried

For this method you will need an oven and vegetable oil:

1. Turn on the oven to 200 degrees.
2. Chop the vegetables as you wish.
3. Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil.
4. Place the vegetables, leaving a few centimeters between pieces.
5. Place in the oven for 10 minutes.
6. Take out the vegetables.
7. Wait until they are at room temperature and place them in a bag or container.

Important! In 10 minutes, you should open the oven twice or even three times and turn the vegetables over. This is important for uniform heat treatment. Also, do not be distracted while drying vegetables. If the eggplants are in the oven for more than 10 minutes, they will become unsuitable for freezing.

Fried

What you will need:

• salt;
• vegetable oil;
• vegetables;
• pan.

With this simple kit, start frying:

1. Cut the soaked and dried fruits into circles or cubes.
2. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of oil into the pan.
3. Fry on both sides until golden brown.
4. Place on napkins to remove excess fat.
5. Place the slices in a bag and place in the freezer overnight.
6. In the morning, remove the vegetables and place them in containers.
7. Put it in the freezer.

Reference. Overnight in the freezer is necessary to remove excess oil and fat. If you freeze eggplants for the winter directly from the oven, you risk getting a sticky lump of oil.

Boiled

There are several nuances when preparing in this way:

• The eggplants are cooked whole, so don’t rush to cut them;
• Before placing the vegetable in salted water to soak, pierce each eggplant with a toothpick;
• soaking time increases to 1.5 hours.

How to boil:

1. Place the soaked eggplants in a pan of already boiling water. You can add a spoon of salt.
2. Cook for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the eggplants. If the peel shrinks, it’s not scary, this is a normal reaction.
4. Slice the cooled eggplants.
5. Pack tightly.
6. Place in the freezer.

Reference. Choose eggplants that are small to medium in size so that they fit entirely into the pan. Partial heat treatment is unacceptable.

Stewed

How to freeze stewed eggplants:

1. Cut the vegetable into cubes.
2. Remove bitterness from fruits by soaking.
3. Pour vegetable oil into the bottom of the saucepan and place the vegetables.
4. Add some salt.
5. Cover with a lid and simmer until fully cooked.
6. Cool, remove excess moisture.
7. Place in a bag, put in the refrigerator.

Further uses of frozen eggplants

So, you have frozen the eggplants according to all the rules. Winter has come, you wanted something tasty, and then you decided to get a vegetable. But how to defrost it?

Defrosting rules

It is important to defrost eggplants gradually. To do this, you just need to transfer them to the refrigerator, where they will slowly thaw.

What not to do when defrosting:

• use a microwave;
• fill with water;
• refreeze the product.

If you are in a hurry, you can cook a frozen product; it will thaw during the cooking process.

What to cook

What dishes use frozen eggplants?

Fried potatoes with vegetables

Ingredients:

• 250 grams of frozen vegetables;
• 0.5 kg of potatoes;
• oil;
• salt;
• pepper;
• greenery.

The cooking method is simple. Fry the potatoes the way you are used to doing them. Fry thawed vegetables in a separate pan. When the potatoes are almost ready, add the eggplants, salt and stir. The finished dish can be decorated with herbs.

Vegetable stew

What you will need:

• eggplant;
• 1 tomato;
• onion;
• carrot;
• bell pepper;
• oil.

Cooking method:

1. Prepare the vegetables: defrost the eggplants, grate the carrots, onions, garlic, tomato cut.
2. Fry the onion in vegetable oil until fully cooked.
3. Add carrots to the prepared onions and fry until half cooked.
4. Add the eggplants to the pan next, then the tomatoes.
5. Fry everything until half cooked.
6. Salt and pepper.
7. Transfer the vegetables to a baking dish in the oven.
8. Place the dish in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.

Eggplant caviar

It can be prepared from frozen vegetables. For this you will need:

• 0.5 kg frozen eggplants;
• 1 carrot;
• 1 onion;
• 2-3 tomatoes;
• 1 bell pepper;
• salt;
• oil.

How to cook:

1. Fry the chopped onion and grated carrots until half cooked.
2. Add eggplant.
3. First cut the bell pepper into large cubes, place in a frying pan, cover with a lid and leave for 5 minutes.
4. Chop the tomatoes, it is advisable to remove excess moisture.
5. Add to vegetables, add salt.
6. Cover with lid for another 5 minutes.

Advice. For a richer taste, do not defrost the eggplants completely before preparing the caviar.

Stewed vegetables in sour cream

The dish has a pleasant mild taste. To prepare you will need:

• 400-450 grams of vegetables;
• 300 grams of sour cream;
• 1 onion;
• salt;
• oil;
• water;
• greenery.

Cooking method:

1. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater, cut the onion into cubes.
2. Place the vegetables in a frying pan and fry.
3. Add thawed eggplants.
4. Cover with a lid and simmer.
5. Are the vegetables fully cooked and soft? Add sour cream. There is a risk that the sour cream will curdle, so dilute it with 50 ml of water.
6. Simmer for five minutes.
7. At the very end, add salt and herbs.

Useful tips

Let's summarize all the nuances of freezing and thawing eggplants:

1. Be sure to remove bitterness from vegetables by soaking them in salt water.The time depends on the size of the fruit and varies from 30 minutes to several hours.
2. Wet vegetables should not be placed in the freezer.
3. The tails must be cut off.
4. If you freeze cut vegetables, pay attention to the color inside the fruit. If it is dark, it means the fruit is bitter.
5. Do not use a microwave or hot water to defrost.
6. Vegetables are not re-frozen.

Reviews

We invite you to read the reviews of those housewives who have already tried frozen eggplants.

Valentina Orlova, Perm: “I have been preparing frozen eggplants for several years now. I really like their taste. Before freezing, I blanch vegetables, it seems to me that this is the fastest and most convenient way. I'm generally a big fan of frozen foods, so I bought a freezer with small compartments. I store eggplants not in a container, but in bags. I prepare vegetable salads. And on the New Year’s table, vegetable stew with chicken breast is wonderful.”

Larisa Yampolskaya, Ulyanovsk: “At the dacha we shared the harvest with our neighbors. I don’t grow eggplants myself, but here they brought me a whole basket. I didn’t know what to do with them, so I decided to freeze some of them. Unfortunately, I didn’t know whether it’s possible to freeze fresh raw fruits. They turned out bitter and watery. Now I know that heat treatment is required. I bought eggplant seeds and will grow them myself.”

Olga Menshikova, Irkutsk: “I have a large family, and the table always needs pickles. I froze eggplants for the first time this summer; initially I dried them in the oven with pepper. Now once a week we prepare dishes with frozen eggplants. We have already tried stew, buckwheat porridge, vegetable salad, stewed vegetables with cheese. Delicious!"

Let's sum it up

Eggplants can and should be frozen.They retain 80% of their beneficial properties and do not lose their taste. The exception is fresh eggplants that have not undergone preliminary heat treatment. The most popular processing methods are frying, boiling, stewing. Before processing, in any case, it is necessary to soak the fruits in salt water. This way the bitterness will disappear from them. It is better to store frozen vegetables without “neighbors”, in an airtight container. Defrosting is not necessary before cooking. Frozen eggplants serve as an excellent addition to potatoes, meat dishes and as a component of vegetable salad.

Have a good harvest and bon appetit!