How can you freeze bell peppers fresh for the winter in the freezer at home?

How to properly freeze bell peppers for the winter? This question is asked by housewives who want to preserve the beneficial properties of the product for a long time. Freezing bell peppers, as well as preparing them for preservation, has nuances that must be taken into account when preserving the product for a long time.

Is it possible to freeze bell peppers for the winter?

Freezing food is perhaps the most useful type of preservation. Vegetables and fruits in the freezer not only do not spoil, but also retain the maximum amount of useful vitamins and microelements.

In addition, it is convenient - preparing the vegetable, container and freezer takes much less time compared to rolling the peppers into glass jars and drying the vegetable.

Attention! Of course, frozen peppers can be purchased in the store or, if desired, in the cold season you can find fresh vegetables in the supermarket. When purchasing frozen vegetables, there is a risk of purchasing a product that can be frozen many times. In addition, it is not entirely known whether the peppers were frozen fresh or were already starting to deteriorate?

Buying a fresh fruit may not always live up to expectations: instead of a fragrant, beautiful and fresh vegetable, you can buy a withered pepper at a high cost.

Selection and preparation of vegetables before starting the process

In order for frozen vegetables to retain their taste and vitamins as much as possible, it is necessary to choose the right fruits for freezing. So, for preserving green, red and yellow sweet bell peppers, large fruits with smooth skin, not damaged by insects and rot, are suitable. Vegetables will need to be washed under warm running water and allowed to dry. If you start freezing wet fruits, they may stick together, resulting in the product losing its shape.

It is necessary to remove the seeds from the fruit and cut off the stalk. It is recommended to clean the insides by hand, as a knife can damage the inner walls of the vegetable.

When choosing bitter or hot chili peppers, you also pay attention to the appearance of the fruit. Only apparently ideal vegetables are frozen. The fruits are washed under running cold water and dried thoroughly. Hot chili peppers are prepared whole.

After the fruits have dried, you can proceed directly to freezing. This can be done in several ways, but you will first need to acquire suitable utensils and prepare a refrigerator for freezing.

Attention! To “bring down” the spiciness of the chili pepper, before freezing the product is kept in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.

Preparing the refrigerator

Before freezing fruits, it is necessary to defrost and thoroughly wash the containers in the freezer and refrigerator. After washing, it takes time to dry. The dry and clean refrigerator is ready to freeze vegetables. When performing this, you should also respect the product proximity: for example, it is recommended to allocate a separate container for frozen peppers, and not even leave packaged products next to meat and fish.

What utensils will you need?

For freezing in the freezer, plastic boxes with a tight-fitting lid, cellophane and zip bags, as well as bags specially designed for freezing peppers are suitable.

Attention! The product to be frozen must be hermetically sealed in a plastic container or bags (for reliability, the fruits are packed in 2-3 bags and tied tightly). Otherwise, other foods stored in the freezer will smell of bell pepper.

The best ways to freeze peppers at home

Bell peppers can be frozen in several ways; they are chosen depending on the subsequent use of the product and personal preferences.

Whole in the freezer

After thoroughly washing and drying the fruit, bell peppers are frozen whole. This will allow you to stuff them later. For fresh vegetables, you will need to cut off the stem and remove the seeds from the fruit. Next, they are laid out in one layer on a cutting board, wrapped in cling film and placed in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator for 3-6 hours.

Next, the fruits are stacked one on top, separating the peppers with cellophane, or all the vegetables are sent to a common container for further storage.

In halves

When preparing bell peppers, you can freeze them in halves. The advantage of this method is that fruits prepared in this way will take up much less space in the freezer.

After washing, removing seeds and stalks, the fruits are cut in half lengthwise, then the halves of the vegetables are placed in small zip bags, or tightly tied in ordinary plastic bags. When distributing the fruit, it is necessary to determine the exact number of pepper halves that will be used at one time. The fruits sorted in this way are put into the freezer.

Pieces

Bell peppers can be prepared in pieces, rings, cubes or strips for preparing different types of dishes:

1. For stews, soups and gravies, vegetables are cut into cubes.
2. For pizza and pies, vegetables are cut into strips or wheels.

To remove excess moisture (vegetable juice released when cutting fruits), the sliced ​​product is dried with paper napkins or towels before freezing. Next, the vegetables are placed in plastic bags, after releasing the air from there, or in plastic, hermetically sealed containers.

Assorted for stew

Sweet peppers are frozen as part of assorted vegetables.The most popular types of assorted vegetables that are frozen are:

1. Paprikash. The assortment consists of finely chopped peppers mixed with chopped zucchini, tomatoes and beans in pods.
2. Country mix. The assortment consists of finely diced potatoes, peppers, beans in pods, carrots, onions, and corn. Broccoli is also added to this mixture. The vegetable is first blanched before adding to the assortment.
3. Lecho: cubes of blanched peppers, onions, tomatoes, zucchini.
4. Dressing for borscht: the mixture includes finely chopped peppers, tomatoes, and beets. Onions and carrots are also added here.
5. Hawaiian mixture: semi-cooked rice, pepper slices, corn and peas.

Freezing baked sweet peppers

Vegetables baked in the oven can also be frozen. The pods are washed, but the stalk and seeds are not removed. The products are placed on a greased baking sheet and placed in the oven for forty minutes. Take out the browned vegetables, put them in a pan and leave them there for 15 minutes. Next, holding the fruit by the tail, remove the skin and carefully remove the entrails.

The purified product is cut into small pieces, sorted into containers and poured with the juice formed during baking. This product can subsequently be used to prepare salads.

Attention! Baked bell peppers can also be frozen in their whole form.

Freezing stuffed peppers

Bell peppers can also be frozen stuffed. To do this, the finished semi-finished product is placed at a short distance from each other on a cutting board, wrapped in cellophane or cling film.Next, place it in the refrigerator for an hour, and after cooling, freeze it in the freezer (if possible, set the temperature as low as possible). After freezing (it takes from 4 to 7 hours), the product is put into bags (the air is first removed from them) or containers and placed in the freezer.

Attention! It is not recommended to freeze stuffed peppers for more than 8 hours. Otherwise, the moisture contained in the peppers will evaporate, and an exchange of odors will occur between the ingredients of the stuffed dish and other products stored in the freezer compartment.

With dill and parsley

To give the pepper a rich aroma, it is frozen with dill and parsley. To do this, take 150-200 grams of herbs and half a teaspoon of salt for 2-3 kilograms of pepper. Peppers and dill are thoroughly washed and soaked in cold water for 10-15 minutes. Next, change the water and leave the greens for another 10-15 minutes. Dill and parsley are shaken and dried. It is important to ensure that the greens do not begin to fade. Afterwards it is thoroughly crushed.

Attention! Freshly picked parsley and dill are suitable for freezing bell peppers. It is these greens that have the brightest and richest aroma, and also contain a large amount of useful vitamins and microelements.

Bell peppers are freed from seeds, the stalks are cut off and cut into the necessary way (rings, cubes or strips). Next, place the greens and peppers separately on different trays and freeze them in the freezer overnight. The ingredients are first covered with cling film.

At the end of the preparation, frozen peppers and herbs are mixed, packaged in pre-prepared containers or bags and sent for final freezing.

Temperature for freezing peppers and shelf life

In order for frozen peppers to retain the maximum amount of vitamins and beneficial microelements, the freezing temperature should not exceed -18 – 20 degrees Celsius. If the temperature becomes higher, the product will be stored for less time.

Depending on the type of frozen product, shelf life differs:

1. Fresh frozen peppers can be stored for up to 12 months.
2. Roasted or blanched vegetables can be stored for up to 6 months.
3. Stuffed peppers can be stored for up to 7 months.

Attention! Before freezing, containers and bags of vegetables are labeled. Indicate the approximate shelf life and freezing date.

Is it permissible to re-freeze the product?

Repeated freezing of the product will not spoil the bell peppers, but will worsen the taste of the product, and will also negatively affect the amount of beneficial vitamins and microelements. In addition, such a product will lose its attractive appearance. To avoid this, re-freezing bell peppers is not advisable.

How to properly defrost frozen peppers

Proper defrosting of bell peppers is as follows:

1. Whole frozen vegetables are left in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes, then defrosted in the microwave for 5 minutes using the appropriate mode selected. An alternative way to defrost peppers is to leave them at room temperature for 15-20 minutes after refrigeration.
2. Shredded chopped vegetables are placed in the microwave on defrost mode for 5 minutes and added to soups or stews.

Freezing bell peppers is a great way to preserve the beneficial properties of the product for a long time with minimal investment of time and effort.

In order for the vegetable to retain its original appearance and taste, it is necessary to follow certain recommendations for the selection, method of freezing and storage of peppers.