Freezing zucchini for the winter at home: an excellent proven method

General rules for freezing zucchini for long-term storage

Young zucchini with thin delicate skin, dense juicy pulp and almost imperceptible seeds are considered ideal for freezing. It is better to prepare squash caviar from old vegetables or marinate them in pieces.

So that after freezing and subsequent thawing the zucchini does not turn into an indigestible mass of something vaguely similar to the sole of an old shoe, the maximum amount of natural enzymes (enzymes) and liquid must be removed from the vegetables by any available means. It is these “capricious” substances that, at extreme temperatures, make vegetables (not just zucchini) tough, tasteless and practically inedible. There are several “wonderful” ways to eliminate the “side” effects of freezing zucchini - steaming, blanching, adding salt. We will definitely talk about them below.
The second unwritten rule of freezing zucchini for the winter is to remove as much air as possible from the freezer bags. This way the vegetables can be stored longer. It will not be possible to remove air from containers without a special device. Therefore, it is preferable to use plastic bags. They take up less space and can be thrown away without regret after use.
To preserve the taste and vitamins of zucchini as much as possible, it is advisable to serve it through stress freezing. That is, immediately place it in a chamber with the lowest possible temperatures. If your refrigerator (freezer) has a fast-freezing compartment (“Super Freeze”, “Fast Freeze”), place the packaged eggplant pieces directly there. And only then you can transfer it to the regular freezer compartment.

Freezing zucchini slices for frying in winter

“Fried zucchini in winter? Come on!..,” says most of my guests, incredulously picking at the rosy round with garlic and sour cream sauce. But every “unbeliever Thomas” eats every single piece. And all because it turns out delicious. And it’s simply impossible to distinguish them from fresh fried zucchini. And it’s easy to freeze these zucchini. I share with you the subtleties and “secret knowledge” of freezing zucchini for the winter. The best types of zucchini for freezing and subsequent frying in winter are light zucchini and squash. Their water content is slightly lower than that of zucchini. It is better, of course, to freeze young vegetables, we have already talked about this.

Well, let's try to freeze the first portion of zucchini for the winter?

Wash the zucchini thoroughly and dry. Cut off the ends. Cut the rest of the zucchini into slices, as for frying.
Choose a larger saucepan or bowl. Fill it halfway with clean water. Bring the liquid to a boil. Place the zucchini slices directly into the bubbling water. The fire should be moderate. Stirring occasionally, blanch the zucchini for about 5 minutes. Do not need anymore. Then drain the zucchini in a colander. Let all the liquid drain and the zucchini cool. Ready? Great! Place zucchini slices into freezer bags or containers. If possible, expel the air. And put it in the freezer.
And for lovers of savory snacks, I suggest preparing Korean-style zucchini for the winter; preparing the snack is very simple, but it turns out fabulously tasty.

Advice. If you have a volumetric steamer, then blanching can be replaced by steaming. Cooking time is the same.

Freezing methods

Now let’s actually talk about how to freeze zucchini for the winter at home and what harvesting methods exist.

Freezing in rings

This method will allow you to cook fried zucchini in winter. If the fruits were frozen according to all the rules, the fried vegetables will turn out as tasty as in the summer.

There is no need to defrost zucchini slices before frying.

The process of preparing circles:

We cut the washed fruits into thin circles, then blanch them by placing them in boiling water for 5 minutes. Place all the contents on a sieve to drain all the liquid.
Place dry zucchini slices in a prepared bag and place in the freezer for several hours. Frozen vegetables can be transferred to the refrigerator for further storage.
You can also prepare vegetables without blanching. To do this, sprinkle the chopped fruits with a small amount of salt and place them on a wooden board. We wipe off all the moisture released during the process with napkins or a towel and place it in the freezer.

Freezing vegetables into cubes

Any frozen vegetables can be purchased in the store in winter. But whether this product is of high quality or not, that’s the question. Therefore, freezing zucchini for the winter at home can be done in the form of chopped cubes.

Having cut the vegetables into the desired shape, you can immediately put them in a suitable container and place them in the freezer for further storage.

But this method is not suitable for many housewives, because after defrosting zucchini in winter, they notice that the vegetables become rubbery. It turns out that during the harvesting process it is necessary to remove excess moisture from the fruits; let’s look at how to do this correctly.

Chop the zucchini, put it in a deep container and sprinkle with table salt. After about 30 minutes, the cut pieces will begin to release liquid. We blot it with paper towels, put it in a bag and place it in the freezer.
There is another way to prepare cubes, but it takes more time. Blanch the chopped vegetables in boiling water for three minutes and place them in ice water for storage. After drying the vegetables on paper towels, put them in a bag and place them in the freezer.

Attention! If the cut zucchini cubes were poorly dried from excess moisture, then during the freezing process they will simply stick together into a single lump.

The process of freezing grated vegetables

This is another excellent, proven way to harvest fruit. It is not at all necessary to prepare zucchini whole. You can also freeze grated vegetables. This method is ideal for preparing vegetable cutlets or pancakes.

We wash the fruits in running water and remove too hard and rough skins if we are using overripe fruits for harvesting. If the seeds in the pulp are too large, they also need to be removed.
Grind the peeled vegetables on a grater with medium holes.
Squeeze the juice out of the resulting pulp using your hands.
We put the resulting pulp into bags and place it in the freezer.

Preparing puree for the winter

Let's consider another equally popular way of freezing zucchini for the winter at home. Vegetables prepared in this way can be used to prepare baby food.

We wash the vegetables in running water, remove the thick skin and chop them into cubes.
Bring water to a boil and add chopped vegetables there and continue cooking until half cooked.
Place the chopped fruits in a colander.
After the excess liquid has drained, grind the zucchini to a pulp using a blender.
We pack one serving of the finished puree into small plastic containers, cover with lids and place in the freezer. It is advisable to defrost the finished vegetable puree only at room temperature.

We tried to present in detail all the recipes with photos and methods for freezing zucchini. Using all the capabilities of the freezer, you can prepare the most delicious and healthy zucchini dishes not only in the summer season, but also in winter.

Freezing fried zucchini

Or you can freeze already fried zucchini for the winter. Then before serving, you just need to defrost them in the microwave. And, of course, prepare a delicious sauce for them. It turns out delicious too. The only thing is that the crust will not be super crispy.

How to freeze zucchini this way?

Wash young vegetables and dry with towels.
Cut into rings. Season with salt and pepper.
Bread in flour. Fry in vegetable oil until golden brown.
Cool completely. Place in a suitable plastic container or freezer bag. Cover each layer of fried zucchini with food-grade plastic to prevent them from sticking together. Freeze.

Freezing zucchini for the winter, freezing in circles

To freeze zucchini slices, ideal for frying in breadcrumbs or rolled in flour, do the following:

Cut the fruits into circles of the required thickness.
We blot the slices with a waffle towel, removing excess moisture.
Place in containers or bags and store in the freezer at a temperature not exceeding 20° below zero.

Before cooking, defrost the raw materials, pat dry with a towel and fry, adding salt and rolling in flour or breadcrumbs.

How to freeze zucchini into cubes (for stews, soups, purees, caviar, complementary foods)

If you make stews often, you'll definitely want to freeze a bag or two of diced zucchini. From a vegetable chopped in this way, it will also be possible to make puree for feeding a baby, caviar, or use vegetable soup as a filling for baked goods. Yes, just marinate, after all. Almost perfect cutting for freezing, don't you think?

How to freeze:

Wash and dry the zucchini.
Turn them into cubes. Using a knife or food processor – it doesn’t matter. The size of the cube is at your discretion.
Place the cuttings in a bowl. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Stir. Leave for 10-15 minutes. During this time, juice will begin to release, interfering with the proper freezing of the zucchini.
Place the cubes in a colander to drain the liquid. Better yet, pat dry with paper towels. This will be faster and more reliable.
Divide the zucchini into several small portions for one-time use. To prevent the cubes from sticking together, place each portion in a row on a spacious dish (tray). Place in the freezer (in the super freeze compartment). After 15-20 minutes, remove and package. Return to the freezer (in the general compartment) to store until winter. Do this with each portion. But if you don't mind the cubes sticking together, you can freeze several bags or containers at once.

And for those who like interesting preparations, I suggest closing a couple of jars of zucchini in chili ketchup; they turn out moderately spicy and very crispy.

How to freeze semi-finished zucchini pancakes for the winter

Do you like vegetable pancakes? I just love them! Therefore, I will suggest you to freeze a couple of portions of the semi-finished product for zucchini pancakes.

How to do it:

Grate clean and dry zucchini on a coarse (medium) grater.
Sprinkle with salt. Wait 10-15 minutes. Drain the juice and squeeze out the mass thoroughly. Do you like zucchini pancakes with carrots? Feel free to add grated orange vegetable.
All! Place the zucchini mixture into bags/containers and freeze.

To prepare golden brown pancakes in winter, defrost the semi-finished product and squeeze it thoroughly again. Add the standard list of pancake ingredients. Place the zucchini dough in hot oil and fry on both sides.

Freeze zucchini for the winter, following these simple rules and recommendations, and you are guaranteed a small culinary miracle!

Freezing grated zucchini, recipe for the winter

To obtain grated zucchini raw materials, we stock up on the following ingredients:

Salt – 3 teaspoons;
Ripe zucchini – 700 grams.

How to make raw materials for pancakes

Let's prepare excellent raw materials for zucchini pancakes from these vegetables according to the following recipe:

Three fruits without skin, using a coarse grater.
Mix with salt and wait 30 minutes.
Place the raw material in a colander to allow excess juice to drain.
Transfer to bags or containers, avoiding large portions, and freeze.

We store grated zucchini until January. If you want to fry pancakes, we take out the raw materials, defrost them, get rid of excess moisture and fry the pancakes according to your favorite recipe.

Freezing grated zucchini, recipe for the winter