Is it possible to freeze eggplants without blanching? How to properly freeze eggplants for the winter in a regular freezer
Freezing is one of the easiest ways to preserve food for the winter. Today we will talk about how to freeze such a finicky vegetable as eggplant. Indeed, there are several secrets that will help you avoid unpleasant surprises when preparing dishes from frozen eggplants. This may manifest itself in the form of a specific bitterness and rubbery consistency. But let's take things in order.
For freezing, it is better to take ripe, dense fruits with a shiny, elastic skin. It should be taken into account that younger eggplants contain less substances that cause bitterness.
When cutting eggplants, you should pay attention to the cut of the vegetable. If it has darkened, it means that the eggplant contains a lot of seronine, a substance that causes a bitter taste. If the cut is light, then you can immediately begin heat treatment or freezing.
Methods for freezing eggplant
Method one: freezing raw eggplants
With this method, vegetables are cut into circles or pieces. Next, you need to remove the bitterness from them. To do this, add a few tablespoons of salt to a pan of water and place the slices in it. After a couple of hours, the water is drained and the vegetables are washed under cool water. Then they are thrown into a colander and allowed to drain. It is advisable to then place the eggplants on paper towels to dry thoroughly.
The final stage is to place the vegetables in bags and tie them tightly, releasing excess air.
It is worth mentioning that this is not the best way to freeze this delicate vegetable, since frozen raw eggplants may seem slightly rubbery in consistency after defrosting. Therefore, when freezing eggplants, it is always recommended to heat them.
First you need to decide on the method of slicing the eggplants. This, just like in the previous recipe, can be either circles or cubes.
Salt will help remove bitterness. To do this, generously sprinkle the slices with coarse table salt and let them stand for 30 - 40 minutes. During this time, dark brown juice will drain from the vegetables, which contains all the substances that cause bitterness. Afterwards, the eggplants are washed under running water.
To blanch, the eggplants are immersed in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, then taken out and immediately immersed in ice water. It is convenient to do this using a colander, placing chopped vegetables in it in small batches.
Then you should wait until the water has thoroughly drained from the blanched vegetables, or artificially dry the eggplants with paper towels.
The eggplants are cut into rings and then the bitterness is removed from them. This can be done either by soaking in salt water or by sprinkling with coarse salt. Choose for yourself. Next, the eggplants are dried and placed in a heated frying pan with a small amount of vegetable oil. The eggplants, fried on both sides, are cooled and placed on a tray or cutting board lined with cellophane. In this form, the eggplants are placed in the freezer for 4 hours, and then the fried rings are poured into freezer bags and put back in the freezer.
Watch the video: Lubov Kriuk will tell you how to freeze fried eggplants
Alternatively, fried eggplant rings can be rolled in flour and then frozen. Lubov Kriuk will tell you about this in detail in his video:
With this method, eggplants can be baked whole. To do this, place them on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil and put them in the oven for 30 minutes. After this, the eggplants are peeled and squeezed out of the juice, which may contain bitterness. Peeled whole eggplants are packaged in bags and placed in the freezer.
You can also bake eggplants in plates or rings. Lubov Kriuk will tell you how to do this in his video:
Defrosting is usually carried out at room temperature or in the main compartment of the refrigerator. However, for most frozen eggplant dishes, pre-thawing is not required.
When freezing eggplants, it is worth considering several important rules in order to get a tasty vegetable after defrosting. Now I have about two kilograms of properly prepared blueberries stored in my freezer. And even on New Year and Christmas, when the price of eggplants is simply sky-high, there are always dishes with them on my table. How to properly freeze eggplants?
Total cooking time – 2 hours 40 minutes
Active cooking time – 1 hour
Cost - very economical
Calorie content per 100 g – 24 kcal
Number of servings – 10
How to freeze eggplants
Ingredients:
Eggplants – 2 kg or any amount
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp.
Vegetable oil– to taste for frying
Preparation:
1. Before I tell you how to properly freeze eggplants, I will tell you how not to do it. The first year I experimented with the freezer, I simply cut the eggplants into cubes and placed them in freezer containers. In my naivety, I thought that freezing would destroy the bitterness that fresh eggplants contain. Nothing like that - the eggplants remained bitter even after freezing. Threw it away.
The second time I decided to be more cunning. Before freezing, I kept the eggplants in salt water for half an hour and only then froze them. Yes, they stopped being bitter. But after defrosting they turned into a gelatinous, unappetizing mass. I couldn’t figure out what to do with this mush and threw it away too.
The conclusion is simple. Before freezing, you need to get rid of not only the bitterness, but also the excess water in the eggplants. All that is needed for successful storage of blue ones is heat treatment - any (blanching, frying, stewing, baking). After all, such processing destroys the enzymes in eggplants, which lead to spoilage and rotting of vegetables in the freezer.
To successfully store eggplants, it is worth considering the size and age of the vegetable. Young eggplants are ideal. Their skin is not as dense as that of well-ripened ones, and the seeds are light and small. Very young and small blue seeds do not have any, and this, of course, is only a plus.
The type of eggplant does not matter. The usual dark purple ones and eggplants with pink, white and even striped colors are suitable for freezing. The main thing is that the vegetables are not spoiled, fresh and elastic.
2. How to freeze whole eggplants. Place the eggplants directly in the peel and with the stalk in a frying pan with a thick bottom and fry over very low heat until soft, first on one side, then on the other. No need to use oil.
Then peel the eggplants and wrap in cling film.
After that, I put them in a freezer container and place them in the freezer. This method is very convenient: as needed, you can take out the eggplants one at a time and prepare the desired dish from them. It is optimal to cook from such defrosted vegetables. Chop them finely and add them to the tomatoes. The taste will be like a summer dish - with a slight smoky aroma. 
3.Freezing fried eggplant slices.
Cut the washed vegetable into slices no less than 5 mm thick. If you cut it too thin, then during frying the skin may separate from the core and the integrity of the circle will be damaged. 
In vegetable oil (in a frying pan, preferably with a non-stick coating), fry the circles on both sides until light golden brown. 
Lay out a few napkins or paper towels on a flat bowl or board. Place the fried eggplants on napkins with a fork so that excess oil can be freely absorbed into them. 
When the eggplants have cooled completely, you can freeze them slightly in the freezer. To do this, take a flat dish or cutting board and cling film. Wrap the film around the board several times. If there is no film, you can wrap the board in a thick plastic bag. Place fried eggplant circles in one layer on a plate covered in cling film.
Place the board with the batch of eggplants in the freezer for an hour and a half. The temperature should be minus 18 degrees, but it can be lower.
After about an hour, you can look at the vegetables and assess the degree of freezing. If they have frozen sufficiently and are no longer soft, then you can put them in bags. 
Take high-quality, thick plastic bags. I always prefer Zip-lock bags.
Place the mugs in a bag and remove as much air as possible. The fastest and most affordable way to remove air from a bag can be done using a drinking straw. Insert it into the bag, close it almost completely and draw the air from the bag into yourself. When the bag sticks tightly to the eggplants, all that remains is to quickly remove the tube and finally close the bag.
I don’t pack eggplants in large quantities. It is better to then defrost 2 or 3 bags (depending on the required portion) than to constantly open and close it, collecting the required amount of vegetable.
Be sure to attach a label with the date and method of processing of the eggplant.
Such lightly fried eggplants can be used for cooking. Once frozen, you can lay them out in towers and put them in the oven. You can also do this (immediately place the eggplants with other ingredients in a pot). 
4. Freezing stewed eggplant cubes.
Cut the eggplants into equal cubes, the same as you are used to seeing them in stews. I chose the size 2 by 2 cm.
I don't remove the skin from them. If you do not want to see it in the stew, then remove the skin from the vegetable. 
Preheat the oven - the temperature should be between 180-200 degrees. Grease a mold, baking sheet or pan with vegetable oil. Lay out the cubes. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring them occasionally.
You can salt the eggplants, but it is not necessary.
Remove the vegetable from the oven and cool it completely. 
Stewed eggplant cubes can be placed in a freezer container. For convenience, weigh the cubes in the container so you can then indicate the weight on the label. Don't forget to also write the date and method of processing and cutting the eggplants.
Place trays of eggplant cubes in the freezer.
This preparation is perfect for cooking and. 
5. Freezing fried eggplant strips.
To serve them in winter, you need to freeze them in the form of strips. 
You can fry it either in a regular frying pan or on a grill pan. 
Place the fried, golden eggplants, completely cooled on paper towels, onto a board and freeze in the freezer, just like the mugs from point No. 1.
Next you need to put them in bags, expel the air, and sign the label. 
6. Freezing blanched eggplant slices.
Peel the eggplant with a knife or vegetable peeler.
Cut into circles no less than 5 mm wide.
At the same time, boil water, adding a little salt and adding a tablespoon of lemon juice. 
Each country has its own traditions, and this also applies to cuisine. The dishes of many countries include various vegetables, but eggplants are the basis of the cooking of the southern republics and countries. Our kitchen appreciated the excellent taste of this vegetable not so long ago. Eggplants came to us from Italians, Chinese, and Americans. Blue ones go well with many vegetables: sweet peppers, tomatoes, onions, as well as zucchini, carrots, and potatoes. Eggplants go well with both meat and fish dishes. There are quite a few of them with fermented milk products - with cottage cheese or even yogurt. They are also delicious with cheese. But you can only see them fresh in the fall. And many housewives are interested in whether it is possible to freeze
Methods for freezing fresh eggplants for the winter
The quality of freezing eggplants will affect not only their taste, but also the preservation of vitamins and nutrients in them. Therefore, it is important to know how to properly freeze eggplants. To do this, it is better to choose medium-sized fruits. Wash them thoroughly in warm water. To freeze vegetables, you do not need to peel them, but you do need to dry them thoroughly. You can use a paper or cotton towel. Then we start cutting. These can be not only circles, but also bars or slices, cubes or plates. It all depends on the wishes of the hostess. The blue ones have a slightly bitter taste. To remove it, you need to pour cold water into any dish and add a little salt. Then we send all the cuttings there for a few minutes, but no more than 15. Next, remove the water and dry the vegetables. We also use any towels for this. As much as possible! When they are dry, place the vegetables on a plastic sheet or baking sheet and put them in the freezer for a day. Then we take it out and put everything in a common bag or container - and again in the freezer, but this time for the winter.
Freezing fried eggplants
We saved fresh blue ones for the winter, but can they be fried? It is possible and very easy to do. You will need medium sized fruits. We clean and wash them thoroughly. Cut the dried blueberries into circles. Pour oil into the frying pan, and after it warms up, place the circles. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Next, everything needs to be laid out on polyethylene in one row and placed in the freezer. The next day we take it out and place everything in one bag or in a special container.
Now you know how to freeze eggplants. The photo shows how best to cut them and place them in a container. All that remains to do in winter is to take it out and heat it up.
Dishes with frozen eggplants
Many people know whether it is possible to freeze eggplants for the winter. There are also many recipes for dishes using them. Here's one of them.
You will need: meat - about three hundred grams, a couple of tablespoons of butter, onions, salt, frozen eggplants. Place the meat cut into pieces, chopped onions, and thawed eggplants into the pots. Add salt to taste and place in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove and serve with any sauce. Bon appetit!
Thanks to freezers, which are now available in almost every home, many housewives make preparations for the winter with their help. The freezer compartment of the refrigerator contains fruits, berries and, of course, vegetables. It’s nice to get supplies from there during the cold season and pamper your loved ones with delicious gifts of nature. This simple method of preparation is liked by many housewives, because it does not cause much trouble. Frozen foods can be stored for a long time without losing vitamins. How to freeze eggplants fresh for the winter at home?
Should you freeze eggplants?
During the harvest season eggplants cost pennies, but in winter their prices are very high. Most often, many housewives pickle eggplants for the winter and use various preservation methods. Many people would like to freeze them, but they doubt this method. Is it possible to freeze eggplants for the winter and how to do it correctly, what recipes are there?
Eggplant differs from other vegetables in that after freezing it changes its taste and structure. For this reason, not everyone risks freezing this vegetable for the winter at home, because they are afraid of spoiling it. It turns out that there are methods and recipes that allow you to preserve the amazing taste of eggplant and preserve its maximum beneficial properties by freezing. Most people doubt the advisability of this method, but given the cost of eggplant in winter and its beneficial properties, it is simply necessary to use it.
In cooking, this vegetable has long taken its rightful place due to its taste and beneficial properties. Microelements and vitamins in its composition have a beneficial effect on the entire body. The vegetable has amazing properties, for example, it helps smokers overcome the craving for tobacco products. It contains a sufficient amount of nicotine, which is necessary for a smoker. Eggplants also activate the process of bile secretion from the human body, which is very important for normal liver function. Eggplant contains a lot of fiber, which improves intestinal function. The copper contained in the vegetable has a good effect on the hematopoietic system.
The vegetable is also distinguished by the fact that it has a bitterness that goes away only if it is cut and salted. Many people think that after freezing the bitterness will go away. In fact, it remains and, according to many experienced housewives, This vegetable cannot be frozen in its raw form.. To get a vegetable suitable for preparing delicious dishes in winter, you need to take into account several rules when freezing.
Experienced housewives with experience in freezing recommend that before loading the eggplant into the freezer, get rid of as much excess moisture as possible in the vegetable. To do this, it must be subjected to heat treatment using one of the available methods:
- fry;
- stew;
- bake;
- soak;
- blanch.
For winter storage, you need to choose young vegetables whose skins are not very dense. The young “blue ones” have practically no seeds, which is also important for harvesting. The type of vegetable does not matter; any variety can be used. One of the important requirements in any recipe, so that the vegetable is fresh, elastic and not spoiled.
Eggplants can be cut in a convenient way; much in this matter depends on what dishes will be prepared from them after freezing. Also, the cutting sizes will depend on the free space in the freezer.
If the “little blue ones” are not salted and the bitterness is not allowed to go away with the juice, you will end up with tasteless pulp. With any method used, vegetables should be sealed to prevent air from entering before freezing.
Also, for freezing, the “little blue ones” can be completely fried in a frying pan without oil. According to the recipe, the fruits need to be turned over so that they release the juice. After heat treatment, remove the peel, cool and pack in a convenient way for long-term storage.
Blanched vegetables
First you need to select the right vegetables, so that they are free from cracks and other damage with shiny and smooth skin. Then they should be washed well and cut in a convenient way:
- longitudinal plates;
- circles;
- cubes.
To remove the bitterness, you need to sprinkle the chopped eggplants with salt. After this, the vegetables are mixed. According to the recipe, they need to sit in the kitchen for several hours. The eggplants will release dark-colored juice, which needs to be drained, and the vegetables should be rinsed well under running water and squeezed out of excess moisture. It is very important to do this carefully, not to deform the cutting.
The vegetables are now ready for blanching. You need to take a pan, pour water into it, and when it boils, place chopped eggplants in boiling water for 3 minutes. This will allow the eggplants to become softer and not lose their shape.
After this, the vegetables should be placed in a colander and excess moisture should be allowed to drain. At this time, you can prepare packaging for storing vegetables:
- containers;
- packages;
- cling film.
Place the eggplants in the prepared storage container and place them in the freezer.
Fried "blue"
Selected eggplants should be washed thoroughly and the edges removed, after which you can cut it in a convenient way. The chopped vegetables are covered with salt and left for several hours to release the juice. This will help remove the bitterness and make the taste of the “blue” ones pleasant.
When the eggplants have released enough juice, it is drained. The chopped vegetables are washed with water and dried with a paper towel. This will help them fry well and not get soaked in too much oil.
Place eggplants in a hot frying pan with vegetable oil and fry. Place them on a paper napkin or towel to remove excess oil.
Next stage - preparation for freezing. To do this, you need to have a cutting board, plastic bags or cling film. The board should not be very large so that it can easily fit in the freezer. A layer of eggplant is placed on the board so that each piece does not lie on top of the other, after which they are covered with cling film and then the next layer is placed. All vegetables are laid out in this order.
After this, the tray of vegetables should be placed in the freezer and left for several hours so that they harden well. When the eggplants are firm enough, you can take them out and put them in packaging convenient for long-term storage.
How to properly freeze baked eggplants?
This method is the most correct, since baked eggplants retain more nutrients. The “blue ones” need to be sorted out and washed, trimmed off the ends and cut to your liking.
Chopped vegetables sprinkle with salt and stand like that for several hours. All the dark juice that the eggplants released must be drained and gently squeezed out. Now, according to the recipe, you need to prepare a baking sheet on which the eggplants will be baked. The surface of the baking sheet must be greased with vegetable oil and the eggplants should be placed evenly. Then the baking sheet is placed in the oven at a temperature of 180 o C.
To bake vegetables, it is best to use odorless vegetable oil. The baking sheet should be in the oven for no more than half an hour, this time will be enough if the vegetable is not cut very coarsely. Before freezing, let the vegetables cool and remove excess oil. Now you can put them in a prepared container and freeze them in the freezer.
Recipe " How to freeze eggplants for the winter” offers one of the best ways to preserve vegetables for a long time. Deep-frozen, they will not spoil for months, will retain their taste and most of the vitamins, and there will be no need to apply complex processing to them. Of course, compared to sweet peppers or zucchini, freezing eggplants requires a more careful approach and additional manipulations.
Is it even possible to freeze eggplants? After all, this vegetable has a specific taste, which, if frozen incorrectly, can change in a negative direction. Yes, you can freeze eggplants, but not raw. But if, nevertheless, they are prepared raw, then they are stored at a temperature of -12 C and no more than 5 months. Eggplants themselves do not smell when frozen, but they are able to absorb foreign odors. For example, from fragrant dill, which even in the freezer can smell all neighboring products. Therefore, when freezing eggplants, they need to be hermetically sealed in a suitable container. It is not recommended to freeze eggplants together with other vegetables. Here, as in every culinary recipe, there are some small ones.
How to freeze eggplants for the winter is useful and correctly at home? There are three main pre-treatment methods for this: frying, blanching or soaking. But it is advisable to use the third method with the first two options. Whatever method is chosen, it would be a good idea to first thoroughly wash the eggplants, cut off the stalks and cut them into convenient pieces (bars, cubes, mugs, straws, etc.). And the smaller or thinner the pieces are, the faster they will freeze. Afterwards, the pieces are transferred to salted water and kept in it, thereby removing the excess bitterness that these vegetables have. The soaked eggplants are laid out on a paper towel (it is better not to use linen, as the pulp may stick to it) and left on it until dry.
So, as mentioned above, the following options are possible “ How to quickly freeze eggplants for the winter»:
- fry the soaked eggplants in a frying pan in a small amount of vegetable oil and cool;
- blanch pieces of vegetables by dipping them first in boiling water and then in ice water, completing this procedure by drying (it is better not to put wet eggplants in the freezer);
- simply dry the soaked eggplant pieces and put them in a convenient container for storage in the freezer.
It is advisable not to use ordinary plastic bags for packaging eggplants. It is better to store vegetables for several months in plastic containers. In this case, you need to try to place the eggplants closer to each other, compactly; this way they will freeze faster and take up less space. But you don’t need to place them closely, otherwise in the future, for defrosting, in order to pull out a certain number of pieces, you will have to break them off from the total mass or break it.
On average, small cubes of eggplant take about 4-5 hours to freeze in the freezer. And you can defrost them in the microwave, directly in a frying pan, or simply by laying them out in one layer on a cutting board or other surface. But there is no need to defrost them in hot water and with other vegetables. It is important to remember exactly how the vegetables were frozen. If they were pre-fried, then too long processing is not necessary. But raw ones need to be properly fried, stewed, boiled, like ordinary vegetables. You can even label containers with frozen eggplants, because when frozen, it is quite difficult to distinguish the pieces and determine which one was used.
Compared to other vegetables, eggplants can be called finicky, having their own specifics and characteristics. And not every housewife succeeds in freezing them correctly the first time. But it’s not all that complicated if you look closely! The main thing is to disassemble recipes “How to freeze eggplants for the winter” in order and when preparing, strictly adhere to the recommendations of the recipes. Let's take a closer look at the following two methods.
Method 1 – freezing whole eggplants with pre-frying
First of all, only whole, ripe vegetables are selected for harvesting, without spoilage or bruised areas. They are then washed, the tails are cut off, and they are left to dry. The second step is to place the dried, clean eggplants in a dry frying pan without oil and fry them on all sides over low heat until they soften slightly. During frying, eggplants need to be turned regularly; this will remove excess moisture and bitterness from them. Next, the baked vegetables are peeled, and each of them is wrapped in cling film. Now they can be transferred to a suitable container for freezing and put in the freezer. The advantage of this method is that frozen eggplants can be taken from the freezer one at a time, avoiding defrosting excess portions.
Method 2 - freezing eggplants in pieces with preliminary blanching
The second method differs from the first in that the vegetables will be frozen in slices or cubes. So, washed eggplants are cut, sprinkled with salt and left for 30 minutes so that they “drain” and get rid of the bitter taste. Then the pieces are blanched: put in a colander and lowered into boiling water for 1-2 minutes, and then sharply into cold water. Next, the mugs or cubes are laid out on a paper towel (this will dry them faster) and then placed in airtight containers for freezing in the freezer. Store these eggplants in small portions, making sure there is no unwanted moisture in the storage container.
There is no doubt that there is nothing better than fresh vegetables! They contain microelements and vitamins... But what to do if the season ends and you have to say goodbye to them? Then “How to freeze eggplants for the winter” recipes will be a great help and help you stock up on a tasty and fresh piece of summer. Pickles, preserves and pickled foods are good for everyone. But, unfortunately, they are no longer of much use. Then there is only one way out - home freezing!
